Ramli John

Author of Product-Led Onboarding (+30K copies sold) | First Round Fast Track Mentor | Content Director at Appcues.

⭐️ Follow me for helpful tips to onboard, delight, and keep your customers coming back to your product.
📔 Author of Amazon #1 bestselling book "Product-Led Onboarding." 👉 𝙎𝙀𝘼𝙉 𝙀𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙎, Founder of GrowthHackers.com: "Product-Led Onboarding is 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 embarking on the critical activity of improving their user onboarding." 


⚡️ I use my multi-disciplinary skills in marketing, design, and software development to help product-led SaaS companies analyze their whole customer's journey and funnel to identify growth opportunities to 2-3X their MRR. 

Often, that means designing and implementing experiments to increase activation rate (trial-to-paid or free-to-paid conversions), decrease churn rate, or increase average revenue per user (ARPU)

If you asked my friends and colleagues how they would describe me, they'd say I'm resourceful, proactive, and entrepreneurial

►► CONTACT INFO
▷ Send a connection request
▷ Write me a note at ramli [at] ramlijohn.com

Founder

A weekly show and newsletter for marketers looking to level up their marketing and career. I interview world-class marketers to uncover the secrets, strategies, and frameworks behind their wins. In each episode, guests reveal three things:  (1) a marketing power-up,  (2) a real-world example of that in action, and (3) a power-up that’s helped them take their career to the next level.

Ramli "RJ" John

16 weeks ago, I could barely run 3K. Sunday, I ran my first half-marathon! I treated my training like growth experiments. 3 things that worked:


(Yes, I'm a nerd. My wife says I'm obsessed. I agree! 🤣)

Experiment 1: Fuel Strategy (Finding the Right Gel)

My biggest fear? Runner's trot. Google it if you dare.

I tested different energy gels to fuel a 2+ hour run. Honey Stinger caused stomach issues. Not fun.

I tried Maurten, GU, SiS, gummy bears, and baby applesauce.

Switched to Kronos, a Canadian maple-based gel. No issues and felt great.

The lesson? Test before it matters.

Your users won't tell you about embarrassing problems, but they'll quietly churn because of them.

Experiment 2: Continuous Running vs. Galloway Run-Walk-Run

I tested the Galloway method (run 90 seconds, walk 30, repeat). My splits were consistent. I felt fresher.

But I went with continuous runs that gradually increased speed.

Why? Simplicity. I didn't want to think about timers at kilometer 18 when my legs were screaming.

Same with product growth. The "optimal" solution isn't always the one users will stick with.

Experiment 3: Nose Breathing Technique

Two quick inhales through the nose, one long exhale. Sounds weird, right?

It dropped my heart rate. Made hard runs feel manageable.

A small technique change made a massive difference.

Just like when you change one small design tweak and retention jumps 15%.

In the end, I crossed the finish line in 2:19:01.

My "A goal" was just to finish. My "B goal" was somewhere between 2:10 and 2:30.

Mission accomplished!

It was fun running this one with Wes Bush and Catherine Hughes, M.Ed, PhD.

And honestly? I'm addicted. Already signed up for the full Toronto Marathon in May. Let's see what happens.

Every experiment started with "this should work."

Then I tested what actually worked for me. Then I kept what I could sustain for 21 kilometers.

Same process with product work. Best practices are starting points. Real users show you what actually works. Then you optimize for what they'll stick with.

—

What's something in your life right now that you're treating like an experiment?

Ramli John ⭐️

Building a community for AI Product Leaders. Founder @ Delight Path. 2x best-selling author. New book “Eureka” now available. Author of “Product-Led Onboarding” (+40K copies sold).

933 product leaders registered. 415 showed up live. That's 44% attendance (avg is 25%). The AI Product Leaders Summit exceeded everything I hoped for!


But the stats aren't what got me. It's the messages after yesterday's summit:

"Great Summit today Ramli! You provided huge value in the community!"

