Riibon’s Post

Currently, I'm am reading Eric Ries' "The Lean Startup" and in that came across an interesting story about validating assumptions through Minimum Viable Products (MVPs). The story was related to Dropbox's MVP video. Instead of a real product, Dropbox's founder, Drew Houston, showcased the core features of Dropbox through a simple video, effectively communicating its value to potential users. Despite not directly interacting with the product, the video garnered significant user engagement and feedback, receiving hundreds of thousands of views and positive responses. This success translated into tangible results for Dropbox, with their beta waiting list skyrocketing from 5,000 to 75,000 overnight. It is interesting to see how inspirational founders are able to validate their assumptions with minimum risks and resources, generate significant user engagement and validate the demand for the product. 

Dropbox founder Drew Houston’s response to investors who told him online storage is a commodity When Drew was trying to raise money for his startup Dropbox, he got a lot of pushback from investors. “Google is going to do this” “Online storage is a commodity” To which Drew would respond: “Yes, all of those things are true, and there are 50 other products in this space, but do you use any of them?” They’d say “No”, and Drew would reply: “Isn’t that interesting?” Today, Dropbox’s market cap is almost $9 billion. Drew argues that if you’re doing something interesting and new, you will always face criticism. “You simultaneously have to have thick skin and be able to tune negativity like that out. But you also have to have thin skin if your customers or team aren’t happy and respond to it… it’s a weird dynamic that you’re going to have to handle, but I think it starts with getting some perspective that you will always face negativity and criticism from some people.” Video source: Y Combinator (2017)

Dropbox’s explosive growth to 4M users in 15 months is credited to their referral system, but the overlooked secret is the 5-step process behind it. Dropbox became the fastest SaaS to hit a $1B run rate, and Kady S. Srinivasan, their former Head of Digital Marketing, says it’s because “the entire company takes ownership of growth.” But building a growth culture doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a journey through 5 key levels: Level-1) Product-Market Fit Dropbox is a “must-have” product. Every startup should aim for this kind of fit to ensure you’re solving a real problem. Level-2) North Star Metric & Instrument for Growth Find the metric that defines your success. For Dropbox, it was all about increasing monthly active users—driven by their legendary referral program. Level-3) Growth Team & Learnings Establish a growth team and create a rhythm of testing. Every test offers new insights, even if it doesn’t boost growth right away. Level-4) High-Impact Testing Across the Customer Journey To scale, you need to test every part of the customer journey—from acquisition to onboarding and referrals. This is where things get tough, but it’s where the breakthroughs happen. Level-5) Company-wide Growth Culture: Big wins from testing will naturally create a growth-driven mindset throughout the entire organization and that’s how you go from product to powerhouse. Hope this added value :) #dropbox #startups #growth #business #marketing #product

Here is a short Product-led vs Sales-led showdown for you! 🍿 Why Dropbox is Winning and Box is Losing Dropbox is one of the oldest PLG (Product-Led Growth) success stories out there, boasting over 800 million freemium users. It leverages a virality motion with new user invites and generates over 90% of its revenue from self-serve customers across both businesses and consumers. On the other hand, Box represents the classic SLG (Sales-Led Growth) model, targeting high-value enterprise business customers with a large salesforce and no freemium product offering. In this sweet carousel, I'll be analyzing stats for each company, describing their go-to-market strategies, and explaining why I think Dropbox and PLG ultimately win out in the end. You know me, folks, I'm an advocate for PLG forever, and my LinkedIn banner says that! Hahahahah. #technology #startups #ProductManagement #ProductManager #product 

I've had the privilege of knowing Aston Motes for well over a decade. Aston was Dropbox's very first employee and is full of startup wisdom and insight. In the first episode of Brick by Brick, Aston and I sit down to discuss the early days of Dropbox's growth, decision-making processes, and some of the challenges the company faced. We explore the importance of product-market fit, the dynamics of startup culture, the impact of talent and diversity in teams, and the transition from early employee to founder. To all of you prospective founders or early employees, you'll find some sage advice on what to consider before taking the leap! Links in the comments below. Take a listen and let us know what you think! #brickbybrick #garudaventures

