The document discusses how product-led growth has become the next evolution of go-to-market strategies, with companies focusing on viral user acquisition, free trials, and bottom-up sales driven by product usage. It provides examples of high-growth SaaS companies that have achieved faster revenue growth rates, higher gross margins, and greater valuation multiples through product-led strategies that prioritize the customer experience.

1. THE FUTURE OF B2B
GROWTH IS PRODUCT LED
A S H L E Y M I N O G U E
O P E N V I E W V E N T U R E P A R T N E R S
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

2. Based in Boston, we invest in software
companies around the world aimed at
improving people’s working lives.
OPENVIEW
T H E E X P A N S I O N S T A G E V C
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Learn more at ov.vc

3. THE NEXT EVOLUTION OF
GO-TO-MARKET IS
PRODUCT LED GROWTH.
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4. BUT FIRST…A QUICK
HISTORY LESSON.
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5. THE HISTORY OF
TECH GTM
A T I M E L I N E
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FIELD SALES
PRE

7. THE HISTORY OF
TECH GTM
A T I M E L I N E
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FIELD SALES
PRE
INSIDE SALES
2 0 0 0 s
EARLY

8. THE HISTORY OF
TECH GTM
A T I M E L I N E
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FIELD SALES
PRE
INSIDE SALES
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EARLY
2 0 1 0 s
INBOUND MARKETING

9. THE HISTORY OF
TECH GTM
A T I M E L I N E
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2 0 0 0
FIELD SALES
PRE
INSIDE SALES
2 0 0 0 s
EARLY
2 0 1 0 s
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T O D AY
PRODUCT LED GROWTH

10. THINK…
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11. THINK…
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T H E C O N S U M E R I Z A T I O N O F I T

12. THINK…
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T H E C O N S U M E R I Z A T I O N O F I T
V I R A L G R O W T H

13. THINK…
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T H E C O N S U M E R I Z A T I O N O F I T
V I R A L G R O W T H
F R E E M I U M O R
“ T R Y B E F O R E Y O U B U Y ”

14. THINK…
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T H E C O N S U M E R I Z A T I O N O F I T
V I R A L G R O W T H
F R E E M I U M O R
“ T R Y B E F O R E Y O U B U Y ”
P R O D U C T Q U A L I F I E D L E A D S

15. THINK…
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
T H E C O N S U M E R I Z A T I O N O F I T
V I R A L G R O W T H
F R E E M I U M O R
“ T R Y B E F O R E Y O U B U Y ”
P R O D U C T Q U A L I F I E D L E A D S
B O T T O M S U P S A L E S

16. PRODUCT LED GROWTH
PRODUCT USAGE SERVES AS THE
PRIMARY DRIVER OF USER
ACQUISITION, RETENTION AND
EXPANSION.
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17. 17I stopped thinking about
our business like a
traditional sales and
marketing firm. It's more
like a flywheel where the
customers are the main
driver that pulls new
prospects in. That
flywheel spins at the
rate of our customers’
delight.
B R I A N H A L L I G A N
C O - F O U N D E R & C E O
H U B S P O T
“

18. HOW DOES THIS
REALLY PLAY OUT?
R E A L W O R L D I M P A C T
Founded: 2005
NYSE: BOX
CY 2018E Revenue: $608M
Market cap: $2.7B
BOX
Founded: 2007
NASDAQ: DBX
CY 2018E Revenue: $1.37B
Market cap: $9.3B
DROPBOX
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