"Thanks, Ramli, this was a very enjoyable, educational and interactive summit! Great speakers and hosting! 👏👏"

"So well done! The speakers/content were top notch, where I just wanted more!"

Hosting a 5 hour live event drained my batteries. But messages like those made it all worth it.

Here are the biggest takeaways from 16 product leaders:

→ Every single session came back to customer research and knowing "why"
→ Lauren Creedon shared Goldcast's actual product org chart and AI roadmap (transparency level: 100)
→ Time-to-value matters, but product growth is now more than ever focused on time-to-trust
→ Product leaders opened up about the specific AI tools they're using to enable and upskill their teams
→ And a ton more (I'm writing a blog post about it!)

Thank you to every product leader who showed up—from 143 different companies. You made this what it was.

Thank you to the speakers who brought real strategies, not theory:
Janna Bastow, C. Todd Lombardo, Nesrine Changuel, PhD, Netali Jakubovitz, Christine Itwaru, Lauren Creedon, Bernadette Fisher, Mariana Danylak, Deepti Pradeep, Lauren Schuman, Jacob Bank, Betsy Shaak, Vivek Balasubramanian, Partho Ghosh, Ryan Barry, Colin Matthews, and Matthew Abersfeld.

You shared what actually worked (and what didn't). That's what made this valuable.

Thank you to Userflow, Goldcast, and LogRocket for sponsoring and making the giveaways happen.

One more thing:

I announced something BIG yesterday. Something I've been quietly building the last few weeks. I shared it live at the summit.

I'll share more tomorrow. Can't wait!

What was your biggest takeaway from the summit?

I've had the same conversation 30 times in the past few weeks. Different product leaders. Different companies. Same exhaustion...


Here's what I heard:

🔥 "I'm exhausted from constant firefighting."
🙅‍♂️ "I need to learn to say no with confidence."
😵 "AI is changing things so much. It's hard to catch up."
🤔 "I need more space for strategic thinking than being stuck in the weeds."

Product leaders are stuck firefighting when they want to be two steps ahead. 

AI's moving fast, expectations are moving faster, and we're supposed to have all the answers while coaching our team and keeping execs confident.

And when we finally pause? It's hard to find people who actually get what it's like to sit in our seat.

The truth is that we don't need another framework or AI playbook.

We need space to think, connect with peers who get it, and build our leadership practice.

That's why I'm excited to finally announce the Product Leaders Lab. 🧪

A private community I'm building for experienced product leaders (CPOs, VPs, Directors, Heads, Group PMs, etc.) who want to stay ahead and lead through change with confidence.

Inside the Lab, you'll get:

→ Cabin Crews: Small groups of 5-6 peers for honest conversations and accountability
→ Workshops & AMAs: Leadership topics like setting strategy, managing up, and leading through AI-driven change
→ Co-Labs: Bring a challenge, leave with clarity and support
→ The Leadership Library: Resources on defining success, influencing without authority, and building teams that scale

I'm also intentionally building for diversity. The industry is male-dominated, and I'm aiming for at least 50% of members to be women. There's real value in creating a more balanced space where different perspectives shape the conversation.

I'm opening 25 Founding Member spots right now.

Apply by November 25 to help shape the Lab.

✅ Apply now → https://lnkd.in/gHrG7AaB

I've already said yes to a handful of product leaders:

→ Betsy Shaak, VP of Product at Voxpopme
→ Luis Caceres, Product Director at Spotify
→ Brent Beatty, VP of Product at 7shifts
→ Michelle (Reiman) Wright, CPO at Kurtosys

Want to join them? That means only 21 spots left.

—

PS. Know a product leader who needs this? Tag them below. They'll thank you for it!

If I could grab coffee with my 21-year-old self, I'd give him 3 networking tips that took me 19 years to figure out.

Last week, I met someone new to the industry. They made every mistake I made early on.

