Aakash Gupta’s Post

20 things to optimize your LinkedIn so recruiters come to YOU: (From most to least important) 1: Your Headline Does it sell your specialty and name brands? 2: Your Current Experience People want the details of the situation, your actions, and the data. 3: Your About Section You want to tell the story of your career beyond your resume. 4: LinkedIn Premium Enable an open profile so they don't have to spend OpenMail. 5: Recommendations You want recommendations from your last job. 6: Skills Each job should have skills that relate to your target job. 7: Endorsements The best skills that LinkedIn will show you for are those people have endorsed you for. 8: Prior Experiences The more detail and keywords, the better. 9: Open to Work Settings You don't want the banner, but you do want the quiet version on. 10: Commenting This is a great way to increase your profile visibility. 11: Connection Requests A steady diet of requests at your target companies. 12: Language and Location Settings The more languages and locations, the more potential. 13: Profile Link A good custom one helps you stand out. 14: Privacy Settings Make it fully visible. 15: Cover Image A way to feature prior logos, and your specialty. 16: Education Clubs, projects, major, and name brands. 17: Accomplishments Awards, patents, courses. 18: Volunteer Experience A good way to round yourself out. 19: Content Creation Powerful, but potentially dangerous. 20: Featured Content A great way to feature your best content.

Gone are the days of careful feature comparisons and middle-ground choices. Welcome to the era of the Bifurcation Effect. In the pre-software world of scarcity, consumer decisions followed a multi-factor process. The result was a normal distribution curve. But in today's abundance-driven market, we're witnessing a dramatic shift – the Bifurcation Effect. Here's how Enzo Avigo and I explain it: 𝟭. 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 Imagine a Taylor Swift concert. In a scarce market, you'd see a bell curve of interest. But in our abundant world, preferences gravitate to extremes: • Die-hard fans: "I'll pay anything!" • Indifferent consumers: "Netflix and chill, thanks." The middle ground? It's vanishing. As a result, Taylor Swift tickets are incredibly expensive. 𝟮. 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 Software takes this bifurcation to the extreme. We're talking: • The "Holy Grail" product • The "It'll do" budget option Why? Because in a world of endless choices, we're hardwired to simplify. We don't have time for spreadsheet comparisons anymore. We go to either extreme. Skeptical? Look around. How many times have you chosen a product purely based on its reputation or price point, without diving into the nitty-gritty? 𝟯. 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗕𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 For founders and PMs, this means the game has changed. It's no longer about moving people through awareness funnels. Your mission? Create an irresistible gravitational pull. You're not just building software; you're crafting desire. Think about it: Today's software products look more like consumer brands than traditional tech companies. It's not about features; it's about identity. 𝟰. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 In this light, pricing isn't just about premium vs. budget anymore. It's a strategic tool that defines your company's identity and market position. Consider Basecamp's rejection of per-seat pricing, positioning them as champions of simplicity and transparency. Or open-source companies like Sentry and Cal, whose on-premise options showcase their commitment to community and user control. Your pricing is a tool for your positioning. Once you understand that, answering tactical questions is much easier. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 1. Position boldly or get lost in the noise 2. Align everything – product, marketing, pricing – to claim valuable mental real estate 3. Remember: In this bifurcated world, you're either the best or the cheapest. There's no comfortable middle anymore. Still not convinced? Look at the giants – Apple, Tesla, Notion. They're not just selling products; they're selling identities and aspirations. The Bifurcation Effect isn't just a theory. It's the new reality of the software world. Ignore it at your own peril.

June was finally a good month for tech layoffs - the lowest in a year. But it came after a tough April and May. Overall, the past 4 months have been tough. Here's all the notable layoffs: APRIL Tesla: 14,000 Getir: 6,000 Toshiba: 5,000 SunPower: 1,000 Lumen: 1,000 Apple: 614 Take Two: 579 Byju's: 500 MAY Li Auto: 10,000 PayTM: 5,000 Toshiba: 4,000 Indeed: 1,000 Assurance: 1,000 TikTok: 1,000 Vacasa: 800 Hellofresh: 727 JUNE Microsoft: 1,500 Copia Global: 1,060 Perfect World: 1,000 Onsemi: 1,000 Revel: 1,000 Bytedance: 450 Chegg: 441 Gingko Bioworks: 400 JULY UKG: 2,300 OpenText: 1,200 Unacademy: 250 The result on the job market is mixed: June and all-time stock market highs point to a brightening future. But the influx of supply means overall dynamics are still tough for job seekers. What are you seeing in the job market?

