Ryan Smith

Community-led ecosystem partnerships are a big part of my work at Glide. But what *is* a community-led ecosystem partnership? 🤔 Here's how I break it down: -- A community is a persistent, connected group of people with something in common. Our Glide community includes Glide Experts (no-code agencies & freelancers), business customers, and indiehackers/makers. -- Each of these groups have their own ecosystems, and within those ecosystems there are recurring names of influential people and frequently used products. (How do we know? Because we listen to our community members talk about 'em! 😅) -- Starting from there, we do our research: Who are our members talking about? How do we complement them? Where do we intersect? Can we do something together? What would a Minimum Viable Partnership look like? This is the same approach I took when leading local user groups. We'd pay close attention to what our members needed/wanted, and then we'd do the legwork to bring the right people or companies in. It's even better when a potential partner has their own community and we have members in common (something that platforms like Crossbeam and Reveal can help us uncover). Bottom line? We're putting our community *first* and extrapolating from there. So instead of approaching a potential partner with a generic pitch about mutual success, etc etc... we approach it from the mindset of serving our members. #communitymanagement #communitymanager #communityled #partnerships #ecosystem #b2bsaas

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Those who know me well know that I'm a big proponent of projects / ideas / choices that are the right answer to multiple questions. In my chat with Kathryn Coulter and Karl Yeh of Benevity's "The Social Impact Show", I talk about how this approach informs various choices I've made in work and life. The choice to be vegan or bike everywhere are the right answers to multiple questions. The decision to become #BCorp certified, embrace #employeeownership, and prioritize #sustainability are all also the right answers to multiple questions. When I come across opportunities like these in my work life, I pursue them because they allow me to multiply the positive effects of my limited work time. Why spend time doing something that's the best possible answer to one question when I can be doing something that's the right answer to multiple questions? This approach is also baked into Unwrapit's unique approach to corporate & event gifting... our team has created a solution for corporate and event gifting that we truly believe is the right answer to multiple questions. Questions like.. - How do we build strong #relationships in a digital-first world when the people we're trying to reach are all over the place? - How do we free up precious time and brain space while still sending a thoughtful gift to a large group of recipients on a special occasion? - How do we gather data and insights from a large group of recipients without losing the human touch? - How do we reduce our company or event's CO2 #emissions to ensure we're not saying one thing about the environment and then reverting to the old ways of doing things? Check out the full episode of The Social Impact Show for more thoughts on what how we're revolutionizing social impact with corporate gifting. Enjoy! 😀 🍿

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The biggest learning curve of this #community role? Getting comfortable with rejection 👎🏻 At first, from time-to-time, I would slow roll outreach to some folks asking them to join a podcast, or provide us with product feedback. "I think they'll be too busy," I thought, or, "What if they ignore me?" Even worse, "What if we waste our one chance to connect with them?" Salespeople tend to be really good at dealing with this sort of rejection. #Legal professionals are not. 🚫 About 1/3 of my podcast invites don't get a response. 🚫 I'd say a full 1/2 of my dinner/coffee invites don't get responses. 🚫 Interestingly, maybe only 1/3 of my asks for product feedback are ignored -- legal professionals are a lot more interested in seeing the latest tech than they get credit for! BUT ... I've had incredible folks who I thought wouldn't reply get back to me in minutes. I've discovered that people who I'd never expect are nerds about #legaltech. I've consistently found that people would rather be asked if they want to join something and get to make the choice for themselves! And to build something new, whether it's a company or a community, you've got to become comfortable with rejection.

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I’m frequently asked about our tech stack at Mosaic.. which is awesome because it gives me an excuse to write a nerdy LinkedIn post about it! As a tech-enabled GC, we have a very cross-functional team of designers and full stack engineers. Our real secret sauce (and the challenge of any full stack / tech-enabled business) is how operations and technology collaborate. This has a much greater impact than our tech stack, but for those curious - here it is! :-)  TypeScript React NextJS tRPC Tailwind Postgres AWS (Lambda, RDS, S3, ECS, Cloudfront) SST If you’re in software or con-tech (and interested in learning more), let me know and I can share more about how we’re using them. Or, if you’re tracking other softwares relevant to the construction or real estate industry, feel free to drop them in the comments below. I’d love to see the industry do more technology sharing!