Here's what I wish someone had told me:

1. Give more than you take.

Early in your career, you don't have much to give. What you CAN give:
→ A genuine thank you
→ Updates on how their advice helped you
→ Buying coffee when you can afford it

As you gain influence, you can give more. Just this week, someone I barely know sent me a Starbucks gift card out of nowhere. Didn't ask. They just wanted to say thanks for advice I gave months ago.

That's what happens when you give first.

2. Go beyond work topics.

Most people treat networking as transactions. It's short-term gains, immediate asks.

But real relationships are built on more than work:
→ Ask about their hobbies
→ Remember their kids' names
→ Check in about that marathon they mentioned

When I ask someone, "How's Cam doing?" and they're surprised I remembered their son's name? That's not a networking tactic. That's being a decent human who actually listens.

3. Turn online into offline when you can

If someone's in your city, make time to meet.
→ Not a 30-minute "networking coffee."
→ An actual hangout  for breakfast, a walk, whatever feels natural

Five years ago, Kirsty McConnell just started at Chameleon. She helped promote my first book, Product-Led Onboarding, when almost nobody knew who I was. Last week, she flew from Barcelona to Toronto. We met, not for networking but as friends.

We talked about marathon training, family adventures, and life moves. The professional stuff came up, but it was secondary.

That shift from transaction to friendship? That's when your "networking" becomes more about relationship-building.

Networking is simple: be genuinely helpful, stay in touch, and show up when you can.

If you're ever in Toronto, let me know. There are some great coffee spots I'd love to show you.

What's one networking lesson you wish you'd learned earlier?

—

PS. 🔖 Bookmark this for when you're wondering how to build real relationships, not just collect connections.

PPS. I'm building a private community space for 25 experienced product leaders (VPs, Directors, and Heads of Product) to connect about life and the latest hot topic... AI in product. It's called the Product Leaders Lab. If that's you, I'd love to connect.

My AI tool stack saves me 156 hours a year. That's 21 working days that I get back with my 3-year-old son, Zane...


Most product leaders I talk to use AI randomly. Chat here, summarize there, no system.

Here's what actually works for me (my 6-tool AI tool stack):

1. Claude (Projects)

Every client gets a project. Half-marathon training gets a project. Evening journaling gets a project.

I have everything in my life organized in Claude projects. That way, it has context about me and produces a richer, more accurate output.

This approach is way more powerful than prompt-and-pray.

2. Better Dictation (Text-to-speech AI tool)

I talk faster than I type. Always have. This voice-to-text helps me write posts, emails, and (yes) even books by speaking my thoughts. The ROI paid for itself after writing 3 client emails.

The best part is that it's a one-time payment (not a subscription!). Oh, it also helps that it uses ChatGPT for accurate transcription.

3. ClickUp (AI needs structure)

AI is only as good as your data structure. I codify every workflow in ClickUp, including deliverables, presentations, and tasks.

The AI can then actually help, rather than hallucinating random suggestions.

4. Fathom.ai  (Meeting notes)

This records my client calls and lets me chat with the transcripts afterward. I use it to recap client requirements, pull exact quotes for proposals, and craft follow-up pitches

Saves me from frantically searching "wait, what did they say about their onboarding drop-off rate?"

5. Lex Page (Long-form writing copilot)

This helped me write my new book, Eureka. It's built specifically for long-form content, not just quick prompts. When I'm stuck on a chapter or a framework explanation, Lex helps me think it through without losing my voice.

6. Mem (My second brain)

I dump thoughts here, and it organizes them automatically. Then it funnels insights into my calendar, links to relevant projects, and surfaces patterns I wouldn't have seen.

It's like having a research assistant who actually remembers what you said 3 months ago.

The Pattern is that each tool solves one specific friction point in my workflow:

→ Claude = thinking partner
→ Better Dictation = speed up input
→ ClickUp = structure the chaos
→ Fathom = never lose context
→ Lex = write without losing your voice
→ Mem = organize thoughts automatically

The result is 2-3 hours back every week.

That's time I spend with my family, not typing the same client email for the 47th time.

What's your AI stack look like? 
What am I missing?

