In 2023, I finished and published my first book next to my (very) demanding C-level position in one of the fastest growing e-commerce companies in my country AMA
When a free user complains, it's easy to ignore. But when a long time paid customer drop a harsh cancellation note or leaves a blunt review, it hits differently even if the overall churn rate is low.
Early on, every churned user feels like a personal failure of your product vision.
As you scale, do you naturally build a thick skin toward churn feedback, or do you just learn to separate product noise from signal?
Getting a release flag to 100% is easy to call "done". But an older client may still evaluate it, and the old branch stays in the code until somebody removes it.
I d put an owner and a removal condition in the PR that adds a temporary flag. Before taking it out, I d check recent evaluations across environments and supported client versions, then search the codebase for references. An operational kill switch is a different decision; that one may need to stay.
What tells you a release flag is safe to remove, and who owns the cleanup after rollout?
Here are some tips to help you market your product right off the gate: Understand Your Audience: Pinpoint your target market's needs and preferences to tailor your marketing efforts effectively. Leverage Social Media: Utilize platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to spread the word. Make sure to engage with your audience. Use Email Marketing: Send personalized emails to potential customers. Include information about the product and any launch discounts or promotions. Collaborate with Influencers: Influencers can help you reach a larger audience. Find those who align with your brand and product. SEO and Content Marketing: Optimize your website for search engines and create engaging content that adds value for your audience. PPC Advertising: Use pay-per-click ads to generate immediate traffic to your product page. Remember, every product is unique. Tailor these strategies to best fit your product and market. Feel free to provide me more tips :)
Early on, we measured success by how many features users activated during onboarding. But we noticed a trend: users loved the product during testing, left 5-star feedback, and then completely forgot to open it the next week.
The problem wasn't utility the tool solved a real problem it just required intentional effort instead of fitting into existing habits.
How do you bridge the gap between a tool that "works great" and a tool people naturally open every morning?
When we launched, we added a cheap $9/month tier thinking it would lower the barrier to entry. But surprisingly, most free user still stayed on free while users who would ve paid $29 jumped into the $9 bucket instead.
Looking at the usage numbers, user on the cjeapest tier actuallly had the highest support tickets and the shortest retention span.
Did removing low-tier plans help your conversion, or did it just shrink your user funnel?
