Samuel Johns

We have a new addition to the VentureFizz weekly email (signup here: https://lnkd.in/eMWsg9U). Announcing Boston Tech Time Warp!!! It's crazy to think that I've been publishing this email for something like 15 years (how is that possible???). I started archiving the emails 10 years ago, so I thought it would be fun to look back at the archives each week. I'll pull pieces of info through the years. So... what was happening in the Boston tech scene 10 years ago on January 5th, 2015??? * Who raised capital?  Swoop, Qualtre, Appcues * Event: the next WebInno event was coming up featuring Flyp, RocketBoard, & Upware Labs. * Some of the companies who were hiring: Swipely, Codeship, Backupify, Digital Lumens, CloudHealth, & Kiva Systems. * Blog post: Matt Fates (a VC at Innospark Ventures but was at Ascent Venture Partners at the time) published a blog post titled: The New Normal: Cloud, It’s Not Just Early Adopters Anymore - READ Part 1: https://lnkd.in/dDcNJbFr Part 2: https://lnkd.in/deBzUrNp

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A standard approach to new hire equity for public tech companies is a new hire grant ~2x the refresh grant, followed by annual refreshes, all with 4-year standard vest. The problem with this approach is the big drop off in vesting in Year 5 — in effect, you’re signaling to employees that’s the time to leave. How can we avoid this cliff? A simple way to accomplish this goal is with the combination of a front-loaded new hire grant and ratable refreshes. The key drivers to make this program work are: Front-loading the NH grant — this helps eliminate the cliff in year 5 Reducing the NH grant multiple — this also reduces the cliff, and lowers total spend Moving to 3-year vests — this pulls more vesting value forward Notice this actually saves the company money too. When we lower our new hire multiple from 2.0x to 1.5x, should we be worried it’s less attractive to the candidate? I think no, for a very specific reason: people rationally discount future value. Check out my full post below. 👇 And this isn't the only solution - how else can you adapt your stock comp design to minimize cliffs? #compensation #totalrewards

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Every company & every product has a name. Yet, few folks truly know how to name one. I’ve named companies and products for startups and big brands. I wrote a post this week about naming the Uber One subscription, and Paul A. responded with a request to write a post about the process. Challenge accepted! Let's start by saying that there are plenty of successful companies and products with bad names. Facebook (so lame), Spotify (what), and even Instagram (now everyone just calls it IG). But a good name is a tailwind. And building a business is all about generating tailwinds. Scrub Daddy - instantly makes it fun Shark - a vacuum that looks like a shark and a name you won’t forget Airbnb - fun and easy to remember—unlike VRBO Apple - for a computer! Love it Skims - so simple So, how do you name a company or product? Here are steps to a simple & comprehensive naming process. Step 1 - Brainstorm A well-structured brainstorm is key. You need the right people in the room, with the right prompts, in an environment comfortable enough for all ideas. The goal is to generate as many names as possible. This is a good opportunity to include stakeholders so they feel part of the input. Step 2 - Evalutation criteria Be specific about your needs, and exhaustive. Your criteria will generally have things like: Trademarking - can we own the trademark in our category? Domains available - if a company, what domains can we get? Internationalization - does this word have meanings in other languages? I recently heard about a startup named Corva, a very bad word for anyone who speaks a Slavic language. Don’t make this simple mistake! Alternate meanings - does this name have multiple meanings? Connotations test - Positive or negative connotations? Relatedness - does this communicate a key aspect of our product? Differentiated - how different is this from our competitors? Etc. Make sure your stakeholders approve the criteria! Your criteria will likely remove 90% of your ideas to help you filter. I recommend using a spreadsheet with your criteria as columns. This creates a simple tool to filter names by criteria easily. Step 3 - Picking a name The hardest part of the process is buy-in. Naming is more of an art than a science. I've generally used a voting process. Some tips: - Put the final names into a deck with the finalists used on the website, packaging, ads, etc., so your team can see it in situ. - DO NOT include the internal code name. It will always win the top votes as it is the most familiar. Even your smartest, most discerning colleagues will fall for the familiarity trap. I saw it at Uber many times. Step 4 - Sell it Unveil the name with a splash! We often did this by creating fun campaign examples with the new name. We made social media posts, billboards, and even ad campaigns to show the team how the name would bring their work to life. Happy naming!