—

✅ PS. Bookmark this stack for when you're drowning in admin work and need those hours back. Future you will thank me.

PPS. If you like this, I'm hosting the AI Product Leaders Summit next Tuesday, 11/18. I have product leaders from Adobe, Slack, and Google sharing their daily AI Toolkit.

Register via the last page of the document.

Ramli John's 6 AI Tool Stack

Excited to be hosting the AI Product Leaders Summit on 11/18. 
Here's why I'm genuinely excited about this..


I've been watching product leaders navigate AI for the past year. Some thriving, most overwhelmed. Everyone's trying to figure out the same things: 

How do we build AI products users love? 
How do we structure teams for AI success? 
How do we get CEO buy-in without overpromising?

This summit brings together people who are doing this work right now:

→ Christine Itwaru ( VP of Product and Design at Beamer/Userflow) on building AI-first product teams
→ Lauren Schuman (VP of Product Growth at Close) on maintaining PLG principles while integrating AI
→ Partho Ghosh (VP of Product at Uberall) on getting product-CEO alignment
→ Jacob Bank (Founder at Relay.app, Former PM at Google) on the AI toolkit that actually matters

Plus product leaders who work or have worked at Adobe, Slack, Spotify, Microsoft, and more.

No vendor pitches. No theory. Just real strategies from people actively building AI products and leading teams through this transformation.

November 18th, 10 AM to 3:30 PM EST. Free and virtual.

Register for free: https://lnkd.in/gcCwnvvA

What's your biggest question about leading AI products?

—
PS. Thanks to the sponsors Userflow, LogRocket, and Goldcast for making this event possible and giving away over $4,000 in prizes, including a product onboarding audit, an AI prototyping course, and books from speakers.

PPS. Tag a product leader who needs to see this.

+10K AI tools exist right now (and growing). What are product teams actually using to ship features? That's a question we're answering at the AI Product Leaders Summit.

Not what's trending on Product Hunt. Not the flashiest new thing. 
The tools product teams are actually using day-to-day.

I'm bringing together some stellar product leaders to tackle this topic and more:

→ Matthew Abersfeld (LogRocket's CEO, ex-Google Chrome PM) on frontend monitoring for AI product experiences
→ Mariana Danylak (Director of PM, Growth at Slack) on what her growth team uses to ship AI features
→ Jacob Bank (CEO of Relay.app, ex-Google Gmail/Calendar PM) on the tools that matter for product leaders
→ Deepti Pradeep (Director of PM, Growth at Adobe) on the tools driving growth for Photoshop and Lightroom

What frameworks help you decide what to build? What prototyping tools are worth learning? How do you monitor AI features in production?

Real tools. Real workflows. No vendor pitches.

November 18th, 10 AM - 3:30 PM EST. Free and virtual.

Register for free: https://lnkd.in/gcCwnvvA

What AI tool has actually made your team more productive?

—

PS. I'm giving away a $1,450 seat for Colin Matthews' "AI Prototyping for Product Managers" course to a live attendee! I took the course and loved it.

He'll also be joining us for the panel, "The AI Toolkit for Product Leaders!"

PPS. Tag a product leader who needs to see this toolkit session.

Elias Rubel

Profit Labs

Bookkeeping & accounting for agencies who are serious about profitability.

NoBoringDesign (NBD)

The go-to design agency for portcos at Sequoia Capital, A16Z, Bessemer, Y Combinator and countless others.

Owner

Matter Made

Companies like Jasper.ai, Dropbox, Loom, Yelp, G2, Calm for Business, Productboard and many others trust Matter Made to smash their yearly growth targets through best in class paid media.

Glider

I used to think I didn’t have any specific skill, and sometimes I still feel like a total impostor. 

$10M+ in profit is a crazy number but the path has been all but smooth. 

Imagine losing $200k/mo (coming straight out of your bank account) for 6 months while you try to give your team stable pay in the face of a collapsing market. 

Imagine stumbling around in the dark, pretending to know what you’re doing while others rely on your direction. 

