Inside Hootsuite’s PLG journey

🔥 Head of Product Growth Partho Ghosh on the transition from sales-led to product-led

You don’t hear much about the successful transitions from a sales-led focused business to a product-led business. 

Many folks have tried only to run into insurmountable challenges along the way. Potential stumbling blocks include:

• Lack of internal DNA and skills. The team that built your existing business might not be the team that can transform it.

• Lack of internal buy-in. Expect to see tensions between the PLG team and the rest of the org over engineering resources, website real estate, which leads can go to sales, and much more.

• Lack of immediate pay-off. It can take 12-18 months before the PLG motion generates meaningful revenue. If you’re looking for quick growth, look elsewhere.

But when it works, the transition to product-led can reignite growth and be well worth the wait. 

One example I’ve been following is Hootsuite, the OG social media management platform. Founded in 2008, Hootsuite provides an all-in-one platform for social media managers to plan, collaborate, and analyze their s…