The hottest Product Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Design Topics

Roundup: Google Gemini, "Service-as-a-Software" and A New Era for SaaS Margins

Good Better Best • 2 implied HN points • 17 Jan 25
🕹 Technology AI SaaS Product Pricing Innovation
  1. Google has bundled its Gemini AI with Workspace plans, making it cheaper for users but risking lower profits. This strategy may help them gain more customers quickly.
  2. Human support will be essential for using AI effectively. Even with AI tools, we still need humans to refine the results and handle complex tasks.
  3. Different companies are adopting various pricing models for their AI services. Google's approach focuses on getting users to adopt their technology, while Microsoft is looking to charge more based on usage.

Briefing: AI Capabilities in SaaS

Good Better Best • 2 implied HN points • 06 Dec 24
💼 Business SaaS AI Marketing Finance Product
  1. AI is now being used in many areas of businesses, not just for creating content. Companies are finding various ways to utilize AI across different teams like product, customer support, and engineering.
  2. Most companies that offer AI features are making money from them, especially in content generation and editing. Many also earn from capabilities related to data analysis and customer interactions.
  3. The payment willingness for these AI capabilities is growing. Although some features seem common and cheap, if they can significantly save time or replace human tasks, their value might increase quickly.

Unreasonable Support: Design for the Unhappy Path

The Kahneman Bot • 2 HN points • 19 Feb 24
🪑 Design UX Product Customer Support User Experience
  1. Designing for the unhappy path in user experiences is crucial for creating user loyalty and retention.
  2. Unhappy path design can trigger a sense of reciprocity in users, leading to positive responses to issues or faults.
  3. Providing what users perceive as unreasonable levels of support can result in long-term loyalty and cost-effective retention strategies.

#7 Non-human design, chindogu & veneers

Design Lobster • 59 implied HN points • 13 Mar 20
🪑 Design Product Process Philosophy
  1. Consider the needs and impacts on non-human entities in the design process to avoid creating unsustainable systems that prioritize human wants at the cost of the environment.
  2. Be cautious of overengineering solutions and missing the bigger picture in design by reflecting on the concept of chindogu, which are eccentric inventions that may not be practical despite addressing minor issues.
  3. Focus on deep exploration and understanding in design rather than just applying a superficial finish, as good design emerges from a thorough understanding of the problem.
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The Art & Science of Demand Generation

Market-ed-it • 11 implied HN points • 17 Jul 23
💼 Business Marketing Product Innovation Strategy Education
  1. Demand generation is not just about capturing existing demand but also about creating new demand by educating the audience about your product or service.
  2. To create original demand, educate your audience about how your product solves a pain point they may not even be aware of.
  3. Manipulating existing demand involves strategies like content marketing, influencer partnerships, and understanding where your target audience spends time.

On the Limits of One Mind

TeamCraft • 6 implied HN points • 20 Nov 23
💼 Business Management Leadership Startups Technology Product
  1. When a CTO takes over as a CPO, it can lead to negative outcomes for both engineering and product functions.
  2. Expecting one individual to excel in both technology and product domains can be detrimental due to cognitive limits and lack of focus.
  3. A dual CTO/CPO role can result in a lack of product thinking, bias towards technical solutions, strategic edge loss, communication challenges, and difficulty in balancing responsibilities.

Ask Who It's For

Tigerfeathers! • 4 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
💼 Business Marketing Audience Entrepreneurship Market Product
  1. Gary Dahl's success with the Pet Rock stemmed from targeting a specific audience that resonated with his product.
  2. Identifying a smallest viable audience is crucial for entrepreneurs and creators to tailor their offerings effectively.
  3. Rather than trying to appeal to everyone, focus on finding the right audience that is already interested in what you have to offer.

Shipt: Moving from startup to mature product organization

Behind the Product • 1 HN point • 13 Feb 24
💼 Business Management Product Feedback Analytics Hiring
  1. The shift from project-led to product-led culture is important for growth and longevity.
  2. Structuring a product and tech organization around market segments and operational functions is crucial for a multi-sided marketplace like Shipt.
  3. Emphasizing outcome-focused and metrics-driven problem-solving, and actively seeking and incorporating customer feedback are key priorities for Shipt's product organization.