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Who better to talk about Shopify's trajectory and future than Benjamin Lang • OLY.? In our 50th podcast episode, I had an extremely interesting conversation with Benjamin about a lot of awesome topics that are close to my heart, and I can't be more excited about what's happening in the Shopify ecosystem. For example: • B2B features • From only online commerce to commerce in the more broad sense of the word • The focus on TCO • Customer centricity I'm very grateful I had the chance to talk to Benjamin, and I hope we can do it again some time in the near future as things are moving so fast. Thanks a lot for your time and effort Benjamin! #deardigital #shopify #podcast

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Finding work-life balance as a product leader is challenging. Many ambitious people feel guilty when they prioritize their work over spending quality time with loved ones. In our latest episode of the Supra Insider podcast, Jeff Whitlock (CEO of Grain) shared his guiding principle to find balance – "not all times are created equal." The core of this principle lies in recognizing that certain moments hold greater significance than others. The trick is to learn to tell which moments are important and focus on them. When things are less important, it's okay to step back and spend your time and energy on other things. This idea works for both your personal life and your job. For example, if your daughter's ballet recital is really important to her, you should be there, even if it means taking a break from work. But if you have a crucial board meeting, putting more time into work will pay dividends. During our conversation, we talked about other interesting topics too, like: • Why a product background makes Jeff a more effective CEO • How Grain prioritizes building intuitive software in a crowded space including Jeff’s philosophy on killing features • The exploding tech scene in Utah • How Jeff builds conviction • And more! Ben Erez and I had a lot of fun with this conversation, and we think you'll also enjoy it. Episode links in the comments 👇

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🚀 How does a product-led organization like Tacit Edge scale? It's all about leveraging our incredible network of founders who turn challenges into opportunities! 🔍 Here are some of the "problem-tunities" Renee and I are tackling: 1️⃣ Social Media Handoff: After crafting our social content and learning the ropes, how do we pass the baton to someone who can elevate our game? 2️⃣ Weekend Workload: How can we reduce the weekend hours spent on back-office tasks and content creation that spill over from the week? 3️⃣ Vacation Balance: How can one founder take a break without overburdening the other? 4️⃣ Operational Efficiency: How do we escape routine tasks that detract from revenue-generating activities, allowing us to do more with less? 🌐 Our product was built for scale, and utilized worldwide in versatile ways, ensuring we deliver efficiently every single day. Renee and I were born for that work, so that has never been a hindrance to our growth. But operationalizing with a great product is a problem-tunity we need to hire for. 🌟 As we stretch beyond our comfort zone, we're excited to welcome Billy James to the team! Just two weeks in, and Billy is already transforming how we manage our social media, I have a line of site to free Saturdays!!! 🎉 2024 has been monumental, and it's only April! A huge shout-out to Virtual Gurus for quickly connecting us with top-notch talent, and to my founder bestie Bobbie Racette for helping write Tacit's story in vibrant, colours with your incredible product!! Here's to solving problems creatively and scaling smartly in a way that works for our business! #ProductLedGrowth #StartupLife #TeamExpansion #OperationalExcellence #ThankYouVirtualGurus #TacitEdge

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There is a lot to chew on in this great article by Maggie Appleton (Maggie Appleton), called Barefoot Developers. About how large language models might enable new kinds of software, free of the demands of industrial scale, unicorn-ness, and venture capital. Software that might be made for, say, a dozen people. If you are involved in software, this is worth your time to read. https://lnkd.in/eZA_uVYf