I polled 20 PMs about how many time recruiters message them on LinkedIn per month: Only 20% don't get any. And the median got 3. The max got 9! The question I asked? "How much LinkedIn Inbound have you averaged the past few months, per month?" This should be a wake-up call if you're not getting much inbound. In this market, hiring has picked up. Of course, the bigger the market, the better your brands, the more you will get. But, even in a small market with small brands, you should be getting some. If you're not, the question is: is your profile optimized for outbound: 1. Do you have a good profile and cover picture? 2. Do you have the right headline? 3. Is your about me up to snuff? 4. Have you created the right branding within PM? 5. Do you have enough description in your experiences? 6. Are you using skill endorsements & recommendations? 7. There's almost an infinite amount of things to optimize... The key is to take an iterative approach: make a change, check the data, and then do it all over again. For my money, it's the most powerful job searching channel out there: • Higher conversion rates through interviews • Most of the senior opportunities • And higher salaries Yet, most chronically neglect it. So even making some effort can make a huge difference.

Of all the PLG companies I'm tracking, Notion is the hottest. It's disrupting the $16.6B docs market long dominated by Google and Microsoft. Word on the street is its AI product is already well north of $100M ARR. And it's all powered by a textbook case of product-led growth. Let's break it down. Layer 1: Core Problem Communication Notion's illustration style is iconic. All their executives use it for their profile pics. And it's everywhere in their marketing. You immediately understand this is a brand that pays attention to design. The other major lever of Notion's problem communication is its community. You can't go a few weeks without getting invited to a Notion document. These documents act as natural ambassadors. Layer 2: Information for Decision Notion has plans for every user. Their free plan is great for personal use. As you become a business, it has paid plans. As you grow, it has enterprise plans. This helps everyone see a version of Notion for them. On top of that, Notion is differentiated. It's not quite a doc, spreadsheet, or wiki. It's all put together. Layer 3: Friction In PLG, you have to abolish friction. Notion does, beginning with its onboarding. It eschews the "add more steps" formula of B2B SaaS, and sits in the B2C camp of "fast." Once you finish onboarding, Notion drops you into a blank page and encourages you to import. It's a great way to get people back into the work they were already doing. Layer 4: Time to Aha Notion makes docs fast. For instance, instead of having formatting hover in the top, formatting pops up when you highlight text. Features make themselves apparent when you need them. Notion has a suite of integrations to embed popular files like Figma and Miro. So you can easily built it into your existing workflows, driving a quick aha. Layer 5: Repeatable Value Notion creates permanent changes in user behavior through its unified workflow. Companies and people are building their entire operating systems in Notion. Moreover, Notion has a videogame-like learning curve. There are so many advanced features, that you can endlessly keep improving your Notion use. Layer 6: Monetization In true PLG and PLS fashion, Notion has a fantastic free plan. But then if you want to free trial a more expensive plan, it asks you to contact sales. But, there are plenty of ways to upgrade to paid plans with built-in feature gates, like guests and page history. And with new feature gates constantly being added, like custom sites and AI, Notion's monetization engine is humming. Layer 7: Flywheels The final element to Notion's PLG motion is its fantastic flywheels. It all begins with its community-led growth. Templates, word of mouth, easy sharing... Notion does it all. In addition, it has fantastic word of mouth triggers. For instance, making a website is literally 1-click. All of this comes together to create self-reinforcing growth flywheels. And that's why Notion is one of the hottest companies in PLG.

Product-market fit is not enough anymore. You need position-market fit: There was a time, not too long ago, where in startupland one could build a thing that solved a real problem, put a price tag on it, and see if the market wanted it: • If they did, then we would have said he had found product-market fit • If they didn’t, we would say he didn’t and it was “back to the lab” That time, for better or worse, is long gone. Here’s how Enzo Avigo and I break it down: In 2024, a utility provided through software can’t make a dent effectively anymore. People’s heads are overstuffed with competing products, messaging, and narratives. It’s hard for a product alone to get a market edge. The main exceptions are new tech or hyper-niche markets. ChatGPT, for example. But that is a rare instances of breakthrough technology where the “product” itself carries the bulk of the impact. Most companies don't have that luxury and are not in such a position. So, if a product alone isn’t enough, then what is enough? Enter position-market-fit. • If “product-market-fit” means that you’ve found the right kind of product that the market wants… • “Position-market-fit” means that you’ve found the right combination of product/brand/marketing/pricing/go-to-market/sales/etc in a given domain. The Importance of Brain Estate The fundamental reason why “position-market-fit” is so important is that it operates more at a personal and subconscious level. Our brains can only conceptualize a finite set of “characters'' per domain. Similar to the "Dunbar number" rule, which suggests we can maintain stable social relationships with up to 150 people, our brains are wired to understand only a finite number of company-market associations. Gaining a strong positional edge, or nailing “position-market-fit” is the exercise through which a company, with the right combination of product, brand, pricing, marketing and go-market is able to conquer a certain portion of consumer “brain-estate.” The Story of Startup Success If you step back and analyze some of the best startups from the last decade, you'll see they excelled at this. → Are you building in an established market dominated by large incumbents with feature-bloated, clunky software? In that case, you might want to position your product as a high-craft, premium option. Does Linear ring a bell? → Alternatively, if you're entering a highly commoditized market dominated by a few corporate-looking brands, consider positioning yourself as the quirky, fun company that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Does Arc Browser come to mind? Their pricing strategies are almost a second-order effect of their employed market positioning. And that’s the power of position-market fit. — So how do you build your own position-market fit? We cover that in the deep dive: https://lnkd.in/e6J_zPzW