The Epic Fall of Quibi, a $1.8B Funded Startup shuts down in 6 months

Founder Fuck-ups • 0 implied HN points • 02 Aug 23
💼 Business Startup Failure Funding Product Market Analysis
  1. Quibi, a $1.8B funded startup, shut down in 6 months due to various reasons like poor content quality, bad timing with the pandemic, and slow adaptation to market changes.
  2. The founders of Quibi, despite raising significant funding, failed to create content that stood out and did not differentiate themselves enough from competitors like Netflix and YouTube.
  3. Quibi's high subscription fee, lack of value for users, and an internal founder dispute also contributed to its downfall, highlighting the importance of understanding consumer needs and effective leadership.

Coming soon

Reconsideration • 0 implied HN points • 14 Dec 22
🕹 Technology Tech Product
  1. The post is a preview for an upcoming newsletter called Reconsideration, covering topics related to tech and product.
  2. The newsletter is set to launch on Dec 14, 2022.
  3. There are options available to share the post on platforms like Facebook and via email.

War Stories - How I turned around a paralyzed Product organization into a rapid delivery engine

Joseph Gefroh • 0 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
💼 Business Management Product Decision-making Startup
  1. The Product Management organization struggled with defining and prioritizing work, leading to underutilization of engineers and ill-defined requirements.
  2. The Product Managers faced challenges due to analysis paralysis, fear of making mistakes, and a desire for full consensus before decisions.
  3. To address the issues, a bold approach was taken to focus on building the muscle of delivering change, removing fear barriers, and banning A/B tests to prevent decision-making delays.

API-Tech + Product

Venture Prose • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jul 16
🕹 Technology API Product Startups Entrepreneurship Tech industry
  1. Successful companies can work on and sell two different but connected things at the same time, like API-Tech + Product.
  2. Companies that initially stand out and succeed often have clarity, determination, and quality in their foundational choices.
  3. To build an empire, focus on creating unique assets, game changers, and barriers that set your company apart from others.

OpenAI Hype Cycle

Sector 6 | The Newsletter of AIM • 0 implied HN points • 19 Feb 23
🕹 Technology AI Innovation Product Market Trends
  1. OpenAI's ChatGPT quickly became popular, breaking records just three months after its release. This shows how fast technology can grow and be accepted by people.
  2. Tech giants like Google and Amazon are trying to catch up with OpenAI due to its rapid success. This competition could lead to more innovations in the AI field.
  3. Gartner predicted it would take five to ten years for foundational AI models to be widely adopted, but OpenAI proved that strong demand can speed up this process much faster.

A simple email that drives more adoption from customers

CommandBlogue • 0 implied HN points • 04 Apr 24
💼 Business Marketing Product Growth Strategy
  1. Sending emails when new users join a team can boost product adoption. This simple tactic keeps everyone in the loop and encourages others to use the product.
  2. Seeing teammates use a product creates a sense of urgency to adopt it. People want to stay connected and not fall behind their colleagues.
  3. This approach uses social proof, which is when people do something because they see others doing it. It's a powerful way to motivate users to engage with a product.

How Notion Used Community to Scale to 20M+ Users

Digital Native • 0 implied HN points • 10 May 23
💼 Business Community Marketing Product Growth Influencer
  1. Notion used community to scale to over 20 million users, proving the importance of leveraging community for growth.
  2. Community can be a versatile tool for startups, serving as both a marketing distribution channel and a source of product feedback.
  3. Building a strong community requires authenticity, relationship-building, and understanding different user preferences, and it can significantly impact product development.

FAQ: Product and Design in early stage startups

Curious product • 0 implied HN points • 17 Mar 23
💼 Business Product Design Startups
  1. Having a full-time designer is often more beneficial for early stage startups than having a full-time product manager.
  2. In a product squad, engineering, product, and design roles should be balanced and share accountability for the product's success.
  3. Deciding whether product and design should be under the same leadership depends on factors like team development and domain knowledge.