We track Product so you don't have to. Top Podcasts summarised, the latest AI tools, plus research and news in a 5 min digest.

Hey Product fans!

Welcome to this week’s 🌮 Product Tapas. If you’ve been forwarded this you can sign up and check previous editions here.

What’s sizzling today? 🍤 

📰 Not Boring - This week’s hottest updates: Science has created a robot with living skin (big Terminator vibes), Apple improves how non-apple peripherals connect to iPhones, but delays Apple Intelligence in the EU. Meta are in talks them too about integrating Meta AI into iPhones, and ChatGPT's Mac app launches but with a delay on its advanced voice mode. Pinterest, is letting users turn boards into videos, Notion introduces Sites, researchers invent a biodegradable 'barley plastic,' and Snapchat rolls out new safety features. If that’s not enough, we also cover Amazon, Anthropic, Figma, Google, Microsoft, Tesla and more.

⌚ Time-Saving Tools & GPTs - This week, find out how to turbo-charge your market insights and customer analytics, plus a tool that helps automate repetitive tasks. We also showcase tools to help automate your workflows (think Zapier++), automate system design documentation and have a list of top tools for visual regression testing, legacy system automation, service deployment tools, access management automation, environment management, game development optimisation, and workflow improvements. Phew 🥵.

🍔 Blog Bites - Essential Reads for Product Teams - In our essential reads, Ben Evans dives into Apple Intelligence and AI maximalism, questioning the role of LLMs as commodity infrastructure rather than platforms. Bain's latest survey highlights four emerging AI themes, emphasising the shift from experimentation to delivering real value in 2024. Tom Adler from Strategy Breakdowns discusses Intercom's "pay-per-resolution" model for the FIN chatbot. Finally, we link up the recent NYT article examining Netflix's cultural document update.

🎙️ Pod Shots - Acquiring the first ten million users is a milestone many startups dream of achieving. For Revolut, this feat was accomplished through a combination of unique market insights, strategic growth tactics, and an unrelenting focus on product optimisation. This piece breaks down the key strategies and lessons on how they reached this milestone, as shared by Val Scholz, former Head of Growth at Revolut, on a recent 20VC podcast with Harry Stebbings.

Plenty to get stuck into - off we go! 🚀👇

📰 Not boring

• Science made a smiling robot with living skin. Next stop Terminator T1000 … 🤖 

• Apple finally adds support for RCS in latest iOS 18 beta

  • Plus develops a new way to make iPhone batteries easier to replace

  • But also confirms that its Apple Intelligence won’t be launching in the EU right away, thanks to DMA

• Apple and Meta have held discussions about integrating Meta AI into iPhones

  • Whilst Meta makes its AI chatbot available to all users in India

  • AND interestingly, “Meta has unveiled the Meta Large Language Model (LLM) Compiler, a suite of robust, open-source models designed to optimise code and revolutionise compiler design. This innovation has the potential to transform the way developers approach code optimisation, making it faster, more efficient, and cost-effective 👀”

• ChatGPT’s Mac app is here, but its flirty advanced voice mode has been delayed

• Google is killing infinite scroll on search results

  • And separately are experimenting with letting you chat with AI chatbot versions of celebrities and YouTube influencers

  • Plus, YouTube is trying to make AI music deals with major record labels

• E.U. Charges Microsoft With Antitrust Violations Over Teams Bundling. Who says history repeats itself? Cough, internet explorer, cough

• Inspired by Gen Z, Pinterest users can now turn boards into videos for sharing on Instagram and TikTok

• Notion Sites takes Notion sites up a level adding features like customising favicons and building navigation bars with links and using breadcrumb navigation

• Researchers invent 100% biodegradable 'barley plastic'. It’ strong and can completely decompose within just 2 months.

• Snapchat introduces new safety features to limit bad actors from contacting users

• Tesla Cybertruck recalled again, this time over faulty wiper and trim

• Figma launches slides in what seems a direct Google competitor. Designers the world over rejoice at being given more slideware responsibilities….

