🏴☠️ ⚡️ Issue #16 - Portfolio Performance Wrap: Sprint no 4
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We are back with the final cut of Issue #16, a performance review of our last sprint 🤜🤛
Here’s what we covered in this issue:
Part 1 — 🎯 DEAL TEAR DOWN - Workflow Management SaaS for Print-on-Demand Facilities at $437 ARR
Part 2 — ⚙️ OPERATING CONCEPT - Mapping the buyer journey to inform content gaps and beyond
Part 3 — 🛠️ OKR TEAR DOWN - Decision-making framework for strategic investments
Part 4 — 🏆 PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE WRAP - Sprint #4 Wrap (7/3 - 8/11)
🏆 PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE WRAP
📺 WATCH:
📻 LISTEN:
🥅 BY THE NUMBERS
To kick us off, let’s take a look at MRR and active subscriber growth during the sprint period (Please note: the last sprint wrap looked at trailing 90 days to provide a broader picture, as it was the first time we disclosed these figures. Moving forward all reporting will align with the sprint period):
MRR & ACTIVE SUBSCRIBERS, 7/3 - 8/11
Comments & Observations:
The data points and analysis below tell the real story, though net positive growth in MRR (+1.6%) and active subscribers (+1%) is acceptable given the current stage of transformation.
As mentioned prior, we need to see ~3% monthly MRR growth to consider ourselves elite.
Let’s now dive into the business scorecard, which consolidates the metrics that are most critical to the business in our view:
WEEKLY PERFORMANCE, ROLLING 30 DAY VIEW
MONTHLY PERFORMANCE, YTD VIEW
Comments & Observations:
Trial Signups (#): we saw a big pop in July (relative to trial sign-ups last year), which we attribute to the new website and refreshed buyer journey. MoM continues to pace well with a 6% improvement this month, though we have yet to substantively lift the monthly average, which still sits at ~34 trial signups / month. We’re hopeful that the ambassador program will continue to gain momentum, as we kick off a webinar series to bolster novel content, all while our users transition out of their peak season (and are therefore more likely to adopt / change software), to drive exciting growth in trial sign-ups come fall.
New Paying Users (#): there was a 200% pop in new users this sprint, though we only had 1x new paying user in the previous period so this doesn’t knock our socks off. We have recently recommitted to owning the basics and starting with activities that don’t scale. As such, we’ve pivoted resources away from optimizing onboarding via in-app user guides (aka band aid solutions), to instead point energy toward a product UI refresh and providing 2x free hours of free setup guidance to really get in the trenches and validate key assumptions. This is a classic example of not addressing root issues and acting on half baked assumptions. The best way to inform a menu is to get in the kitchen with customers.
Trial to Paid Conversion (%): this metric has kept steady at ~8.5%, meaning for every 100 trial signups, we convert 8.5 users to paid. The median benchmark for comparable firms is 20%+. It’s time to face the music and invest in product enhancements.
Churn (#): Churn is EXTRAORDINARILY difficult to improve, and we inherited rather elite churn at 1.5%. That said, we’ve managed to make legitimate improvements here (-.15%), which we attribute to the support model optimizations (new CRM and ticket managing, plus a re-haul of the support center and product documentation).
Achieved Onboarded (%): for the time being, we’ve decided to deprecate this metric. As noted above, our investments in optimizing onboarding via in-app guides and email prompts was misguided. We are getting back to basics with manual implementation support (to establish and validate assumptions re high leverage onboarding support) and investments in product UX / UI (to solve for root onboarding and usage issues).
🛠️ EXECUTION DIAGNOSIS
We will analyze our execution in the context of the OKRs themselves. Our method includes an execution score, a reflection / diagnosis, and a view on how best to move forward…
OBJECTIVE #1:
Bolster the support function by implementing and training a proprietary LLM model
KEY RESULTS:
Pick a tech stack (home grown vs assembly of white label)
Treat bulk data and train bot (support tickets, knowledge base)
Integrate systems for ongoing training (Hubspot support and academy)
EXECUTION SCORE: 3 / 4
REFLECTION / DIAGNOSIS:
We’re very happy with our choice to utilize white label tools (just google ‘customer support ChatGPT bot’ and you’ll find a wide world of options), as it really accelerated our ability to stand up a tool and keep costs way down.