Building small businesses isn’t easy, which is why I’m building mine in the open. 

For all of you to see. 

The ups, the downs, the hardships and the wins. 

I hope you’ll join me for the journey.

I hope sharing this publicly sparks further inspiration and sheds light on what can be for many (myself included) one of the most wild rides of your life.  

Let’s build together. 

---------------------

Investor / LP:
- A16Z
- Accel Ventures
- Tribe Capital
- GTMFund
- Offline Ventures

Angel Investor:
- Endgame
- Northbeam
- Grain
- Folk

Marketing Advisor:
- Jasper.ai
- Dropbox
- Loom
- Productboard
- Grain
- TestBox
- G2

Note: I’m no longer actively advising or investing in startups.

Companies like Dropbox, Hopin, G2, Calm for Business, Loom, Productboard and many others rely on Matter Made to smash their yearly growth targets through best in class Go-To-Market programs.

Our work ranges from championing high velocity digital campaigns, to driving Account Based Marketing programs, to diving deep into persona driven messaging & positioning, to launching Product Led Growth Initiatives, to full funnel conversion rate optimization.

Our clients range from post-IPO enterprises, to fast growing scale-ups backed by Sequoia Capital, True Ventures, NEA, Redpoint, and just about every other big name in the valley.

www.mattermade.co

Eli Rubel

Can I be honest? I don't care about leaving a legacy with my companies.

Most of us run cool internet businesses, but we are definitely not Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. We're agency owners helping other businesses with marketing, design, and operations.

Leaving “a legacy” in our vertical kind of feels like a waste of time.

The business world won't remember 99.99% of us and our agencies probably won't outlast us by decades.

Yet we spend so much energy chasing industry recognition, trying to be thought leaders, and worrying about how we'll be remembered professionally.

Once this really clicked for me, I realized all I want to do in life is:

1. Be a great dad
2. Be a great friend
3. Show up for people in my life

This mindset takes pressure off trying to be something you're not. 

It focuses your energy on what you can actually control and builds real fulfillment instead of external validation.

To me, that’s what real “legacy” is.

A joke (or is it) that I frequently say to friends: the best day of my career will be the day I permanently delete my LinkedIn and the rest of my digital business footprint.

$10M+ in agency profit since 2020. Follow to build a more profitable agency.

I was sobbing behind a conference hall when a near stranger changed my business forever.

I was going through the worst time of my life. Everything felt like it was falling apart. But I had already committed to this conference, so I showed up anyway thinking I could push through.

Big mistake. Being around all that forced networking energy when you're barely holding it together is brutal. 

So much so that I snuck behind the building and called my wife, completely breaking down.

That's when this guy I knew through the grapevine found me. I'm still not sure if he could read my energy or if this was just his natural approach to conferences. Probably both.

He didn't ask what was wrong or try to give advice. He just said "let's go around booth to booth. I'm gonna start introducing you to people."

Looking back, it's even funnier and crazier that he didn't know these people either. He was just walking up to booths, learning what they did, then introducing me as someone they should talk to. 

He was making connections for me when I had zero energy to do it myself.

That act of unexpected kindness in my lowest moment earned him my loyalty for life.

Since then, I've referred 10+ clients to him. I think about him way more than any other random business contact. 

He's made more money from our relationship than most of my formal partnerships.

All because he chose to help instead of pitch when he saw someone struggling.

With the conference circuit in full effect, I thought this story was important to highlight. 

You never know what someone's going through, and some small, simple act of kindness like this can make someone's day personally as well as help make your career professionally.

In 2011, Tim Ferriss taught me a ridiculously valuable business lesson at a hotel bar in Austin.

It was at South by Southwest, which was the golden days of tech without anyone realizing it:

- Foursquare was throwing parties

- Yelp was having events

- Twitter was the hot new thing

- All these startups that would become massive were just scrappy little companies

I'm at the Driscoll bar with some friends soaking it all in.

