Today, I’m unpacking a fascinating conversation with Kieran Flanagan, CMO at Zapier and former SVP of Marketing at HubSpot. This discussion centers on Calendly, a scheduling app used by millions, and its strategic acquisition of Prelude.

We talk about the critical role of platforms in product-led growth (PLG) businesses. AI tools, for instance, are seen not as standalone products but platform features. Canva's freemium text image generator exemplifies a platform disrupting the market. Grammarly and Jasper also come up in the context of branding and market disruption.

Distribution is vital for platforms. Calendly's acquisition of Prelude, an HR enterprise tool, is a case in point. Flanagan compares Calendly's potential growth strategy to HubSpot's approach of building individual hubs around the contact record, each catering to different roles like marketing, sales, customer success, and operations.

We also explore the idea of Calendly morphing into a platform and integrating with other established products to multiply its value, for example, Gong, Outreach, Chorus, Jira, Monday, Asana, Dovetail, and Qualtrics.

Lastly, Flanagan shares some intriguing marketing ideas for Calendly, including acquiring a company like Lyre for its distribution capabilities and using Calendly to understand where time gets wasted or lost within an organization, thereby helping to optimize productivity.

About Kieran Flanagan

Introducing Kieran Flanagan:

* Current Chief Marketing Officer at Zapier and former Senior Vice President of Marketing at HubSpot.

* Known for strategic insights and innovative ideas in the tech industry.

* Expert in product-led growth (PLG) businesses and the importance of becoming a platform.

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieranjflanagan/

* https://twitter.com/searchbrat

Notes on the product, market, company and challenges

Product

* Calendly = scheduling app used by +10M people, from tech workers to yoga class instructors

* Vision: be THE go-to platform for work and leisure life planning

* Basic explanation: you want to schedule time with someone → all you need to do is share your Calendly, and they can pick a time

* You can set a time limit, charge them for your time, and define time slots

Company

* Founded in 2013 by Tope Awotona

* profitable today

* Valued at $3b in 2020 by raising $350M from investors + Awotona’s life savings

Growth

* Massive growth during the pandemic: 50% Y/Y revenue growth in 2021 (about $85M)

* growing faster than companies like Zapier or DocuSign

* 53% market share in the US

Market

* appointment scheduling market: ~$300M in 2021

* 13-19% CAGR (compound annual growth rate)

* predicted to reach $500-$700M in 2027

* Direct competitors: calendar.com, Setmore, Timetrade

* Indirect competitors: Google, Hubspot, Drift

* Trends:

* big players like Google getting into the market

* remote work = accelerant for scheduling software

* More professions use scheduling software, e.g. doctors

Challenges

* Google entered the market: Google Workspace customers ($7.99) can provide scheduling with their Google Calendar

* 2nd largest calendar app after Outlook, > 500M people

* If Google Calendar was a social network, it would be bigger than Twitter or Snapchat

* Calendly needs to win the enterprise segment

* Calendly needs to build more features for verticals like Sales, HR or Productivity

Context of the episode

* Calendly acquired Prelude

* Predule = enterprise interview scheduling app for recruiting

* Prelude raised $2.4M and has hundreds of customers

* makes it easier to schedule a series of interviews (journey) with several stakeholders without the typical back and forth

* more than just scheduling: provides information to applicants, Interviewer prep, and hiring analytics

On their latest investor day, Founder and CEO Daniel EK presented 6 bets for the future, of which 3 are unknown. In this Tech Bound episode, Tommy Walker and Kevin discuss the 3 unknown bets Spotify might pursue as part of its strategy.

They discuss the importance of infrastructure for live streaming and the potential for an incubator program to help discover new artists. They also discuss the possibility of independent artists being able to provide a Patreon equivalent on Spotify and concert streaming.

SHOW NOTES

Spotify investor day

The Content Studio

The Cutting Room show

TIME STAMPS

00:01:25 - The six bets for Spotify's future

00:02:45 - Live streaming

00:11:15 - An incubator program for new artists

00:16:35 - A Patreon equivalent on Spotify

00:21:45 - Concerts

00:27:15 - Data analysis and personalization in the music industry

00:32:00 - Marketing music in the digital age

00:37:00 - How Spotify could test artists for their potential

In this episode, I chat with Ramli John, onboarding expert and author of the book "Product-Led Onboarding." Ramli shares his journey into the field of onboarding and the importance of effective onboarding for customer retention. We talk about the difference between product-led and sales-led onboarding and the Eureka model, which includes three stages: the aha moment, activation, and habituation. Ramli provides insights into setting goals and metrics for successful onboarding, creating user personas, and the importance of a seamless user experience. We also venture into his process for writing a book and the role of beta readers. Tune in to learn how to optimize your onboarding process for growth and success.

Why onboarding is critical for Growth

Onboarding is critical for Growth because it helps users understand the value of a product and sets the foundation for a positive user experience. Done well, onboarding can lead to increased customer retention and, ultimately, revenue.

5 takeaways about onboarding

* Focus on onboarding as a crucial aspect of customer retention.

* Consider the difference between product-led and sales-led onboarding.

* Use the Eureka model for onboarding, which includes three stages: aha moment, activation, and habituation.

* Set clear goals and metrics for onboarding success.

* Create user personas and provide a seamless user experience in onboarding.

The Eureka model for onboarding

The Euroka model includes three stages: 

* The aha moment: the user realizes the value of the product or service

* Activation: activation is when the user takes action to start using the product

* Habituation: habituation is when the user becomes a regular and habitual user of the product

These stages should be thought of as a journey that the user goes through in order to fully engage with and benefit from the product.

Show Notes

* ramlijohn.com

* twitter.com/RamliJohn

* https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramlijohn/

* Product-Led Onboarding book

Timestamps

02:20 - Ramli John's journey into onboarding and expertise in the field

07:30 - The impact of onboarding on customer retention

11:10 - Product-led vs sales-led onboarding: which is better?

14:30 - The Eureka model for onboarding and its three stages

18:20 - Setting goals and metrics for successful onboarding

21:20 - Creating user personas for effective onboarding

25:10 - The importance of a seamless user experience in onboarding

29:00 - Different types of onboarding teams and their responsibilities

35:00 - The role of customer success and marketing teams in onboarding

37:00 - The process of writing a book and the importance of beta readers