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A simple breakdown of announcing new features, and great advice for any copywriter!😍

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Roon's most recent launch, Roon Fertility, is an exciting one. If you're navigating a fertility journey, or are even fertility curious, I encourage you to check it out! It's a labor of love that brings you trusted responses to any question – all through short-form videos and AI instant answers, powered by fertility experts. From the very basics (Should I freeze my eggs? What factors impact male fertility?) to the most specific (Can I do PGT-M to select embryos without the BRCA mutation?). Personally, it's been a dream to work with my childhood idol (and name twin), Olympian Tara Lipinski, to bring this to life. Check out this People article on why she's passionate about Roon: https://lnkd.in/e3BpxgdY & join Roon for free at roon.com

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One of the concerns I hear often from healthcare services operators regarding Arya's fully-automated caregiver scheduling: "We already have a relationship problem with the caregiver. If we use these automations, that's one less chance to build a relationship." This seems misguided to me, when thinking about building "Psychological Contracts". Psychological contracts are unspoken agreements that define the relationship between employers and employees. These contracts are almost more important than employment contract in healthcare services. And so, operators are right to worry about this. However, research suggests 3 important things about psychological contracts: 1. Psychological Contracts are Formed Early On: The best time to form these is during hiring and onboarding, not during "transactional conversations"- like scheduling 2. Over-delivering on Your Employment Contract Strengthens Psychological Contract: The employment contract dictates that you pay people for work. And so, tools that get them work more fairly, transparently and efficiently actually improves their satisfaction. 3. Non-transactional Moments are Powerful: Engaging with caregivers during times when there is no immediate demand allows for open dialogue and relationship strengthening. And so, thinking about strengthening a relationship during a mundane moment like scheduling may not be the best approach. In stead, focus on automating the mundane, so you can create time to optimize the meaningful. #homecare #homecareagencies #homehealth #PostAcuteCare #healthcareworkers #skillednursing #personalcare

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It’s NY Tech week and my new favorite thing is teaching underrepresented founders how to talk back to investors. So many of them ask me for help fundraising, and I get it. I may not always think of myself as an expert, since I’m lucky enough to surround myself with people who are much more experienced at it than I am. But we did do it successfully once, raising more than $3M along the way with little more than a deck, a dream, and an incredible founding team. Of course, we’re all aware that this success puts us in the teeny tiny cohort of startups who raise without a traditional-looking founding team. So what’s the common theme in my advice to non-traditional founders at the early stage? Push back. It’s easy to get intimidated by investors. They’re smart, aggressive, and ask really hard questions. It can be hard to remember that YOU are the expert on your market. They are generalists. Even if they have strong opinions on your market, it’s OK to tell them when you think they’re wrong. In fact, if you have the conviction and confidence (plus evidence to back it up), disagreeing with your prospective investors can even be seen as an advantage. When a VC asks you a question at the pre-seed stage about your path to $100M in ARR, it’s OK to say “dude, we’re a pre-seed company. I know what our path is to get to a million, and we will have a lot to figure out after that.” Now, this only works if you have a track record that can support your confidence. Or if you don’t know the answer, but you DO know HOW you’re going to figure it out, talk about the path from experimentation to scalability. It’s better than making up a bunch of stuff that you’ll probably throw out eventually, and VCs will respect your focus and defense of your precious little time. Plus, they can usually tell if your confidence is lacking in your answer, anyway. This investor market is a tricky one, but never forget that they (investors) need you (founders) just as much as you need them. And hey, if you’re an up and coming female or underrepresented founder, and you need some help (or just a pep talk) I’d love to help. Happy Tech Week everyone!!

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Some of the best threads in the Healthy Competition community... aren't even about competitive intel or product marketing. They're usually found in the "careers" channel. Some of the most recent topics have been around: - how to navigate layoffs - creating "win docs" to use when asking for raises - fractional work - job interview tips - growing beyond director-level titles - what to do when you're juggling too many requests I don't think this element in a community is talked about enough. Usually, they're marketed as a place to get the TACTICS, TEMPLATES, FRAMEWORKS, etc. for a certain role. And yeah, we certainly share those things in the Healthy Competition community for competitive intel and product marketing. But what's equally as important, IMO, is just seeing how other folks in your role are navigating their work life. There are some nuances with the CI and PMM roles that make it more relatable and resonant when you hear it from people in those roles vs. general marketers, sellers, product managers, etc. That's where I see the majority of people connecting with one another and experiencing the real value of community.

