First Round Capital’s Post

Most people describe finding PMF as an art, not a science. We're here to change that. Introducing PMF Method. After 20 years and 500+ investments in pre-product-market fit companies, we've drawn on our data and worked with some of the world's most iconic enterprise founders, distilling what they did in their first 6 months into a free 14-week intensive experience that helps sales-led B2B founders build epic companies. In tactical sessions, we help early founders discover what customers really want, build the right v1 product, and close your first sales — all while keeping 100% of your equity. You'll work alongside a tight group of other builders at your same stage, and get to learn from the hard-earned insights from founders of $1B+ B2B companies, like Vanta's Christina Cacioppo, Looker's lloyd tabb, Plaid's Zachary Perret, Ironclad's Jason Boehmig, Lattice's Jack Altman, and Verkada's Filip Kaliszan. The Summer 2024 session of PMF Method runs from 5/29 to 8/28. Any early founder working on a new B2B SaaS company is welcome to apply — just get your application in by 5/7 (or tag a founder friend below!) More details, FAQs, and application link in the comments below 👇

Like many of you, we’ve been playing around with @Google's incredible NotebookLM. If you haven’t checked it out for yourself, our latest Review article on annual planning is a prime candidate for experimentation. “Listen” or read the article in the comments below.

Don't just grab an off-the-rack annual planning process and hope it fits. "Every company’s planning process needs to be optimized for their problems, their market, and the team they have to execute the planning." — Jiaona Zhang (JZ) (Linktree CPO, ex-Webflow & Airbnb) Use this Notion template to tailor your approach to your company's unique shape and style.

You've likely built up some annual planning scar tissue over the years. To help cut through it, Jiaona Zhang (JZ) has assembled an all-star squad to share lessons from planning. Cristina Cordova, Stevie Case, and Rama Katkar join her to offer the COO, CRO, CFO, and CPO lens, sharing a unique functional deep dive on everything from how AI is impacting their processes, to org design tweaks and tactical templates. Their experience spans companies like Linear, Notion, Vanta, Linktree, Stripe, Twilio, Webflow, Instacart, Airbnb and Credit Karma — meaning that no matter your industry, stage or business model, you're likely to find tons of food for thought as you craft your own company's approach. Whether you're about to kick off your process or you're nearing the end (but aren't feeling too confident), today's guide is a bookmark-worthy resource. (Article in the comments)

When launching something new, aim for a "minimum remarkable product"—not just a viable one. Alyssa Henry, former CEO of Square, explains how craftsmanship and elegance set their products apart. "You can have 2 chairs. Both are simple, but one is crudely made and one is elegantly made. You can instantly tell which one is elegant by the craftsmanship.” This focus on elegance and detail was key to making Square’s now-iconic payment terminal stand out in a crowded market and reshape how businesses accept payments. Catch more of Alyssa's advice on the importance of taste when crafting world-class products on the In Depth podcast. Link: https://lnkd.in/gf2NUQ5a

Product managers with commercial sensibility can be a game-changer in sales. But before coaching this skill, product leaders like Anneka Gupta, CPO at Rubrik, emphasize the importance of diagnosing where the gap lies. “Do people not understand the role of selling and making the product successful or do they not understand how sales operate within the context of your business?” she says. To ensure her diagnosis is always inclusive, Anneka makes all her PMs undergo the same training as her sales reps. Check out even more tactics Anneka has for product leaders on coaching this kind of sales judgment into their teams on the In Depth podcast. Link in comments.