Then Tim walks up and starts chatting with us.

He was already pretty famous. The 4-Hour Work Week had been out for years, and everyone knew who he was.

We're having this great conversation when he says:

"Hey guys, I actually have to go chat with this other person. But I'll be back."

We all just looked at each other like, "Yeah, right."

That was clearly his polite way of getting out of there. Classic move:

- Say you'll be back
- Duck out
- Never return

We totally understood. But then Tim blew our minds.

Contrary to our expectations, he:

- Finished his conversation

- Walked back through the huge crowded bar

- Had everyone recognizing him and trying to get his attention

- Came right back to us and said, "Oh, sorry about that. Anyway..."

- Picked up the conversation exactly where we left off

That moment stuck with me for years.

Anyone can be charming when they're trying to impress you. But your true character shows up in the moments when you think no one's watching or when it would be easier to just disappear.

Tim had zero obligation to come back to a group of random people at a conference. But he said he would, so he did.

Almost 15 years later, that level of intentionality is something I aspire to emulate each and every day.

My agency's "success" in Q1 and Q2 was built on a lie I told myself.

I’m going to be totally real with you for a minute: For the first half of this year, I thought NoBoringDesign was crushing it.

Q1 and Q2 looked amazing. Revenue was strong, the team felt confident, and I was patting myself on the back for such a smooth transition out of the business.

Then we did a retro and discovered that success was fake.

See last year in Q4 I did a ton of marketing, business development, and sales work. Our review of the pipeline for the first half of the year revealed that much of the revenue growth was attributed to that work.

…of which I, nor the team, had done more of in Q1 2025 or after. 

So, when that Q4 pipeline dried up, top line revenue went from “holy cow, this is great” to “holy shit, we need to ramp up sales”.

Then the problems started compounding:

1. Our key seller transition from AE > Sales Leader which took her time away from… selling.

2. We hired a sales rep who didn't work out after 2 months of training

3. Had to find their replacement and spend another 2 months training

4. Our sales leader went on maternity leave right in the middle of this

The team spent months focused on training and covering for people instead of actually selling. Zero bandwidth for business development.

The lesson, even 7+ years into my agency owner career: you can't coast on past momentum indefinitely.

No matter where you’re at with your agency:

Never rely on current momentum to help you achieve future goals. Build systems to continuously create that momentum, and you’ll never have to make a post like this.

After spending the last few years helping agencies escape the "Agency Cycle of Sadness," I’m finally doing something about it.

Agency owners keep making decisions based on gut instinct instead of real financial data. They're flying blind when it comes to profit margins, cash flow, and forecasting.

So I'm starting "The Profit Forecast" - a weekly newsletter that gives you one actionable finance insight you can apply immediately to improve your agency's profitability.

What you'll get each week:

→ One focused topic per issue (no fluff)
→ Real frameworks we use with $1M-$15M agencies
→ 5-minute read delivered every Tuesday
→ Behind-the-scenes profit strategies that actually work
→ Step-by-step processes you can implement right away

100% free.

Each issue tackles one specific problem agency owners face daily - whether that's forecasting accurately, pricing for profit, or identifying which clients are actually making you money.

The same insights our clients get when they work with Profit Labs, now available to everyone.

First issue drops this week, covering the "Agency Cycle of Sadness" and the exact 3-step system to escape it for good.

Thanks for trusting me with your time on LinkedIn. This newsletter will be the same quality content you expect, but a bit more playbook / action oriented, and delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/dufC9TDg

Just a few weeks before this video, which was shot 12 years ago, I was $25K in debt because of my past failed startup.

It was called “Tell It In 10”, and it went absolutely nowhere. Most nights I’d stare at the ceiling of my moms unfinished basement wondering if I was completely delusional for chasing this startup dream while my friends were climbing corporate ladders.

But in this video, I'm working on Glider. We were building something that felt different. The product was working, users were engaging, and for the first time in years I wasn't questioning whether I was wasting my life.

That focus you see in the video paid off. Glider sold for $3M in 2014.