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Lessons from the growth team trenches: ✅ The allure of experimentation without first setting a clear strategy creates chaotic fragmentation. Too much fragmented energy is debilitating. WIP ✅ I've grown into a decent (non-technical) product manager, but it's not my career endgame. TBD ✅ I love solving a clear goal with an unclear path.  ✅ I thrive in a self-led, small-team environment. Divide & dominate.  ✅ Having fun is a choice not an output.  More to come... #BigLittleThings #plg

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CAREER ADVICE: BE A FUNCTIONAL SPECIALIST A friend messaged me: "At my startup, I’m technically a product manager but have taken on a much broader, generalist role. I’ve been juggling sales, product, engineering, ops, and more. I’m wondering if I should focus on something specific instead, like honing down into just the product role. Would love to hear your thoughts and advice!" My reply: "Be a functional specialist. As the startup grows, the top change they will make is to hire specialists. As a generalist, you'll almost certainly be sidelined and ultimately exited. You need to choose your functional path - I'd recommend product - and become excellent at it. This is the way to career success and growth." The only situation this advice wouldn't apply is if someone is transitioning from I-Banking or Consulting into an Operating role, where it will likely be into a Chief of Staff role.

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Guess what - it's Thursday! Only 1 more power play to go! Next Topic: How to Make Messaging Stick "I’ve seen messaging make or break a launch. One of my first big PMM projects taught me this: if your audience doesn’t feel the value, they won’t care about your product. Here’s a messaging Power Play: 1️⃣ Use your audience’s exact words—dig them out of reviews, surveys, or sales calls. 2️⃣ Focus on emotional drivers first. Logic supports the decision, but emotion drives it. 3️⃣ Test, test, and test again. Messaging is never ‘done.’ I once turned around a project just by rewording the headline —it tripled the click-through rate. What’s one messaging tweak that’s worked wonders for you? Let's hear some insights from the experts: Elizabeth Brigham Maggie Bean Yi Lin Pei Katie Gerard

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When I took this CMO job at Consumer Reports (CR), a number of people reacted with surprise that I wasn’t going to another tech company after six years at Stack Overflow. The reality is every company is a tech company (or at least aspires to be), and the evolving tech at CR is one of the things that compelled me to join. As valuations surge the more a company mentions gen AI, more and more companies are creating products that will never achieve market fit — products that aren’t solving real problems. I’m bullish on the current startup ecosystem but for every diamond there are 20 duds. CR is not only working to inform people of what this frenetic moment in tech means for them (a surge in scams, increasing data breaches, etc.), we’re also harnessing gen AI to solve real problems for real people. What’s more annoying than the analysis paralysis that comes with a major (or minor) purchase decision? Enter AskCR - a new benefit we’re rolling out to members that relies on our decades of testing and 10,000+ ratings and reviews to expertly answer everything from “what’s the best air purifier for a 1300 square foot apartment?” to highlighting the best cars for short people (really!). I’m excited to highlight more and more of these benefits over time and to keep showcasing how innovative this 88 year old organization is today! https://lnkd.in/eYA-s2wZ

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I chatted with a founder this morning on how Luminous built a strong demand engine. "So did you just redo your website and then drive paid traffic?" Hardly! In order, we: 1) Spent months building out a video led content engine 2) Got SUPER clear on our strategic narrative and messaging 3) Built the website around that content and narrative 4) Invested in an incredible top of funnel ad to bring more awareness 5) Launched paid media If we didn't have the content engine and strong messaging at our core, the best website and paid media traffic truthfully, would go to waste.

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I’m gonna mix a little bit of info with a lil sharing. If you know me this is pretty standard behavior. I was chatting with someone about programmatic direct mail and incrementality. When I think of incrementality I think of stickiness vs reach. Showing your ad to a new person is dope, but the data shows that channel diversification is more about breaking through the noise then unlocking a new audience. If you’re spending in the millions there’s a pretty good chance you’re hitting a lot of your target demo on digital channels. Tell me the last 10 meta ads you saw? 5? Tell me one meta ad you saw today? (This brings up another convo of frequency in this evolved digital age but Idk best practices) it takes a lot for something to stick so if you’re going to a new channel for incrementaltiy choose channels that are going to stick. Hence programmatic DM. When you start testing I’d think of it as a lift channel. Part of your lifecycle nurture flow. Test with unconverted audiences and see if it lifts. Then use the lifted to lal for prospecting. Ok the other thing. I was chatting with a brilliant marketer who complemented my posts and it gave me the biggest imposter syndrome ever. I thought about it a bit and I think it’s because all of these posts are the results of failures, experiments, and learning from other great marketers. Plan A has worked so rarely I could count it on my hands. The speedy pivot to plan B, C, & D is the real gold. I’m learning new stuff constantly because I care about marketing (I’m learning about social media right now). I’ll probably suck at it for a bit and then I’ll get good and write something about it if I think it can be helpful. Idk just thought I’d share.