  • Oh and they also announced a big redesign with AI (of course)

• Retool launches “External”, allowing users to create portals and business apps to share with external customers, vendors and partners

• Anthropic’s ‘Projects’ and new sharing features are looking to improve AI teamwork - amazing muzak on the video in the article too…

• Amazon plans to launch discount store in bid to fend off Temu and Shein

  Want even more news?? View more here → 

⌚️ Time-Saving Tools & GPTs

• Klue: Combine market, competitor, and buyer insights in a unified platform

• June: FREE and simple customer analytics for product focused teams

• Spiral: Automate 80% of repeat writing, thinking, and creative tasks. Your voice and style included

• Relay: AI powered workflow automation - like Zapier, but better? (Maybe)

• Multiplayer: A collaborative tool for teams that work on system design and architectural documentation. Automatically track all important code changes and create documents and diagrams based on the changes

• Software Automation Top Tools - selection of custom tools and solutions various developers have created to improve their testing, automation, and development processes including:

  • Visual regression testing tools

  • Automation for legacy or unconventional systems

  • Service initialization and deployment tools

  • Access management and permissions automation

  • Tools for non-technical team members

  • Environment management and isolation

  • Game development optimization tools

  • Workflow improvements and time-saving solutions

🍔 Blog Bites - Essential Reads for Product Teams

Hot Take: Ben Evans on Apple Intelligence and AI Maximalism

Benadict Evans has consistently great takes. This piece on Apple Intelligence is no different.

Research: Four themes emerging in AI

Here’s the latest Bain quarterly executive survey on AI highlighting 4 themes emerging in AI.

“If 2023 was about experimentation, 2024 is all about results.”

Strategy / Pricing: Intercom's risk-free purchase strategy

This week Tom Adler from Strategy Breakdowns covers Intercom’s interesting FIN chatbot pricing strategy:

Culture: Responsibility Over Freedom; How Netflix’s Culture Has Changed

The original Netflix culture deck is legendary (if you haven’t read it, you really should - along with the book No Rules, Rules).

This NYT article covers a recent internal Netflix memo updating its culture position now that Netflix has grown to more than 13,000 employees. Whilst While the original principles remain in practice, the new memo highlights Netflix’s philosophy of “People Over Process” first: “We hire unusually responsible people who thrive on this openness and freedom.”

🎙️ Pod Shots

Acquiring the first ten million users is a milestone many startups dream of achieving. For Revolut, this feat was accomplished through a combination of unique market insights, strategic growth tactics, and an unrelenting focus on product optimization. Today, we break down the key strategies and lessons on how they reached this significant mielstone, as shared by Val Scholz, former Head of Growth at Revolut, on the recent 20VC podcast with Harry Stebbings.

⚒️ How Revolut Acquired Their First 10M Users: Tips, Tactics & Strategies

🎥 Watch the full episode here 

📆 Published: March 21st, 2024

🕒 Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes. Time saved: 55 minutes🔥 

🏞️ Find Underserved Markets

Val Scholz emphasises the importance of targeting markets with little to no competition. Instead of going head-to-head with established players like Monzo in the UK, Revolut focused on markets such as Ireland, Romania, and Poland. This strategy allowed them to quickly gain traction, raise more funds, build better products, and hire top talent.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Identify niches or regions where your product can be 10x better than the status quo.

• Utilise market segmentation to find unique opportunities and insights that competitors might overlook.

🌱 Start Simple, Scale Smart

One of the biggest lessons from Revolut’s early days was focusing on doing one thing exceptionally well. For Revolut, this was their referral program, which accounted for 90% of their B2C customer acquisition.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Prioritise and perfect a single growth channel before diversifying.

• Optimise user experiences to ensure new customers can easily and quickly complete key actions like signing up and making their first payment.

🔄 Master the Referral Loop

Creating an effective referral program requires more than just offering a monetary incentive. Revolut engineered their referral system to minimise the time between onboarding and referral actions. This rapid cycle was crucial for their exponential growth.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Engineer your referral program to shorten the time between user acquisition and referral.

• Constantly optimise the onboarding process to increase activation rates.

