Taking a product-led growth approach to building features

Hey everyone 👋

Background:

I've been familiar with product-led growth (PLG) as a go-to-market strategy for a while now - mainly through exposure at my job and as an avid reader of Reforge/a16z blogs.

But something was missing...

I had no practical experience, and struggled with motivation to market and distribute my products.

I started brainstorming ideas (collaborative podcasting web-app, Google Sheets SMS/Email service, another Twitter analytics tool) that I thought could use PLG well, but ultimately landed on the one I'm currently building - Tippy.

The concept is simple. You support creators by tipping them through Twitter. Twitter Tips wasn't released back in February 2021 when I first built the MVP over a weekend, but it sure was when I released it publicly on December 7th, 2021.

Release early, and often folks 😅

Feature mini-breakdown: Tippy's Transactional Replies

For a product like Tippy - the mention system built into most social platforms has been a focus. It provides a form of virality and quick time-to-value (TTV).

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The replies are public, on-platform, and visual in threads. When a supporter tips a creator they are simultaneously engaging with and promoting the product - aiming to kick-start a viral loop.

They have two desired outcomes:

Tell the user someone has sent them money (nudging them into the product to see their tips)
Tell a potential user that someone has tried to send them money (a strong signal to nudge them towards the product)

The second helps drive a quick TTV:

See the tip notification
Sign up on Tippy
Receive the tip shortly after.

An extra benefit of using on-platform replies (instead of emails, in-app notifications, etc) is leveraging the push notifications already built into the platform.

Users have the trust and habit of opening notifications from the service so Tippy piggy-backs on this to deliver its value. I'll continue iterating on the copy to drive more engagement with the replies over time.

Thanks for reading! Happy to answer questions, and I love all feedback.

About me:

I'm Geordi, a maker from New Zealand building Tippy. I have a number of not-launched projects in the graveyard but 2022 is the year of releasing, learning, and growing a profitable business.