LinkedIn has some of the best content on the web - but you're not seeing it: I love 9/10 posts that I see in my feed. I feel like I live in a different universe. I've learned: it's because I do. Unfortunately, most people on LinkedIn: 1. Only consume, but don't give the algorithm signal 2. Follow people, but never unfollow later 3. Have never turned on notifications Here's what I do differently and why it works. (You don’t need to have 214,256 followers to have my experience.) 1. GIVE THE ALGORITHM SIGNAL Millions of pieces of content are being created everyday on LinkedIn. But most people are not giving the algorithm enough signal to show it what to serve them. The most helpful signal to the algorithm is to like, repost, and comment on posts you like. On top of these positive signals, you can also offer negative feedback by hitting the three dots on a post and selecting 'Not Interested'. I do both the positive and negative actions daily. 2. UNFOLLOW LIBERALLY Most people have begun to use the Follow and Connect CTAs liberally. The problem is, they tend to use them too much. You must be as liberal with the unfollow as the follow. Now, when I see two posts from a creator that I don't get value from, I unfollow. Same with if I see a creator once whose post offends me and I don't recognize (ie, haven't seen them much). There are certainly a few I have re-followed. And that's fine. The key is: I'm actively sculpting my feed. 3. USE NOTIFICATIONS STRATEGICALLY Those notifications for people who viewed your profile? They're distractions, at best. Turn those off. Instead, go to the 2-3 creators that you love but LinkedIn doesn't show you all of their posts. Hit the bell icon on their profile to get notifications of all their posts. The result is your notifications work for you, helping you get useful and informative content instead of engagement bait. THE MORAL OF THE STORY You don't have to create content to make LinkedIn work for you. You just have to consume strategically. And that is not all that LinkedIn provides. The cherry on top is to then optimize your profile for inbound jobs, which I cover here: https://lnkd.in/egeXb7Sc LinkedIn gets a bad rap, but is a fantastic resource if you use it right. You just need to make the resource resourceful. Shoutout to Pejman Milani for the killer visual. P.S. What's worked for you to see better stuff on LinkedIn?

I've now spent 6 months full-time as a creator. Here's what you've always wanted to ask: 1. HOW HAVE I BEEN SPENDING MY TIME? I'm here to report that being a creator is not less work than PM. I've been writing. A lot. Besides that, I've been doing a lot of talking with readers. And what I've learned is: • It's easy to miss a piece • All sorts of people read, not just PMs! So, I wanted to take stock of the past 6 months and cover... 2. WHAT DID I WRITE ABOUT? I split my focus between 6 personas: 1. Aspiring PMs 2. Product Managers 3. Product Leaders 4. Growth People 5. Founders 6. Techies And I wrote about 7 pieces for each of them. This image shows the results - 43 deep dives in H1! 3. WHY DO I FOCUS ON SUCH DIVERSE PERSONAS? Careers in tech are hardly linear anymore: • PMs become founders • Founders become product leaders • PMs 'age out' of PM and join other functions • Growth people increasingly need a product skillset • Founders want to build product like the best • And for every PM, there's 10 aspiring one's So, I tend to write one piece per persona per month. It's been, honestly, amazing. I get to pursue my curiosity, on my schedule. 4. WHAT HAVE I LEARNED? It wouldn't be a journey without some learnings along the way. My top 3: 1. Being a solopreneur isn't glamorous ↳ You're doing all of product, marketing, customer support, finance... 2. Jeff Bezos was right ↳ "Customers are always beautifully, wonderfully dissatisfied, even when they report being happy and business is great"  3. Leverage first ↳ If you aren't leaving 10% of the opportunities on the table, you aren't thinking big enough 5. WOULD I DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN? Despite the mild burnout, the uncertainty around how many users might churn in any given month, and the never-ending to-do list, it was an awesome H1. Paid subscribers are up 55%, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else than what I'm doing right now. And it couldn't have been done with you: the reader. Thank you. Here's to an even better H2 🍻

Steal this template for your homepage: (Attio's marketing design + engineering team iterated endlessly. So you don't have to.) — 1. Above the Fold This is the most important part of the homepage. Too many people waste the space: A. Convey the category of software your product is in, and how your solution differs B. Add in wow logos from industries in your ICP (ideal customer profile) — 2. Three Key Value Props Remember the rule of threes. Deliver on your hook above the fold and make your differentiators crystal clear. Don't just tell, either. Show. Let people experience the product. Attio's videos move when you scroll. — 3. End of Page Once someone has scrolled, they're looking for specific features. Note them. Also use the space to solidify WHO your product is for - in Attio's case, builders. Then end with security and the rest of your site's navigation. — It's a simple structure. But it's the scaffolding you need to convert visitors into leads. To go further, check out the homepage deep dive: https://lnkd.in/dEE84rUH And Attio deep dive: https://lnkd.in/eXXtf5xC