ProductLed Podcast

I’m taking you behind the scenes of ProductLed’s wild 8-year ride. From our embarrassing original name (“Traffic is Currency” - yikes) to helping 400+ companies generate $1B in self-serve revenue, it’s been anything but linear. I share the honest truth about riding the pandemic capital wave, the year I was completely lost, and how accidentally discovering our implementation program changed everything. Key Takeaways: [00:01:55] My first client took a chance on me [00:05:03] I was making $33K/month but was miserable [00:09:44] Writing my book in a 6-month sprint [00:13:23] How COVID forced us to pivot from workshops to cohorts [00:20:07] The accidental discovery that transformed our business model Looking back, my journey followed exactly what Jim Collins calls the “Hedgehog Concept” - first finding what makes money, then following my energy to PLG, and finally creating a unique system that could become world-class. The intersection of these three elements is where unstoppable businesses are built.

In this episode, Wes Bush interviews Will Royall, founder and CEO of Promotix, on how he bootstrapped a product-led ticketing platform to $25K MRR with no sales team. Will shares how he increased signups by 40% with sharper homepage copy, boosted conversions with simple UX tweaks, and why Promotix is betting big on education to win their market. Key Takeaways: [00:01:31] How Will from an event creator to founder [00:06:12] How calling out competitors led to a 40% increase in signups [00:11:42] Using the "Promised Land" effect on signup pages [00:20:41] How PromoTix cut 50% of their onboarding steps [00:27:02] Launching Promotix University to level up users [00:33:00] Building moats: product, pricing, and education Links: Will Royall on LinkedIn PromoTix – promotix.com

In this episode, Wes Bush interviews Olly Meakings, founder of Senja.io, about his journey bootstrapping a testimonial collection tool to $800K ARR. Olly reveals his unique story of building the business with a co-founder he's never met in person, their product-led approach, and how they maintained motivation through the challenging early years. Key Takeaways: [00:01:31] Origin story and meeting his co-founder Wilson via Twitter [00:06:38] Launching with the most generous free plan in the market [00:11:49] Shipping 100+ features per year while struggling financially [00:24:22] Year 3 breakthrough - growing from $20K to $60K MRR [00:29:05] Moving to a four-day workweek [00:38:09] Current team structure - just two co-founders and one technical hire [00:51:30] Knowing yourself and building a support network as a founder Links Olly Meakings on LinkedIn Senja

Integrating onboarding coaching into your strategy can improve customer success and drive acquisitions, especially if your SaaS product is more complex or targets enterprise users. But where do you begin? In this episode, Wes is joined by Clate Mask, CEO and founder of Keap, to talk about the importance of understanding user needs and delivering tailored solutions through coaching sessions. Doing so bridges the gaps in product understanding, knowledge, and skills.    Key Takeaways: [2:30] What SaaS companies benefit the most from onboarding coaches  [8:20] Why Keap started using coaching  [16:30] The economics of hiring onboarding coaches [19:45] Must-have skills for these coaches [26:00] Ways to tailor coaching to your SaaS product [33:30] Clate’s new book Conquering the Chaos About Clate Mask: Clate is the CEO and co-founder of Keap, the leading provider of business automation software for small businesses, and co-authored Conquer the Chaos: The Six Keys to Success for Entrepreneurs. Links: Clate Mask | LinkedIn Conquer the Chaos

In this episode, Wes Bush breaks down how to create a high-converting homepage for your product-led growth business. He shares a framework for crafting an irresistible offer that will help you become the obvious choice in your market and increase conversions by at least 10% with the same traffic. Key Takeaways: [00:01:08] Why a clear offer is critical [00:04:00] The three components of an irresistible offer [00:05:47] How PromoTix positioned against Eventbrite with a clear advantage [00:07:17] The five essential components of a high-converting homepage [00:12:24] Crafting a CTA that overcomes hesitation [00:15:41] How to help visitors visualize the "aha moment" before signup  Links & Resources 💼 Connect with Wes Bush on LinkedIn 🧠 Sign up for the ProductLed Newsletter 📘 Get the ProductLed Playbook