19. AND THERE’S MORE
Company
Enterprise
Value
FY2018E
Revenue
FY2018E
Revenue
Growth Rate
TTM Gross
Margin
FY2018E
EBITDA Margin
FY2018E Rule
of 40
S&M Expense
as Percent of
2017 Revenue
R&D Expense
as Percent of
2017 Revenue
Atlassian (NAS: TEAM) $19,499 $1,180 35.1% 81.2% 27.9% 16.5x 63.0% 21.5% 47.6%
Shopify (NYS: SHOP) $14,730 $1,057 57.0% 55.8% 3.7% 13.9x 60.7% 33.5% 20.2%
Dropbox (NAS: DBX) $8,632 $1,386 25.2% 70.3% 23.5% 6.2x 48.7% 28.4% 34.4%
DocuSign (NAS: DOCU) $5,730 $686 32.3% 73.9% 3.7% 8.4x 36.0% 53.6% 17.8%
New Relic (NYS: NEWR) $4,634 $469 32.2% 83.7% 14.2% 9.9x 46.4% 58.3% 20.9%
Zendesk (NYS: ZEN) $6,363 $592 37.5% 69.9% 6.0% 10.7x 43.5% 51.3% 26.8%
LogMeIn (NAS: LOGM) $4,755 $1,203 21.6% 77.4% 36.8% 4.0x 58.4% 35.1% 15.8%
Twilio (NYS: TWLO) $9,025 $629 57.6% 53.7% 4.2% 14.3x 61.9% 25.2% 30.3%
Wix.com (NAS: WIX) $4,361 $601 41.3% 80.3% 18.9% 7.2x 60.2% 48.0% 36.1%
HubSpot (NYS: HUBS) $5,207 $506 34.8% 80.2% 10.4% 10.3x 45.2% 56.7% 18.7%
Elasticsearch (NYS: ESTC) $4,914 $237 48.2% 73.6% -24.2% 20.7x 24.0% 51.6% 34.8%
Pluralsight (NAS: PS) $3,172 $231 38.2% 71.6% -18.6% 13.8x 19.6% 62.0% 29.5%
Smartsheet (NYS: SMAR) $2,558 $168 51.4% 80.7% -22.8% 15.2x 28.6% 65.5% 33.8%
MongoDB (NAS: MDB) $4,017 $231 49.3% 72.1% -30.8% 17.4x 18.5% 71.2% 40.3%
SurveyMonkey (NAS: SVMK) $1,938 $252 15.3% 69.4% 23.1% 7.7x 38.4% 33.6% 24.5%
SendGrid (NYS: SEND) $1,995 $145 29.7% 74.9% 12.6% 13.7x 42.2% 25.2% 26.5%
PLG Index Median $4,834 $549 36.3% 73.7% 8.2% 12.2x 44.3% 49.7% 28.2%
SaaS Index Median $2,289 $266 25.8% 69.8% 8.0% 6.7x 34.9% 40.7% 15.5%
EV / FY2018E
Revenue
Source: Pitchbook on 12/5/2018. Market data as of 11/30.

20. FASTER GROWTH RATES
Company
Enterprise
Value
FY2018E
Revenue
FY2018E
Revenue
Growth Rate
TTM Gross
Margin
FY2018E
EBITDA Margin
FY2018E Rule
of 40
S&M Expense
as Percent of
2017 Revenue
R&D Expense
as Percent of
2017 Revenue
Atlassian (NAS: TEAM) $19,499 $1,180 35.1% 81.2% 27.9% 16.5x 63.0% 21.5% 47.6%
Shopify (NYS: SHOP) $14,730 $1,057 57.0% 55.8% 3.7% 13.9x 60.7% 33.5% 20.2%
Dropbox (NAS: DBX) $8,632 $1,386 25.2% 70.3% 23.5% 6.2x 48.7% 28.4% 34.4%
DocuSign (NAS: DOCU) $5,730 $686 32.3% 73.9% 3.7% 8.4x 36.0% 53.6% 17.8%
New Relic (NYS: NEWR) $4,634 $469 32.2% 83.7% 14.2% 9.9x 46.4% 58.3% 20.9%
Zendesk (NYS: ZEN) $6,363 $592 37.5% 69.9% 6.0% 10.7x 43.5% 51.3% 26.8%
LogMeIn (NAS: LOGM) $4,755 $1,203 21.6% 77.4% 36.8% 4.0x 58.4% 35.1% 15.8%
Twilio (NYS: TWLO) $9,025 $629 57.6% 53.7% 4.2% 14.3x 61.9% 25.2% 30.3%
Wix.com (NAS: WIX) $4,361 $601 41.3% 80.3% 18.9% 7.2x 60.2% 48.0% 36.1%
HubSpot (NYS: HUBS) $5,207 $506 34.8% 80.2% 10.4% 10.3x 45.2% 56.7% 18.7%
Elasticsearch (NYS: ESTC) $4,914 $237 48.2% 73.6% -24.2% 20.7x 24.0% 51.6% 34.8%
Pluralsight (NAS: PS) $3,172 $231 38.2% 71.6% -18.6% 13.8x 19.6% 62.0% 29.5%
Smartsheet (NYS: SMAR) $2,558 $168 51.4% 80.7% -22.8% 15.2x 28.6% 65.5% 33.8%
MongoDB (NAS: MDB) $4,017 $231 49.3% 72.1% -30.8% 17.4x 18.5% 71.2% 40.3%
SurveyMonkey (NAS: SVMK) $1,938 $252 15.3% 69.4% 23.1% 7.7x 38.4% 33.6% 24.5%
SendGrid (NYS: SEND) $1,995 $145 29.7% 74.9% 12.6% 13.7x 42.2% 25.2% 26.5%
PLG Index Median $4,834 $549 36.3% 73.7% 8.2% 12.2x 44.3% 49.7% 28.2%
SaaS Index Median $2,289 $266 25.8% 69.8% 8.0% 6.7x 34.9% 40.7% 15.5%
EV / FY2018E
Revenue
Source: Pitchbook on 12/5/2018. Market data as of 11/30.