🧪 Experiment Relentlessly

Val shares that while many growth experiments might not yield clear results, those that do can be game-changers. For instance, distributing cards at big tech companies' cafeterias was hard to measure, but they learned to double down on successful channels like YouTube influencers.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Run a variety of growth experiments and track results meticulously.

• Scale successful channels aggressively until they’re fully optimised.

🧲 Incentivise Smartly

Revolut initially didn't use monetary incentives for referrals. They provided value in other ways, such as offering free Revolut cards, which was a cost-effective strategy given their budget constraints.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Creativity in incentives can often outperform straightforward monetary rewards.

• Balance acquisition costs with the value provided to ensure sustainable growth.

🛠️ Build for Scalability

Revolut’s growth highlighted the necessity of building scalable systems. Whether it was database management or customer support, they had to continuously scale their infrastructure to handle explosive growth.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Invest early in scalable systems and processes.

• Anticipate growth and plan infrastructure upgrades ahead of demand spikes.

🗣️ Optimise User Feedback Loops

Understanding user pain points and swiftly addressing them was crucial. For instance, Revolut significantly improved their activation rate by addressing issues users faced during identity verification and initial use cases.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Proactively gather and act on user feedback to remove friction points.

• Use direct user insights to inform product marketing and development strategies.

🚀 Expand Product Offerings Wisely

Adding new products can drive significant growth if done strategically. Revolut expanded beyond a travel card to include everyday banking, cryptocurrencies, and commodities, which increased user engagement and retention.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Introduce complementary products to enhance user value and drive cross-selling opportunities.

• Ensure new offerings align with your core value proposition and user needs.

📊 Leverage Data Strategically

Revolut’s data strategy involved creating a centralised data warehouse to connect all data points, providing a clear picture of user behaviour and campaign performance. This holistic view was vital for making informed growth decisions.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Implement a centralised data strategy to gain comprehensive insights.

• Regularly analyse and act on data to optimise user acquisition and retention efforts.

🌐 Think Globally, Act Locally

Revolut’s growth strategies varied slightly across different markets but maintaining a core focus on user needs and efficient processes was universal. Understanding local market dynamics helped them tailor their approach effectively.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Adapt your growth strategies to fit local market conditions while maintaining a consistent core value proposition.

• Use localised insights to refine and optimise global strategies.

💡 Continuous Learning and Adaptation

Val’s journey underscores the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in growth strategies. Whether it was refining referral loops or experimenting with new channels, the ability to learn and pivot was crucial.

Key Takeaway for Founders and Product Managers:

• Stay curious and continuously seek new insights and strategies.

• Be prepared to pivot based on data and user feedback to sustain growth.

Revolut’s journey from 0 to 10 million users offers a wealth of lessons for any founder or product manager. By targeting underserved markets, perfecting a single growth channel, and continuously optimising based on data, you can drive sustainable growth for your own products.

Want to know more quickly? Just ask the episode below [web only]👇️ 🤯 
or if you prefer, 🎥 Watch the full episode here 

📅 Timestamps:

• [00:02:36] Referral loop optimisation.

• [00:06:26] Referral rewards and attractiveness.

• [00:09:24] Product optimization strategies.

• [00:11:30] Bank card aesthetics in marketing.

• [00:16:45] Traditional marketing methods outdated.

• [00:20:01] Topic clusters for SEO.

• [00:22:44] Timing of hiring a growth head.

• [00:26:07] The stress of hitting metrics.

• [00:29:29] Sourcing strategies for hiring.

• [00:35:19] Culture at Revolut.

• [00:38:36] Growth reviews and progress syncing.

• [00:42:49] Scaling challenges in a fast-growing company.

• [00:46:38] Data strategy and conventional wisdom.

• [00:51:38] Building better products for growth.

• [00:53:07] The future of the internet.

• [00:56:19] Impressive Nubank growth strategy.

That’s a wrap.

As always, the journey doesn't end here!

Please share and let us know what you would like to see more or less of so we can continue to improve your Product Tapas. 🚀👋

Alastair 🍽️.