In this episode, Wes Bush, founder and CEO of ProductLed, joins the Passetto team to discuss the critical shifts SaaS companies must make to win with product-led growth (PLG). Wes breaks down the misconceptions around PLG, why so many companies fail at it, and the 9 components needed to build a scalable PLG motion. We unpack what it takes to move beyond surface-level PLG and into a strategy that actually drives conversion, retention, and revenue. From onboarding mistakes to pricing psychology and team alignment, Wes brings a tactical, no-fluff approach to adopting PLG the right way. Key Takeaways: [00:03:19] Why most SaaS free trials fail with <1% conversion [00:06:31] Wes’s viral freemium product and the lesson on time-to-value [00:18:06] The 9 levers that drive a successful PLG motion [00:11:31] Why PLG isn’t just “slapping on” a free trial [00:21:02] How to fix retention issues before adding PLG [00:25:08] What to do when your product is high-priced ($5K–$10K) [00:26:40] When to bring in sales or support in a self-serve journey [00:38:00] The 5 signs your company is (or isn’t) ready for PLG [00:44:06] Early indicators your PLG motion is working Links: Carolyn Dilks LinkedIn Trevor Gibson LinkedIn Passetto Get the ProductLed Playbook here

In this episode, Wes Bush interviews Adam Robinson, founder of RB2B, about how they built a $5M ARR business in just 13 months. Adam reveals their approach to product development, founder-led marketing, and staying lean while competing in a new category they created. We explore the counterintuitive strategies that allowed RB2B to find rapid success by identifying website visitors at the individual level. Key Takeaways:   [00:01:13] RB2B's journey to $5M ARR with just 5 team members [00:03:30] How Adam's previous business getting stuck at $3M ARR led to retention.com [00:14:15] The viral LinkedIn content moment that sparked RB2B's creation [00:18:37] RB2B's approach to product validation with 300+ discovery calls [00:23:00] Creating a differentiated product with real-time website visitor identification [00:26:40] Pricing challenges and the journey to finding the right model [00:30:58] Creating massive awareness primarily through LinkedIn [00:35:30] The four main product challenges and their plans to overcome them

In this episode, we explore how to craft an irresistible offer that significantly increases signups with the same amount of traffic. Companies with compelling offers convert at much higher rates by making their value proposition more attractive. Key Takeaways: [03:00] Why strategy is the foundation of a good offer [00:04:06] Three major mistakes companies make with their offers [05:50] Introduction to the five-star offer generator framework [15:06] How to enhance your offer using exclusivity and bonuses [18:37] The five key sections of an effective offer page [32:04] Case study: How Promo Tix increased signups by 40% with their new offer [32:28] Actionable takeaways 

In this episode, the host Wes Bush shares findings from analyzing 446 B2B SaaS companies, revealing how self-serve revenue is the key factor that separates top performers from the rest. Companies with self-serve revenue outperform peers across all metrics and are nearly twice as likely to be profitable. Key Takeaways: [00:00:09] Introduction to self-serve revenue as the overlooked feature in B2B SaaS growth [00:00:38] Performance metrics of companies with self-serve revenue [00:01:44] Why self-serve revenue forces foundational business improvements [00:03:10] Intentional free models lead to better conversion rates [00:03:38] Time to value acts as a growth multiplier [00:04:06] Recommendations for companies at $0-$100K in self-serve revenue [00:05:00] Recommendations for companies at $100K-$500K [00:05:42] Recommendations for companies at $500K-$4M [00:06:50] Practical takeaways for all SaaS businesses Get the 2025 State of B2B SaaS here.

Discover the secrets to building and scaling a bootstrapped product-led business to seven-figure success. Our guest is Elie Khoury, the founder and CEO of Woopra, a company specializing in customer journey and product analytics.  Elie shares the nuances of when a product-led model makes sense (and when it doesn't), emphasizing the importance of swiftly establishing the perception of value. He also sheds light on AI's role in driving product-led growth strategies. Key Takeaways: [01:40] Strategic product-led evolution [07:50] AI Integration for quick value [15:00] AI as the next UI/UX iteration [18:00] Data control and AI [20:20] Reflecting on mistakes and learnings [28:45] Future of AI and product-led businesses About Elie Khoury: Elie is a product-first CEO who believes innovation and user experience are, above all else, the keys to creating great companies. Sales, marketing, recruiting, and every other aspect of a company is meaningless without an exceptional product. He co-founded Woopra, Inc., which Appier acquired in 2022.  Links:  Elie Khoury | LinkedIn