21. HIGHER MULTIPLES
Company
Enterprise
Value
FY2018E
Revenue
FY2018E
Revenue
Growth Rate
TTM Gross
Margin
FY2018E
EBITDA Margin
FY2018E Rule
of 40
S&M Expense
as Percent of
2017 Revenue
R&D Expense
as Percent of
2017 Revenue
Atlassian (NAS: TEAM) $19,499 $1,180 35.1% 81.2% 27.9% 16.5x 63.0% 21.5% 47.6%
Shopify (NYS: SHOP) $14,730 $1,057 57.0% 55.8% 3.7% 13.9x 60.7% 33.5% 20.2%
Dropbox (NAS: DBX) $8,632 $1,386 25.2% 70.3% 23.5% 6.2x 48.7% 28.4% 34.4%
DocuSign (NAS: DOCU) $5,730 $686 32.3% 73.9% 3.7% 8.4x 36.0% 53.6% 17.8%
New Relic (NYS: NEWR) $4,634 $469 32.2% 83.7% 14.2% 9.9x 46.4% 58.3% 20.9%
Zendesk (NYS: ZEN) $6,363 $592 37.5% 69.9% 6.0% 10.7x 43.5% 51.3% 26.8%
LogMeIn (NAS: LOGM) $4,755 $1,203 21.6% 77.4% 36.8% 4.0x 58.4% 35.1% 15.8%
Twilio (NYS: TWLO) $9,025 $629 57.6% 53.7% 4.2% 14.3x 61.9% 25.2% 30.3%
Wix.com (NAS: WIX) $4,361 $601 41.3% 80.3% 18.9% 7.2x 60.2% 48.0% 36.1%
HubSpot (NYS: HUBS) $5,207 $506 34.8% 80.2% 10.4% 10.3x 45.2% 56.7% 18.7%
Elasticsearch (NYS: ESTC) $4,914 $237 48.2% 73.6% -24.2% 20.7x 24.0% 51.6% 34.8%
Pluralsight (NAS: PS) $3,172 $231 38.2% 71.6% -18.6% 13.8x 19.6% 62.0% 29.5%
Smartsheet (NYS: SMAR) $2,558 $168 51.4% 80.7% -22.8% 15.2x 28.6% 65.5% 33.8%
MongoDB (NAS: MDB) $4,017 $231 49.3% 72.1% -30.8% 17.4x 18.5% 71.2% 40.3%
SurveyMonkey (NAS: SVMK) $1,938 $252 15.3% 69.4% 23.1% 7.7x 38.4% 33.6% 24.5%
SendGrid (NYS: SEND) $1,995 $145 29.7% 74.9% 12.6% 13.7x 42.2% 25.2% 26.5%
PLG Index Median $4,834 $549 36.3% 73.7% 8.2% 12.2x 44.3% 49.7% 28.2%
SaaS Index Median $2,289 $266 25.8% 69.8% 8.0% 6.7x 34.9% 40.7% 15.5%
EV / FY2018E
Revenue
Source: Pitchbook on 12/5/2018. Market data as of 11/30.

