Celebrating Organizational Milestones

💭 What If Your Family’s Legacy Depended on Information You Didn’t Even Know You Needed? Imagine the loss of a family leader, only to realize that crucial details about assets, values, and goals are scattered, incomplete, or entirely missing. For multi-generational families, managing wealth is more than tracking assets; it’s about safeguarding legacy. But without structured documentation, families often face a “we don’t know what we don’t know” dilemma, leading to stress, inefficiencies, and sometimes lost opportunities. A Family Owner’s Manual isn’t just about estate planning—it’s about preserving the “why” and “how” behind family decisions and values. This guide creates continuity, offering future generations the clarity they need to understand both assets and the intentions that define the family legacy. Consider These Key Elements: ➡ Transparency: Make information accessible for better decision-making. ➡ Education: Empower family members with the “big picture.” ➡ Continuity: Ensure future generations have a roadmap, not just for assets but for family values. Here are three practical steps to help your family build a guide that captures both wealth and wisdom: 1️⃣ List Essential Documents: Create a checklist of all vital financial, legal, and personal documents and their locations. 2️⃣ Define Family Values: Capture principles and goals that shape your family’s identity. 3️⃣ Leverage Technology: Software solutions, often developed by Family Office experts, provide tools to centralize information, streamlining legacy planning and simplifying organization. “A Family Owner’s Manual is more than estate planning—it’s legacy planning.” Whether you’re a family member or advisor, understanding the importance of capturing these details is crucial. By proactively documenting key information, families can avoid stressful scenarios, achieve peace of mind, and focus on a legacy that goes beyond wealth.

Most companies suck at launching products. They’re like Alice in Wonderland — chasing shiny objects and getting lost along the way. Here’s the 11-step process we perfected after 25 years of product launches (in a collaboration with Jason Oakley): 1. Competitive Research The key to great strategy is to look externally. Take notes on competitor's features and how they grow. Build a database so you can counter-position appropriately. 2. Segmentation A launch aimed at “everyone” will miss everyone. Instead, build a laser-focused Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Follow this chain of thought: What are they craving? → What frustrates them daily? → What job are they trying to accomplish? 3. Pricing & Packaging Even the smallest feature can have a ripple effect on your pricing and packaging. Don’t wait until launch week to figure this out. Before launching, assess things like: Will this be a paid feature or free? Who will get access? What’s the plan for feature gating? 4. Positioning Now it’s time to craft a message that resonates. Speak to their deeper desires, not just their immediate problems. Communicate the outcome your product delivers and why you’re different from the rest. 5. Assemble Your Launch Team You can’t do it alone, and you shouldn’t. A successful launch involves stakeholders across the company. Use the RACI framework to assign clear roles. 6. Clear Objectives Too many teams dive into a launch without defined goals. And that’s why they miss the mark. Set clear objectives and key results. 7. Distribution Channels Many teams fall into the trap of trying to be everywhere; LinkedIn, email, ads, you name it. Reality check: Most startups only have 1-2 effective distribution channels. Find yours and double down on it. 8. Launch Milestones Planning your entire launch around individual tasks will overwhelm you. Instead, focus on major milestones and build a work-back plan. Some key milestones to include: Early access launch → Customer launch → Kickoff meeting. 9. Bill of Materials Your Bill of Materials is the content engine of your launch. Focus on: → Writing the message they want to hear → Designing visuals that captivate and appeal to them → Creating email sequences tailored to every user flow 10. Sales & Customer Success Teams Too many launches fail because these teams are looped in at the last minute. Enable them early with a messaging deck, internal FAQs, and demo materials... And they’ll become powerful advocates for your product. 11. Launch Day Make sure everything is launched smoothly and on time. If you achieve early wins, be the first to celebrate them and rally the team. And don’t forget to keep pushing the momentum forward. There's much more in the deep dive: https://lnkd.in/eB7s6umA If you don't plan your launches, even the best products will fail.