The VC world would call that a failure, but when you go from sleeping in your moms basement (it would flood every winter) with negative $25k to walking away with $1.2M cash, it changes everything. Suddenly I was a 24 year old kid who could take real risks without the crushing weight of immediate financial stress.

I tried ecommerce with KTM Twins. Bought it for $750K, spent 4 years learning that ecommerce wasn’t my thing, and sold it for basically what I paid. 

Then there was Waggle Foods, a keto dog food company that lasted exactly long enough to sell 1 unit.

But those experiments taught me what I actually wanted to build.

2019 was when Matter Made launched. B2B demand generation for agencies and SaaS companies. Everything I'd learned about sales, marketing, and running a business finally clicked. 

That business has generated over $9M in lifetime profit.

NoBoringDesign followed in 2023 as my second agency, focused purely on design. Together the two agencies have pushed passed the $10M lifetime profit number. 

Now there's @Profit Labs. It's where everything from the last 15 years comes together. I'm helping other agency owners build the profitable, sustainable businesses I wished I had access to when I was that guy sleeping in my moms basement. 

The distance between that video and today still surprises me. 

That focused kid hustling away had no idea where this path would lead, but he kept building anyway.

11 years after selling my first SaaS for $3M, and after building 3 agencies in between, I'm returning to the software space with SurveyGate.

Ironically, I built it wrong the first time as a result of committing a cardinal SaaS sin: Not putting myself in my customer’s shoes enough.

How I Initially Built SurveyGate:

- Basic NPS collection tool for agencies
- Simple links that triggered after X days from first visit
- Just focused on Net Promoter Score feedback
- Basic logic for when surveys would appear

What I Learned When I Started Using It:

- Signed up as my own customer for Profit Labs to collect feedback
- Realized there were a lot of things I wished it did differently
- Got feedback from our own team while onboarding NoBoringDesign
- Discovered agencies need multiple types of feedback throughout client lifecycle
- Found that single-purpose links weren't flexible enough for complex agency needs

How I Rebuilt It:

- Added multiple survey types: NPS, CSAT, post-onboarding, and custom questions
- Built in churn risk and upsell opportunity notifications
- Created "feedback journeys" to automate entire client lifecycle in one system
- Added template journeys specifically designed for agencies
- Built in testimonial video recording for high-scoring responses

What started as minor tweaks turned into a massive overhaul of what the product does and how it does it. Still focused on collecting client feedback, but the approach became totally different.

The lesson: Using your own product reveals problems you never see from the outside.

Also, I want to give out free trials of the product. Comment, SURVEY, and I'll send you the free trial link!

You can’t call yourself a seasoned agency owner if you have not gone through this exact cycle at least one time in your career:

I call it the Agency Cycle of Sadness.

I've been through this 6+ times in my 6 years growing agencies past $1M in profit.

The 9 steps:

1. Revenue grows (you feel unstoppable)
2. Agency is profitable (feels like you finally "made it")
3. Sales drop (panic starts setting in)
4. Agency overstaffed (you realize you hired too fast)
5. Layoffs (gut-wrenching conversations with good people)
6. Sales pick back up (relief, but you're gun-shy)
7. Agency understaffed (you're drowning in work)
8. Manic recruiting focus (trying your best not to simply hire anyone with a pulse)
9. Team burnout (quality drops, clients get frustrated)

Then client churn happens and you're back to step 1.

The cycle repeats because most agency owners are flying blind. 

They lack clarity on what actually drives profit, have no foresight into cash flow issues, and spend all their time buried in operational tasks instead of planning ahead.

I started Profit Labs to break this cycle. 

We keep your critical metrics visible so you can see problems coming, build financial models so you can plan your moves, and handle the operational finance work so you can focus on growth instead of reacting to crises.

If you read this post and thought to yourself, "Oh man, he's right," comment or DM me and I'll send you some resources that'll help out.

