Enterprise Panel featuring Sol Lipman, Stephanie Hsu, and Fritz Schlereth at #ProductSF | Summary and Q&A

Transcript

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Summary

In this video, the panelists discuss their experiences in the enterprise software market and the challenges they faced in finding product-market fit. They also talk about the importance of understanding the customer, engaging in customer validation techniques, and the differences between consumer and enterprise markets.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was Tomfoolery's goal as a startup?

Tomfoolery aimed to build consumer-grade applications for the workplace, with a focus on creating beautiful and user-friendly products for professionals.

Q: What was Yammer's core problem that they were trying to solve?

Yammer aimed to develop a consumer-grade product that would facilitate open communication and collaboration within the workplace. Their goal was to make it easier for people to connect and communicate with each other, similar to how they would do so in social media platforms.

Q: Why did Yammer evolve from a Twitter-like interface to a more open collaborative platform?

Yammer wanted to promote a more team-oriented and self-organized workflow. They believed that by creating an open and collaborative platform, they could facilitate better group collaboration in the workplace. The current layout of Yammer's interface is reminiscent of social media platforms like Facebook, but the company is looking to further evolve in this direction.

Q: How does Yammer tackle the challenge of being seen as just another tool in the workplace?

Yammer recognizes that being perceived as just another tool is a common challenge for many enterprise software companies. To address this, they focus on providing unique value to their users and ensuring a seamless integration with their existing workflow. By offering a product that offers distinct benefits and is tailored to their specific needs, Yammer aims to differentiate itself from other tools.

Q: Who are Yammer's top five competitors?

Before the acquisition, Sharepoint was seen as a competitor but also as a complimentary product. Other competitors included Salesforce Chatter, Jive, and Flowdock. However, it's worth noting that Yammer's approach was more focused on unique positioning rather than direct competition.

Q: What problem does Dynamic Signal solve?

Dynamic Signal helps companies curate brand-approved content and enables employees to share that content on their personal social media accounts. This turns employees into a marketing channel and helps companies promote themselves authentically through their workforce.

Q: What size of companies are the best fit for Dynamic Signal's solution?

Dynamic Signal primarily focuses on Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. However, they believe that companies with at least 50 employees can effectively utilize their product.

Q: How does Dynamic Signal address the challenge of conveying benefit to employees?

Dynamic Signal recognizes that conveying the benefits of their solution to employees is crucial. They strive to create a partnership between their product, the client, and the employees. This involves working closely with clients to develop programs and initiatives that make the product valuable to employees. In some cases, incentives and recognition programs are used to promote tool adoption.

Q: Can product-market fit be conceptually applied to the enterprise space?

Yes, product-market fit is just as important in the enterprise space as it is in the consumer market. It is crucial to demonstrate the value of the product to the end users and the company. Understanding the needs and usage patterns of the target market is essential to achieving product-market fit.

Q: Can you provide an example of a small feature that was successful or unsuccessful?

One example is Yammer's optimization of their sign-up flow. They initially trimmed down the steps in the sign-up process, but this led to a decrease in engagement and retention. They learned that certain pages and prompts were crucial for users' understanding and experience of the product, and they worked on reintroducing these elements in a more contextual and informative manner.

Takeaways

The panelists emphasized the importance of understanding the target customer and developing a product market fit. They highlighted the significance of customer validation techniques and the challenges of the enterprise market, including the need to address the concerns and fears of gatekeepers. They also mentioned the value of data analysis, finding internal advocates, and tailoring the product to meet the specific needs of the target market.