Want to know why product launches fail? It's rarely because the product is bad. The real killer? Treating go-to-market as an afterthought. The "build it and they will come" mindset is a recipe for disaster. Your product (amazing as it is) won't reach its potential without a solid go-to-market strategy. So I teamed up with Aakash Gupta from Product Growth to create a launch playbook for PMs that don't have product marketing support. Some of the OG founding PMMs 💪 Here's a quick summary of what it takes to get to launch day: 1️⃣ Competitive Research: Analyze competitor messaging, market needs, buying habits, and potential positioning gaps. Start with internal research, but also get out there and talk to people. 2️⃣ Segmentation: Define your Customer Profile (ICP). Don't fall into the trap of being too broad — you want your audience to feel like the product was made just for them. 3️⃣ Pricing & Packaging: Set a clear pricing and packaging strategy early. I learned the hard way that last-minute pricing surprises can derail a launch, so planning a review can save a lot of stress later. 4️⃣ Positioning & Messaging: Craft a compelling launch narrative that drives your positioning home. A solid messaging framework can help distill complex ideas into simple stories that truly connect with your audience. 5️⃣ Assemble Your Launch Team: Establishing clear responsibilities early on prevents last-minute confusion and keeps the launch process running smoothly. 6️⃣ Clear Objectives: Establish measurable OKRs. Setting concrete, meaningful goals from the start helps keep everyone aligned and accountable before and after the launch. 7️⃣ Distribution Channels: Choose realistic, high-impact channels. Trust me, it’s more effective to focus on one or two channels that deliver results. Don't spread yourself too thin. 8️⃣ Launch Milestones: Set key dates and work backwards. Mapping out major milestones first makes it a lot easier to plan the little details more accurately. 9️⃣ Bill of Materials: Project management is still a big part of a successful go-to-market. List all content and deliverables needed. Breaking down tasks in a simple project board or spreadsheet keeps everything and everyone organized. 🔟 Enable Sales & CS: Equip teams with assets and training. Looping in your sales and customer success teams early ensures they’re confident and ready, turning them into powerful advocates on launch day. 1️⃣1️⃣ Launch Day: Execute, monitor, and celebrate every win. Remember, your enthusiasm is contagious and sets the bar for everyone else. By celebrating even the small wins, you build momentum that propels the entire team forward. There you have it - a framework for launching products that actually get traction. Want the complete playbook with templates and examples? Check it out here → https://lnkd.in/gGZmDyhT

A lot of product marketers are told to “own the launch.” But what that really ends up looking like is a glorified checklist. This is a problem. A good product launch is a strategic GTM motion that builds internal alignment, drives external clarity, and supports real business goals. And recently, Natalie Marcotullio from Navattic shared a great launch, when they rolled out Launchpad, so I want to use it to walk you through what this looks like in practice. Here’s the 5-part launch framework I coach clients on, and how it played out for this example: 1️⃣ Strategic readiness This is the part most teams skip. Everyone’s eager to “go live,” but you’d be shocked at how many can’t answer basic questions like: --> Who is this product for? --> Why are we launching it now? --> What’s the pain point we’re solving, and how do we know? This can happen a lot when PMs are under pressure to launch sooner before the product is ready (and are sucked into the build trap). What Navattic did: In Q4 and Q1, a small group of co-founders and sales reps quietly built and validated Launchpad. While marketing was not involved here, the product side ensured that this step was done. 2️⃣ Positioning & messaging Great messaging starts from the synthesis of real insights… and then ties a human story to it. What Navattic did: Natali pulled real call recordings, identified patterns, and built messaging around them. She also interviewed Navattic’s CEO about his time as an SE, grounding the narrative in the emotional reality of the demo treadmill Launchpad is designed to solve. 3️⃣ External promotion strategy Promotion should be treated as a marketing campaign, not a to-do list. Start with a clear theme or big idea. Then choose your channels and sequence intentionally based on how your audience actually buys. What Navattic did: In Q2, they quietly added Launchpad to the pricing page and iterated the copy 3–4 times. They ran lead gen through high-intent channels like SE conferences, LinkedIn, Google, and even AEO (ChatGPT and Perplexity). When launch day came, they focused on channels that mattered, like their trusted advisors and loyal customers who love them. 4️⃣ Internal enablement This is the final (and often most overlooked) step: making sure everyone inside the company understands the story and can retell it, through both documentation and training. What Navattic did: Natalie enabled everyone early: field teams, partners, even advisors. I got a detailed launch brief two weeks in advance, so I had the full context to speak confidently to my network. 5️⃣ Communications  Of course, a good launch also requires great communication and coordination throughout the entire process. Check out the post on this in the comments. ---- Ultimately, the key takeaway is that a great launch is STRATEGY-focused, not just tactical. ❓ What's the most important thing for you when launching major products? #productmarketing #launch #gtm #advising #coaching