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Lenny Rachitsky I listened to your amazing podcast with Todd Jackson about product market fit. The 4P framework ( persona, problem, is amazing. All the benchmarks, strategies, and tactics that Todd Jackson shared are spot on. Recently, Sequoia Capital put out a solid framework, the ARC Product Market Fit Framework for Hair On Fire, Hard Fact, and Future Vision. When I combine these two, 4P relates well with the Hair on Fire category of the products. I wonder how the 4P framework would work with the products' Hard Fact and Future Vision categories. Lenny Rachitsky Todd Jackson I wish I could hear more about PMF in the Hard Fact and Future Vision categories. For rest, These are amazing content about #productmanagement, #productmarket fit, #startups Here are links: 1. This is the link to the entire podcast: https://lnkd.in/eTX5tGtE 2. This is where the 4P description starts: https://lnkd.in/eTX5tGtE 3. This is the link to the ARC Product Market Fit podcast. https://lnkd.in/ezprPT-Q

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👋 Hey product hiring managers! You may have noticed dozens of people now with a new certificate from the Alberta Product Leadership Program. If you manage or are prospectively seeking a new PM to join your team, you should know that: 1) The program is selective. You can't just sign-up. Since it's inception, the program has sought to upskill professionals that have shown their motivation for growth and desire to hone their product management craft. 2) The graduates get broader exposure to practices and industries beyond their resume. Our sessions are interactive and facilitate sharing of perspectives and ways of working across multiple organizations - from grassroots startups to FAANG giants. 3) There's more to it than training. During the course of the program, many participants gain mentorship, build a supportive peer group, and get out of their comfort zone. The program is refreshed every year by hiring managers just like you to optimize for the skills we need to hire and promote for. So if you see the APL certificate with a candidate profile, know that candidate choose to do more than your average course. #abtech #yyctech #yegtech #productmanagement

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🚨**New Episode Alert | The Pair Program Ep46: The Rise of Fractional Tech Leadership**🚨   In this week’s episode, we're thrilled to host Dan Maccarone and Matt Walnock, two titans of tech leadership. Dan, a master of product design and co-founder of Charming Robot, has crafted strategies for giants like Hulu and Foursquare. Matt, a seasoned technologist and co-founder of Longitude 77, brings decades of expertise in mentoring tech teams and optimizing engineering processes.   🎙️ Dive deep into the world of fractional tech leadership as we explore: - The critical role of fractional CPOs and CTOs in aligning product and engineering with business goals. - The unique challenges and opportunities that come with integrating fractional leaders into existing teams. - Practical insights for companies considering fractional leadership to propel their growth.   💡 Whether you’re eyeing a fractional leadership role or just curious about its impact on tech innovation, this episode is packed with invaluable insights.   🔗 Links to the full episode in comments below 👇   #TechLeadership #FractionalLeadership #StartupGrowth #ThePairProgram

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In the last 18 months of building Clappit we have tested, broken and rebuilt the product extensively to rethink how we can impact engineers at scale. Today we move with a calm confidence into the journey and pivot of truly serving world class companies. The conversations in the last few months and ahead are leading us to the center of the cloud and AI world. For those who are in the cloud space, there are exciting times ahead with the added cherry of AI on top transforming the way things are done from here on.

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Take it from me, there’s no better way to learn excellent and practical ways to overhaul your experimentation efficacy! Erin makes critical thinking fun and highly accessible in this workshop, June 11:

