Durga

Tela A. - It is both (i.e., lack of strategic alignment or ROI). Once a feature is built for a customer, the company is stuck with maintaining the feature for a long time incurring costs (i.e., eng, qa, support, docs, ...). So you don't want to invest unless you have confidence the feature will be needed by future customers.

Hi Nicoleta K. - I am curious to learn more. Sent you a connection request on LinkedIn.

Hi Dharitri K. - Do you have experience with demand generation and experimentation? I'm currently researching how B2B demand gen teams handle A/B testing with limited traffic. Would love to get your thoughts. Please DM me if interested.

Hi Tela A. - This is the most common scenario in most of the deals (i.e., enterprise deals) I am involved. As founder, my recommendation to my sales folks is to not commit and instead involve me. I say yes, if what the prospective customer is asking aligns with our direction and hear/anticipate that need from other potential customers. And the deal size is large. We do caveat that the feature is in the roadmap and can prioritize if there is a deal and show a demo of it (if possible) before the deal closure. Irrespective of what product management thinks, often the best requirements are those that are asked by customer. That is market pull. I say no, if the deal is not large enough or if it is outside our scope or direction we want to go. Typically it is 80:20 ratio for No vs Yes. Hope this helps.

Yehuda P. - Ask yourself a) what are you trying to avoid and b) what are you excited about. The answer to these 2 might help you untie the knot.

Hi Nicoleta K. - From hiring/firing brand strategists as a founder: - Messaging insights - Do homework and bring 2-3 insights to first meeting - Adaptability - Each startup is unique. Don’t force-fit textbook approaches i.e., Map is not the territory. - Execution in chaos - Show you can ship, not just strategize i.e., show you are a doer and not a talker. - Creative thinking - Bring unconventional ideas, not just best practices i.e., think out of the box. The best strategists I’ve hired understood our specific context and delivered actionable work, not generic frameworks. Hope this helps… All the Best!!!

Andra B. - I have setup Google Workspace recently. My domain was from SquareSpace. Happy to help in troubleshooting.