This is one of those pieces that earns its longevity. What stands out most is how clearly you separate value creation from value capture and anchor PLG in outcomes rather than features or theatrics. The framing of loops over funnels, and support over direction in org design, still feels like the antidote to a lot of performative “growth” we see today.
What also holds up remarkably well is the insistence that PLG isn’t anti-sales or anti-marketing, but a rebalancing of when and why humans enter the system. In practice, that distinction is where many teams still stumble. They adopt the motions without adopting the discipline around data, documentation, and learning.
If anything, reading this now highlights how foundational this thinking has become. Especially as AI compresses time-to-value even further, the ideas here feel less like tactics and more like table stakes for building products that can actually scale without breaking themselves.
Fantastic content, thank you for sharing this hard earned knowledge!
Thank you Brendan! That's why I'm doing it!
This is such an amazing article. I instantly had to recommend you to my subscribers after reading this.
Right back at you, whoever reads this. please check out Mark, he's amazing in the Data space. I mean this :D Thank you for the love Mark
This is one of those pieces that earns its longevity. What stands out most is how clearly you separate value creation from value capture and anchor PLG in outcomes rather than features or theatrics. The framing of loops over funnels, and support over direction in org design, still feels like the antidote to a lot of performative “growth” we see today.
What also holds up remarkably well is the insistence that PLG isn’t anti-sales or anti-marketing, but a rebalancing of when and why humans enter the system. In practice, that distinction is where many teams still stumble. They adopt the motions without adopting the discipline around data, documentation, and learning.
If anything, reading this now highlights how foundational this thinking has become. Especially as AI compresses time-to-value even further, the ideas here feel less like tactics and more like table stakes for building products that can actually scale without breaking themselves.
What is a one-sentence boil-down of the guide?
Show don't tell. Because telling requires trust and Gary from Sales which is expensive :D