💰Takeoff #59: Cracking $70 million ARR
Welcome to Takeoff, your weekly dose of product deep dives and new learning opportunities. Today, we're diving into the Typeform story. Lessgo!
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⌨️ Dive into Typeform's Riveting Growth Story
Typeform’s origin story is as unique as its approach to information gathering. It all began when co-founders Robert Muñoz and David Okuniev, each leading separate design agencies, crossed paths with a client in an unexpected industry—a toilet company. This company was searching for a stylish contact form to garner leads at a high-end trade show. Finding the existing options lacklustre, they embarked on a mission to reinvent the way information is collected to mimic a genuine conversation. This vision birthed Typeform. Launched initially as a free beta in 2013, it now orchestrates the collection of nearly 10 million responses per month via surveys, forms, questionnaires, and beyond.
In this edition, we’ll delve deep into the three pivotal factors instrumental in propelling Typeform forward.
PLG Flywheel
Typeform, recognizing the inherently viral nature of forms, identified an opportunity to amplify its brand presence through its user-generated forms. The realization that most traffic was driven by the “powered-by-Typeform” button and that exposure to the brand through forms led to increased searches and direct traffic sparked a strategic initiative. The company integrated core product developers with the marketing team to enhance the visibility and impact of the “Powered-by” button.
Through meticulous split testing of 10 different variations of copy and landing page designs for the button, they discovered the most effective version, “Create your own typeform…”, which elevated the Click-Through Rate (CTR) by 200 percent compared to the existing copy. This strategic approach of intertwining product development and marketing, coupled with insights derived from user interaction, exemplified a successful implementation of Product-Led Growth (PLG), driving organic growth and brand awareness across the marketplace
Running Experiments
David Okuniev, co-founder of Typeform, leads Typeform Labs, a lean innovation hub within the company. Labs, responsible for launching four products in three years, emphasizes experimenting with novel ideas.
A notable innovation is VideoAsk, which integrated video elements with Typeform, starting as an iOS app before expanding to a web app, and generating over $1 million in its first year.
Another project, Relayed, aimed to blend audio and asynchronous communication but was sunsetted due to rapid market shifts and the dominance of platforms like Slack and Zoom.
David is currently focusing on “formless,” a project that reimagines form creation, where creators outline the conversation's theme and requirements, and AI formulates the questions and logic, reflecting a vision of intuitive and intelligent interactions with today’s technology.
Nailing On-Boarding
Typeform prioritized a seamless onboarding experience, recognizing that many users are drawn to the platform's format and design but may not immediately need to create a form. Unlike most companies that gate their products behind a sign-up page, Typeform decided to move their sign-up process further down the funnel after consulting with several companies.
This approach allowed users to explore and build typeforms, utilizing most features without the necessity to sign up immediately. To further engage new users, Typeform introduced a diverse template gallery and integrated engaging videos, aiming to inspire creativity and showcase various use cases.
While this strategy led to an influx of users interacting with the platform and creating typeforms, it didn’t significantly increase actual sign-ups or net active users. However, Typeform valued this shift as it successfully increased product exposure to more creators and generated additional traffic, enabling the company to conduct meaningful experiments and obtain conclusive results efficiently.
Closing Thoughts
Typeform's journey is a testament to the power of innovation, user-centric design, and strategic decision-making. As the company continues to grow and adapt, it sets a benchmark for others in the tech industry, emphasizing the importance of growth experiments, understanding user needs and continuously evolving to meet them.
📞 PM Interview Process at Airtel
That’s all for today, folks! We hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter. 🤗
Until next week, keep learning and growing! 👋