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Reflecting on some recent advising sessions, something I don't see talked about as much is how critical it is to have an incredibly strong, unified* Design leadership team in order to build an even stronger design team and product. Why this is so critical 👇 What I’ve seen happen when you DON’T have that unified Design leadership team: 1. Massive gaps in the user experience – Let’s start with the obvious one. When Design leaders are staying neatly in their corners and not communicating, the experience degrades pretty quickly. Especially where the "seams" of their teams/org are. We've all seen (and let's be real…probably have been guilty of at times) the navigation structure that clearly shows the org chart vs. what users actually need. This can happen way too quickly without that unified team. 2. A lack of Design’s ability to influence product direction — The best Design leadership teams work together, pushing each other, to have a unified perspective of what the big things are to tackle in the user experience that leverages the unique expertise of the Design functions, all the way from it being grounded in research, to it having a compelling narrative. When they have that unified perspective and are all consistently sharing that perspective, it is so much easier for cross-functional partners to understand and buy-in on it. 3. Design works against Design — When Design leaders don't have a shared perspective on what is important (both in the user experience and the culture), don't have the right level of visibility into each other's work, or even worse, when they don't have mutual respect for each other, it leads to the leaders (mostly) inadvertently working against the progress of the other leaders/teams vs. together toward a unified vision. 4. A limit to the flexibility and scalability of the Design team – To build great experiences at scale, having the flexibility of shifting people to focus on different parts of the product is critical. When the culture and processes are dramatically, instead of it being exciting for that person to focus on a new space, it is incredibly disorienting, slows everything down, and can quickly lead to burnout. *A note on when I say "unified". I don't mean at all that they agree on everything. In fact, the opposite. They push each other the most, early and often. However, they have shared respect, cultivated by their leader, and shared responsibility around aligning within a timely manner. THEN they support each other in any way they can with hurdles they may each face (e.g. cross-functional buy-in or team-wide communication). ——— Is this interesting? Let me know if you want me to share more on how exactly you can cultivate this strong design leadership team –OR– if you want more personalized advice around this, set up some time with me here: https://lnkd.in/g-vyymtW

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Turning gaps into opportunities with Adhesion Connect for Jobber! When I noticed a crucial integration issue with Jobber, I didn't just stand by—I took action. I joined their developer program and spearheaded the creation of Adhesion Connect for Jobber. Now, the app is live, reducing churn and empowering users like never before. Dive into my journey of innovation, as I help redefine what's possible in the home service industry!

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📣 CALLING ALL #TECH, #INNOVATION AND #STARTUP FOLKS 📣 JOIN US: This Thursday, June 20th RSVP 👇>https://lnkd.in/g_7S8J6f Otsy is sponsoring Scared to Scale, a monthly mixer series followed by a quarterly pitch competition where founders have a chance to walk away with up to $10,000 in #investment #capital. The goal is to build a thriving community, opportunity and foundation for early stage #entrepreneurs. #LasVegas is no #SiliconValley but it's #tech 💻 scene is growing fast. To no surprise, the city is anchored by gaming, but what may catch you off guard is that it's one of the top cities in the world for #autonomouscars 🚘 and paving the way for the future of driverless transportation. Here's a list of innovative companies that are either based in or have a headquarters in Las Vegas: Deloitte (RND firm) Zoox (Autonomous cars) Draft Kings (Online betting) Switch (Cloud and security) 2K (Video Gaming) Viator (Travel tech) VIM world (Gaming/metaverse) Motional (Autonomous cars) Vay.io (Autonomous cars) Halo.car (Autonomous cars) Aptiv (Autonomous cars) Fortress.io (Blockchain) Boyd Gaming (Casino Gaming)

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Great article by Homecrux about the Prelaunch Idea Validation tool.

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I remember chatting with Steve Jobs when he would come to our office at IDEO with his most intractable design problems. He was so much more than the co-founder of Apple. He was the man who truly merged technology and design. The man who raised consumer expectations for thoughtfully made products. The man who gave users not what they asked for, but what upon seeing it, is what they wanted all along. His influence still looms large more than a dozen years after his passing. Even the staunchest critics of Apple can’t deny he helped shape the modern design and business world. We often ask: “What does it take to make the next Steve Jobs?” I interviewed dozens of designers, design scholars, entrepreneurs, and CEOs on the role of design in Silicon Valley. My research led me to identify five traits (what I call ‘Jobsian’ traits) that could shape the next great design-tech leader. If you want to be the next great leader in design-tech, this is *all* you need.

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