22. WHICH MEANS THEY’RE WORTH 2X MORE
Company
Enterprise
Value
FY2018E
Revenue
FY2018E
Revenue
Growth Rate
TTM Gross
Margin
FY2018E
EBITDA Margin
FY2018E Rule
of 40
S&M Expense
as Percent of
2017 Revenue
R&D Expense
as Percent of
2017 Revenue
Atlassian (NAS: TEAM) $19,499 $1,180 35.1% 81.2% 27.9% 16.5x 63.0% 21.5% 47.6%
Shopify (NYS: SHOP) $14,730 $1,057 57.0% 55.8% 3.7% 13.9x 60.7% 33.5% 20.2%
Dropbox (NAS: DBX) $8,632 $1,386 25.2% 70.3% 23.5% 6.2x 48.7% 28.4% 34.4%
DocuSign (NAS: DOCU) $5,730 $686 32.3% 73.9% 3.7% 8.4x 36.0% 53.6% 17.8%
New Relic (NYS: NEWR) $4,634 $469 32.2% 83.7% 14.2% 9.9x 46.4% 58.3% 20.9%
Zendesk (NYS: ZEN) $6,363 $592 37.5% 69.9% 6.0% 10.7x 43.5% 51.3% 26.8%
LogMeIn (NAS: LOGM) $4,755 $1,203 21.6% 77.4% 36.8% 4.0x 58.4% 35.1% 15.8%
Twilio (NYS: TWLO) $9,025 $629 57.6% 53.7% 4.2% 14.3x 61.9% 25.2% 30.3%
Wix.com (NAS: WIX) $4,361 $601 41.3% 80.3% 18.9% 7.2x 60.2% 48.0% 36.1%
HubSpot (NYS: HUBS) $5,207 $506 34.8% 80.2% 10.4% 10.3x 45.2% 56.7% 18.7%
Elasticsearch (NYS: ESTC) $4,914 $237 48.2% 73.6% -24.2% 20.7x 24.0% 51.6% 34.8%
Pluralsight (NAS: PS) $3,172 $231 38.2% 71.6% -18.6% 13.8x 19.6% 62.0% 29.5%
Smartsheet (NYS: SMAR) $2,558 $168 51.4% 80.7% -22.8% 15.2x 28.6% 65.5% 33.8%
MongoDB (NAS: MDB) $4,017 $231 49.3% 72.1% -30.8% 17.4x 18.5% 71.2% 40.3%
SurveyMonkey (NAS: SVMK) $1,938 $252 15.3% 69.4% 23.1% 7.7x 38.4% 33.6% 24.5%
SendGrid (NYS: SEND) $1,995 $145 29.7% 74.9% 12.6% 13.7x 42.2% 25.2% 26.5%
PLG Index Median $4,834 $549 36.3% 73.7% 8.2% 12.2x 44.3% 49.7% 28.2%
SaaS Index Median $2,289 $266 25.8% 69.8% 8.0% 6.7x 34.9% 40.7% 15.5%
EV / FY2018E
Revenue
Source: Pitchbook on 12/5/2018. Market data as of 11/30.

23. SO, YOU WANT TO
SURVIVE IN A
PRODUCT LED WORLD?
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

24. PRODUCT
PRODUCT LED COMPANIES
FLIP THE SCRIPT
O N E V E R Y A S P E C T O F T H E I R B U S I N E S S
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
MARKETING PRICING SALES

25. PRODUCT
PRODUCT LED COMPANIES
FLIP THE SCRIPT
O N E V E R Y A S P E C T O F T H E I R B U S I N E S S
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MARKETING PRICING SALES

28. Each business only
really sells one thing.
Obsess over it.
I A N S I E G E L
C O - F O U N D E R & C E O
Z I P R E C R U I T E R
“

29. 29
PRODUCT
PRINCIPLES
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S T A R T W I T H R E A L U S E R P A I N
D E L I V E R V A L U E I M M E D I A T E L Y
S T R I P O U T T H E U N C R I T I C A L

30. PRODUCT
PRODUCT LED COMPANIES
FLIP THE SCRIPT
O N E V E R Y A S P E C T O F T H E I R B U S I N E S S
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MARKETING PRICING SALES