There are two types of agency owners:

- Ones who are too scared to time track
- Ones who do it anyway

People say it hurts team morale or shows lack of trust. 

But, whether you like it or not, if you're selling someone else's time (which we all are), you need to know how that time is spent.

Here's how it plays out for each group: 

Path 1: You don't time track

1. You lose visibility into what your team is actually doing
2. You can't accurately calculate how much time each client requires
3. You have no idea which clients are profitable vs. bleeding money
4. You can't identify which team members are efficient vs. struggling
5. Client projects consistently go over budget but you don't know why
6. Your agency starts faltering as costs spiral out of control

Path 2: You do time track

1. You see exactly where every hour goes across all projects
2. You can calculate true profit per client with precision
3. You spot inefficiencies before they become expensive problems
4. You know which team members need training vs. which are rockstars
5. You can confidently scale because you have the data to guide decisions
6. You consistently hit your net margin goals because you control what you measure

At 10+ people, you're either tracking time or you're guessing. 

And guessing doesn't pay the bills.

Last week I did something every agency owner should do, but many avoid:

I marked 4 deals Closed Lost.

It sucks, but it’s the best thing I could have done.

Every single one of those deals had been sitting there for weeks. Maybe months.

And for the longest time, even after going through this with my prior agencies, I was lying to myself and allowing HubSpot to give me a false view of pipeline.

I know I’m not alone, either. 

Agency owners love to keep zombie deals in the pipeline. We tell ourselves they're still warm, count them in our forecasts, and use them to feel better about our numbers.

But those dead deals are stealing your focus from the work that actually matters.

Being honest enough with yourself to acknowledge that and do something about it will only serve you well. 

Today, my CRM is uglier to look at – but my pipeline number is REAL.

I can see exactly where I stand and know precisely how much pipeline I need to build.

If you’re an agency owner, I challenge you:

1. Open your CRM
2. Look through each record
3. Ask yourself if the deal is even remotely alive

I have a strong feeling your overall pipeline number will drop, but overall accuracy will greatly increase. 

PS - here’s a freebie tactic that’s served me well on this front:

If you have a deal on life-support, do this: send them a one line email 

“Name - is this still a priority for you?” 

And then mark the deal as closed lost. 

This email is magical and almost always gets a reply of some sort. If it doesn’t the deal is SUPER dead and shouldn’t be in your pipeline.

If the nudge gets them to reply as interested, you can remove them from Closed Lost. Fight the urge to edit that email and make it softer. It gets replies because it’s very direct.

Your agency’s P&L is the last document you should use to make decisions. There are 3 other metrics that will make you way more money:

Truth is, P&Ls are good to have when looking at the business’ last month. But, that’s all it’s good for: Looking back.

If you’re making decisions about the next 90 days based on the last 30, instead of what’s happening right now, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage—especially when compared to agency owners who make decisions based on these 3 forward-looking metrics:

1. What's our team utilization today vs. 30 days from now?

If you're selling someone else's time, you can't do it effectively if you don't know how much time they're spending.

Understanding current and future utilization rates gives you the clarity on current and upcoming staffing needs.

2. Which client engagements are least profitable vs. most profitable?

I've been in leadership meetings where someone says, "Client X keeps asking for things out of scope, but they're an important logo. We keep saying yes to keep them happy."

You kick the can down the road, thinking maybe this is their last request. It never is.

But, if you understood gross margin by customer, you could see that those out-of-scope requests might be putting you at break-even or a loss. Without it, you’re flying blind.

3. Are we actually going to hit our targets based on current performance?

Most agency owners don't forward forecast. You should know if you're tracking to hit your fiscal year target based on current performance.

This gives you the opportunity to course correct by pumping more volume, hiring a rep, or improving conversion rates. This is one of my favorite Profit Labs features 🙂

P.S. - If you're an agency owner who wants actual financial visibility without the accounting headaches, we should chat. Profit Labs gives you the clarity you need while handling bookkeeping, AR/AP, and all that other stuff you probably hate doing. DM me.

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The Battle

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