I've launched 19 products in my life. I failed the first 5 times, then nailed the next 14 times. And I used a multi-platform launch strategy. Here is what I did: (1) Product Hunt, LinkedIn → Spotlight the product + compelling story ➤ Share your journey, unique angles, the problem you're solving, your exact solution  ➤ Write a narrative that hooks people in (2) Reddit, Hacker News → Showcase the Product + "How I Built It" ➤ These audiences love transparency into your process on how exactly you built this ➤ Show them technical breakdowns, tools used, and challenges overcome. (3) DEV, Hashnode, IndieHackers → "How I Built It" + Amplify PH Launch ➤ Leverage these dev communities to support your PH launch and also how you built it ➤ They allow self-promotion links, so cross-promote shamelessly to maximize momentum (4) Twitter → Behind-the-scenes + Product Highlights ➤ Give snippets of the launch experience in real-time ➤ Short hooks to pique curiosity about your creation The key? Customizing your content and messaging for each platform's audience. There's no one-size-fits-all approach. #startup

Winston Churchill famously said, "Never let a good crisis go to waste." The same is true for moments of victory. 3 ways you can turn ordinary milestones into positive press (that boosts revenue): I was consulting with an up-and-coming tech firm, buzzing with excitement over their new HQ. Cutting-edge, high-tech, the works. Our mission? Squeeze every drop of value from this moment. How? By transforming a simple ribbon-cutting into a brand-building, talent-attracting, reputation-solidifying event. We got the word out, hit the headlines in tech and local biz circles. Their commitment to innovation and community was clear. The results were beyond expectations. The client was over the moon, and so were we. Now, let's get to the juicy part. How can you do something similar, even if you don't have a shiny new office to show off? 1. Spotlight employee contributions Every milestone is an opportunity to highlight the people who made it possible. Share employee stories of grit, innovation, results, and sheer will. Put these stories on your blog, social media, maybe even the local publications. Your team will feel like rockstars, and your brand gets that human touch. 2. Customer-centric celebrations Turn the spotlight onto your raving fans. • Host events for them • Offer limited-time promotions • Create customer success stories Brand loyalty is a two-way street. They have a problem, you solve it, and they say, “Thanks!” The above is your way of saying, "You're welcome!" And it provides top-notch content for case studies and testimonials. 3. Tease what's next Sharing positive news? Great. Now add a cherry on top by hinting at your next big thing – be it expanding your service offerings, launching new products, or community initiatives. Keep your audience hooked and wanting more. It's all about that forward momentum, building a narrative that keeps your audience engaged. Your story is an ongoing narrative. A journey that you and your audience are on together. Show them how you're delivering for others, and they'll deliver for you. Make every milestone count. Follow me Evan Nierman for more deep dives.