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It's Friday, so time for my "Marketplace find Fridays" post! Here's a few early stage marketplaces I'm excited about: -Runzy, a platform for finding & booking running races, along with coaches (Greg Rublev) -Pickle, a jobs marketplace for clinicians (Kara A.) -I Have This Friend, a curated marketplace for booking services in food, style, events, & more (Emily Persky) -Roofer.com, an AI-enabled marketplace for roofing services & repairs (Nathan M) -Peggy, a social marketplace for buying & selling contemporary art (Craig Follett) These are some really cool marketplaces, so I think you'll enjoy learning more about & maybe even using them!

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Having only worked in product marketing at early-stage startups, I often wondered what it's like in larger organizations. Especially coz the PMM role can vary so much. In some companies, PMMs focus solely on sales enablement. In others, it’s competitive intelligence. And then there are the generalist roles where you’re doing a lil bit of everything—messaging, positioning, comp intel, sales enablement, and more. So, what’s truly at the heart of product marketing? Enablement! 🔷 Enabling content and demand gen teams to craft material that aligns with the core messaging. 🔷 Enabling sales and customer success teams to deliver talk tracks that are clear and compelling for prospects and customers. 🔷 Enabling internal stakeholders with actionable comp intel—not just feature comparisons but insights like a competitor’s new CxO hire, a pricing change, or a major partnership announcement. PMMs should be the glue that aligns every team together.

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📊 Melinda Tellez is a data scientist, strategist and leader with a proven track record of unlocking organizational growth through data-driven insights 📊 It's W12 / Q4 / 2024 and this week in our MGMT Boston up & coming operator series we’ve got Melinda, who collaborates with informatics teams, engineers, and business leaders to deliver impactful solutions that align with strategic goals as the Director of Data Science at Clarify Health Solutions , an enterprise analytics and value-based payments platform company. With comprehensive experience across the data and MLOps lifecycle, Melinda specializes in designing, developing, deploying, and maintaining analytics and machine learning models. She has delivered predictive analytics, retrospective modeling, and cutting-edge solutions tailored to various payer and provider use cases. At Clarify, she started by building and maintaining ML and predictive analytics pipeline architectures at the company. But the role evolved into also ensuring high post-processing observability and creating robust reporting capabilities for customers to interpret the data. 📝 Architecting Solutions: A Problem-Solving Approach 📝 In both her professional and non-profit roles, Melinda approaches data architecture much like a doctor diagnosing patients—she begins by asking her "patients" to share their pain points. After all, everyone faces data challenges, and Melinda excels at guiding stakeholders to uncover and articulate solutions. Before diving into design, it’s crucial to ask: -What are the specific pain points your organization faces? -Where are you aiming to create impact? -What datasets, tools, teams, or infrastructure do you already have to support these concerns? The answers to these questions establish a foundation of understanding and provide critical insights for mapping an architectural path—from conception to production. Addressing the common bottlenecks: Most challenges arise in the middle of the process. Often, people struggle to clearly define their problem or articulate their desired outcome. Conversely, individuals may rush to a solution without evaluating their options. She encourages teams to frame challenges thoughtfully, ensuring workflows and solutions advance their ultimate goals to where they want to be. 2 Career Insights for Data Professionals 🔎 Attention to Detail is Key – Especially in Healthcare Healthcare data is among the most complex to work with due to changing and complex regulations and the dynamics between payers and providers. If you're considering a career as a data scientist or analyst in this space, a deep passion for understanding the industry will go a long way. 🙇‍♀️ Commit to Constant Evolution The data science field—along with its tools and technologies—is evolving at lightning speed. To thrive, you must embrace lifelong learning and adapt to industry changes as well as focus on building expertise in areas that align with your strengths and career goals.

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There's a new growth strategy on the block. And I'm dubbing it "The U-Haul Playbook." It's when a founder moves to where their target market lives. Not everyone can do this. Few should. But the real takeaway is in understanding why this matters. Customer discovery is the most important activity for a startup founder who is in pre-market phase, MVP phase, or seed stage. Spoiler alert: the importance never ends, but the tactics can change as you grow. I wrote a bit about this trend and how to think about customer discovery in my latest beehiiv for Five Four!

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Here's this week's column, about layoffs, format changes, and how the listeners are the last to know, which sucks if you're trying to build loyalty and engagement: https://lnkd.in/eJbnKga4

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