⏮️ Continuation of my previous post. Why the Dropbox MVP strategy worked❓️ They did something that rarely any SaaS products do these days.. That is 👇🏻 🔥Validation without building. The video allowed concept validation without full product development. After validating the concept, Dropbox continued to innovate with a referral program. How the invite system worked? ❇️Dropbox offered additional free storage to both referrer and referred. ❇️Simple Sharing: Users could easily send invites via email or social media. ❇️Viral Effect: The incentive-based system motivated users to share, creating a viral growth cycle. ❇️Building Community: Invites helped foster a community of early adopters who became enthusiastic advocates. The impact of the invite system? 👉🏻 The more people used Dropbox, the more they invited others, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of growth. 👉🏻 This strategy allowed Dropbox to grow without heavy spending on traditional advertising. Key Takeaways for Entrepreneurs: ✅️ MVPs: Validate your idea with minimal resources. ✅️ Viral Growth: Use referral incentives to grow your user base organically. ✅️ Growth Strategies: Ensure your growth strategies are in line with your product’s core functionality. PS: What steps have you taken to align your SaaS product with market needs? ♻️ Repost to your network. And follow Salman A. for more! #AI #AITools #Startup #Innovation #MVP #GrowthHacking

"The best startups solve their own problems" - Paul Graham Ever notice how Dropbox started because Drew Houston kept forgetting his USB drive? That frustration turned into a $12B company. Here's why solving your own problems works: 1. You deeply understand the pain 2. You're your first power user 3. You know exactly who to sell to 4. You can't outsource the vision Stop chasing trends. Start fixing what pisses you off. At ActionEDI we’re doing just that: simplifying EDI for SMBs—solving a problem most people overlook but businesses desperately need. That's where the magic happens. What problem are you obsessed with solving? 👇

When I joined Dropbox, a 25-person startup in 2010, I joined a rocket ship 🚀 ‎ But I’d be lying to you if I told you I knew that was going to happen. True, when I joined Dropbox:  - signups and usage were both skyrocketing  - we had just unlocked a viral growth engine with referrals and shared folders  - retention was healthy  - the company was bringing in a ton of revenue already (very impressive for a small startup!) But I can’t honestly say that as a new grad out of school, I understood any of that, or knew it would be successful. The thing that got me to take a chance on a 25-person startup back then was the talent density. Several of my smartest peers & friends from MIT had somehow all ended up at this tiny 25-person startup. But I think looking back, there’s something to be learned from all this. As candidates, it’s really hard for any of us to truly evaluate businesses (after all, we're not full-time investors). So, if you’re trying to join a startup to jump-start your career:  → weigh the strength of the early team, the founders, and the talent density above all else. Fun side note: I know for a fact that this is one of the most important factors that goes into investment decisions for top early-stage investors like Dan Levine‎ too ;)

👉 Calling all startup founders, product leaders, and growth marketers! Ever heard of Sean Ellis, the mastermind behind Dropbox's explosive growth? 📆 Mark your calendars because Sean Ellis is gracing Sydney with his presence this month! 🔥 Book the tickets (in comments) if you are curious to learn more from the OG Growth expert himself. 🧠 Find out actionable secrets behind Dropbox's rapid rise to a $1 billion valuation and apply it to your own venture! See you there (P.S: This aint sponsored- I am just excited)

How to gain thousands of early adopters without an MVP or product “Build, and they will come is not a strategy; it’s a prayer.” - Steve Blank Can it be done? → Many startups fail by building an MVP first. → They don’t understand their customers.  → This wastes time and resources. → Steve Blank’s Customer Development Model: → Learn Before Building: → This saves time and money. → Engaging with customers early can prevent this. → Validate Early: Test your ideas with real customers.  → Spend less and learn more. Dropbox's Success: → Dropbox made a video about their service. → They got 5,000 subscribers. → Use Feedback: They improved their product based on user feedback. → A second video got 75,000 subscribers in one day. → Iterate: They listened to users and refined their product.  → Offering free storage helped them grow from 100,000 to 4 million users in 15 months. Conclusion: Use Steve Blank’s model to save money and build what customers want. Engage early → learn, → succeed. P.S. What's the best quote/advice you've ever heard? One last thing: Happy 4th of July 🇺🇸