Throwing an event is one thing. Turning it into the event everyone wants to be at? That's harder... Here’s how I've been thinking about events. Rather than seeing your events as a one off, or even as a series... you need to think of them as an integrated campaign. Create an event of your event. Most B2B events - side dinners, meet ups, parties - are good in theory but forgettable in execution. Why? Because they’re not treated as experiences. They’re treated as logistics. We’ve found the real impact happens when you approach events like a social-first campaign, not just an RSVP list. 1. Build exclusivity Make it feel like a rare opportunity, not a calendar filler. Small, curated guest lists. Limited seats. A "you-had-to-be-there" vibe. You’re not just throwing an event, you’re creating scarcity. 2. Make it visible Events shouldn’t disappear after the night ends. Post highlights. Tag attendees. Show who was in the room and what they experienced. People want to go where people like them are going. So show them. 3. Add something they can’t get anywhere else Exclusive content. Direct access to a speaker or exec. Early insight into something new. Example: “Our CMO Alice only does 1:1s at these events.” That’s a draw. And it gives you a reason to plug it on social with purpose. 4. Get double value: IRL + online Done right, your event should give you: 🌟 A meaningful in-person experience 💫 AND a buzz-worthy moment on LinkedIn The goal? Visibility for those who were there and those who missed out (and won’t next time). Your event starts long before it happens, and lives on long after. Think social-first. Think repeatable. Think memorable.

As you engage with commercial buyers and investors, your go-to social media platform will inherently be LinkedIn. Events, meetings, pilot plants, new partnerships, we get it, there's not always time to post! 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖-𝘀𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱, generating 8x engagement vs. a company page. Here is how to build timing into your LinkedIn strategy: → Align posts with your milestone calendar Funding rounds, pilot results, partnerships, product launches. These moments deserve amplification, not silence. Plan content around them weeks in advance. → Leverage event season B2B events like Hello Tomorrow, HackSummit, or industry trade fairs are attention windows. Pre-event announcements are positive signs of activity for investors, partners, and media all at once. (Avoid what we call a "desertified LinkedIn"! ;)) → Schedule advance posts, not reactive ones Posts scheduled 2 to 3 weeks before a key moment build anticipation and make it impossible to ignore (or forget) when the moment to post arrives. → Sync LinkedIn with your broader communication calendar Your LinkedIn activity should reflect what is happening in your business. If your deck says one thing and your LinkedIn says nothing, buyers notice. Important note: if you're going out with an important announcement, remember that press should always be prioritised (don't post on LinkedIn before a press release embargo is lifted) Small preparation steps will help you stand out in the coming months.

Managing social for a 300-person event isn’t just about showing up with a camera and a phone. Here's my checklist for creating an experience that connects through the screen. ✅ Develop a Storytelling Guide I map out the key stories to tell during the event. What themes or moments should shine? (FOMO is always the vibe!) ✅ Define Goals and Strategy Pre-event = build hype. During = real-time engagement. Post-event = recap magic. I also adjust content plans for each platform (Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, etc.). ✅ Create Content Templates Using tools like Canva, I prep story and post templates so my team can easily create dynamic content on the fly. ✅ Coordinate with the Media Team Collaborating with photographers and videographers ensures I capture high-quality moments for both immediate and future use. (Bonus points for those iconic crowd shots!) ✅ Assemble and Brief the Social Media Team Everyone needs to know their role—who’s posting where, who’s covering what, and what key moments to capture. ✅ Set Engagement Plans I prepare prompts to encourage interaction: polls, quotes, and questions. Think, “What’s your biggest takeaway from today’s panel?” ✅ Monitor and Respond Once the content goes live, the job isn’t over. There's active engagement with comments, questions, and reactions to keep the energy high. ✅ Document Analytics Lastly, I track engagement metrics in real time. This helps me adjust if a certain type of post (e.g., quotes vs. behind-the-scenes moments) is performing better than others. It also helps to source areas of engagement for later. Pro tip: The real MVP? Having backup batteries, bricks, and a mobile hotspot because technology.🔌