32. THE RESULT?
$100 MILLION IN 30 DAYS.
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33. 33
MARKETING
PRINCIPLES
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E N A B L E V I R A L I T Y :
I N T E R N A L L Y & E X T E R N A L L Y
Y O U R P R O D U C T I S A
M A R K E T I N G C H A N N E L
T A R G E T U S E R S , N O T J U S T
B U Y E R S

34. 34
MARKETING
PRINCIPLES
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
E N A B L E V I R A L I T Y :
I N T E R N A L L Y & E X T E R N A L L Y
Y O U R P R O D U C T I S A
M A R K E T I N G C H A N N E L
T A R G E T U S E R S , N O T J U S T
B U Y E R S

35. 35
MARKETING
PRINCIPLES
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
E N A B L E V I R A L I T Y :
I N T E R N A L L Y & E X T E R N A L L Y
Y O U R P R O D U C T I S A
M A R K E T I N G C H A N N E L
T A R G E T U S E R S , N O T J U S T
B U Y E R S

36. 36
MARKETING
PRINCIPLES
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
E N A B L E V I R A L I T Y :
I N T E R N A L L Y & E X T E R N A L L Y
Y O U R P R O D U C T I S A
M A R K E T I N G C H A N N E L
T A R G E T U S E R S , N O T J U S T
B U Y E R S

37. PRODUCT
PRODUCT LED COMPANIES
FLIP THE SCRIPT
O N E V E R Y A S P E C T O F T H E I R B U S I N E S S
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MARKETING PRICING SALES

39. 39
PRICING
PRINCIPLES
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
R E M O V E A N Y B A R R I E R S
F R O M I N I T I A L U S A G E
E N F O R C E P A Y W A L L S O N L Y
A F T E R V A L U E
E X P A N D C U S T O M E R S W I T H
S C A L A B L E E X P A N S I O N P A T H S
U S E P R O D U C T D A T A T O
U P S E L L U S E R S

41. PRODUCT
PRODUCT LED COMPANIES
FLIP THE SCRIPT
O N E V E R Y A S P E C T O F T H E I R B U S I N E S S
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
MARKETING PRICING SALES

42. PRODUCT
PRODUCT LED COMPANIES
FLIP THE SCRIPT
O N E V E R Y A S P E C T O F T H E I R B U S I N E S S
Proprietary and Confidential ©2018 OpenView Advisors, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
MARKETING PRICING SALES
CUSTOMER
SUCCESS

44. 44
SALES
PRINCIPLES
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C U S T O M E R S U C C E S S I S Y O U R
N O R T H S T A R
Y O U E M P O W E R S E L F - S E R V I C E
B E A P R O D U C T E V A N G E L I S T
C R E A T E O P P O R T U N I T I E S F O R
U P S E L L

45. 45
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When approached in
the right way,
layering in a human
effort can accelerate
growth.

46. ARE YOU THINKING…
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47. THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH
MY PRODUCT / MARKET /
BUSINESS MODEL?
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48. WE ARE NOT SLACK. WE
ARE NOT DROPBOX.
WE ARE TRUE ENTERPRISE
SOFTWARE.
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49. I BRING YOU…
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50. E N T E R P R I S E S U B S C R I P T I O N T U R N E D “ P A Y A S Y O U G O ”
P R I C I N G M O D E L
G R E W C U S T O M E R B A S E B Y 5 0 0 % I N L E S S T H A N 1 2
M O N T H S ( 1 0 0 % G R O W T H Y E A R P R I O R )
M A I N T A I N E D A 9 7 % C U S T O M E R S A T I S F A C T I O N S C O R E
T R I P L E D C U S T O M E R S U C C E S S T E A M I N 2 0 1 7

51. PRODUCT LED GROWTH MARKET MAP
DEVELOPER &
PRODUCT TOOLS
BACK OFFICE &
OPERATIONS
CUSTOMER
ENGAGEMENT
PRODUCTIVITY &
COLLABORATION
THE
PLGMATURITY
OV | PLG

52. THE FUTURE OF B2B
GROWTH IS PRODUCT LED.
DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND.
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53. THANK YOU!
L A B S . O V . V C
@ A S H . M I N O
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