Though this was not encompassed in the OKR, there was definitely a sentiment across the team that we wished we’d spent more time actually testing the bot to build conviction / excitement re viability as a customer facing interface (to then justify continued energy and focus).
MOVING FORWARD:
We need a clear definition of what constitutes an accurate or sufficient response.
A ritual / system for comparing bot and human-generated responses .
OBJECTIVE #2:
Establish partner channel enablement to generate 10+ trial sign-ups in August
KEY RESULTS:
Create and provide relevant assets to support ambassador communication with their networks (templates: email, social)
Create and provide collateral and talk tracks to enable ambassadors to position and differentiate our product (ie “Why Product?,” “Product vs Competitors - Pros & Cons,” “Who’s not a fit?”)
Secure 3x affiliates, prioritized via performance for comparable vendors
EXECUTION SCORE: 3 / 4
REFLECTION / DIAGNOSIS:
We totally missed on establishing reporting / visibility to actually measure ambassador driven trial sign-ups. ‘You can’t improve what you don’t measure.’
Trial sign ups is a lagging indicator; we should have measured ambassador engagement as a function of social posts, email newsletter mentions, etc.
Lagging indicators (aka trial sign ups in this case) should not be the measurement proxy of a foundational activity in the same period. Said another way, we should measure trial sign ups from ambassador referrals in this upcoming sprint, now that the channel is established.
MOVING FORWARD:
Ritual / system for ongoing ambassador engagement and education.
Reporting update to encompass trial sign up source.
OBJECTIVE #3:
Budget and prioritization of strategic investments for ‘Grow Phase’
KEY RESULTS:
Successfully pivot retainers to project-based
Decision-making framework for strategic spend items
A defined list of strategic spend items (informed via framework) and working capital forecast
EXECUTION SCORE: 4 / 4
REFLECTION / DIAGNOSIS:
We generated a ~50% reduction in costs, enhanced real-time analytics into our finances (via databox and integration to Quickbooks), and have a clear line of sight re capital needs to accomodate product releases and beyond.
There were redundant conversations re personnel fit / performance concerns, which is a signal of indecision. As Bezos says, '“it’s not the bad decisions that kill you, it’s the indecisions.” We obviously should have acted faster on these items and not tolerated repetitive discussions…
MOVING FORWARD:
You might notice, ‘back to basics’ is becoming a theme as we move toward the next sprint. In this context, back to basics means recommitting to an objective scorecard for ALL personnel decisions and managing performance / accountability via crystal clear KPIs (or mutually agreed results expectations).
OBJECTIVE #4:
Establish product roadmap to inform investments (fixing vs net new; prioritizing new paid user)
KEY RESULTS:
Identify top 5 features / modules that need fixing based on historical support tickets
Identify top 5 feature requests
Identify top 5 features to sunset
Establish a decision making framework for how we invest in product, shown in product roadmap so we can make decisions and communicate to stakeholders (aka product backlog with defined columns, scoring, etc.)
Write a product roadmap brief that is user-facing
EXECUTION SCORE: 4 / 4
REFLECTION / DIAGNOSIS:
We are super proud of the work here. Most importantly, it’s given the team and our users a sense of pride in what we’re doing. The transition to substantive improvements (as opposed to fixing and improving) put a ton of wind in our sails and is a very welcome change of pace.
MOVING FORWARD:
Ensure flawless feature releases to continue building confidence in our execution here with users.
🌱 ACHIEVEMENTS & LEARNING
TOP LEARNING LESSONS
Many objectives are iterative; thus, it is very unlikely you’ll see results via impact / lagging indicators in the same time period you execute the objective. As an example, if you establish an ambassador program this sprint, measure ambassador referrals in the next. Be realistic about momentum.
An objective framework for all investment decisions will RADICALLY accelerate the decision making process. A slight pause to establish the framework is beyond worth the improved efficiency moving forward.
Your users are your greatest asset. This sounds obvious, as most fundamental concepts do, though it’s worth mentioning here and constantly reinforcing to ensure we keep this notion front and center.
Any given OKR likely requires a reporting step so you can measure results. Simply put, there should be a reporting-oriented key result for any objective that establishes a new dimension for the business.
TOP ACHIEVEMENTS / HIGHLIGHTS
50% reduction in costs.
.15% improvement in churn.
Notable shift in the tone of our facebook group, very positive / constructive / optimistic.
Webinar series is rolling.
The first substantive product roadmap is in the wild and users are PSYCHED.