"Building Revenue from Scratch" David Hahn, #ProductSF | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

David Hahn, former VP of Revenue Products at LinkedIn, shares his journey and insights into how LinkedIn monetized its platform and his career growth within the company.

Key Insights

• 🏛️ Monetization requires dedication, experimentation, and a clear understanding of the value of the asset being built.
• 👨‍💼 Retention of existing customers is crucial for long-term success in a freemium business model.
• 👤 Balancing revenue generation and user experience requires making thoughtful decisions on access and pricing.
• 💡 Effective communication skills are vital for product managers to instill confidence in executives and simplify complex ideas.
• 💯 Building a strong core, investing in core products, and ensuring customer satisfaction are essential for sustained success.
• *️⃣ Taking risks on people and providing them with opportunities to grow is key to career advancement.
• 🖐️ User feedback and data analysis play a crucial role in identifying monetization opportunities and prioritizing features.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How did LinkedIn approach monetization in its early days?

Monetizing LinkedIn was not an easy task. It took dedication, experimentation, and a clear understanding that the asset LinkedIn was building would be valuable to various industries. They prioritized building a strong customer base.

Q: What was LinkedIn's breakout revenue strategy?

LinkedIn realized that creating an ecosystem where recruiters could reach out to potential candidates while providing value to users was the key to monetization. They developed a specialized enterprise product for recruiting, focusing on making the process positive for both recruiters and users.

Q: How did LinkedIn balance the tension between revenue generation and user experience?

LinkedIn debated where to draw the line between access to their database and user experience. They prioritized user satisfaction by ensuring that the product remained valuable and did not degrade the overall experience. They preferred to err on the side of the user.

Q: How did David Hahn's career grow within LinkedIn?

David Hahn's career growth within LinkedIn was facilitated by working under the guidance of leaders like Keith Rabboy and Reid Hoffman. They took risks on people and designed roles that pushed individuals to excel beyond their comfort zones.

Summary

In this video, David Hahn, the former VP of revenue products at LinkedIn, shares his journey and insights on how LinkedIn grew from a small social network to a profitable billion-dollar company. He discusses the challenges and strategies they faced in monetizing the platform, the importance of focusing on the core product, and the qualities he looks for in product managers.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did LinkedIn approach revenue generation in its early days?

Building revenue at LinkedIn was not easy. It took years of dedication and experimentation to figure out the breakout revenue strategy for the platform. They knew they were building a valuable asset, but they weren't sure how it would be monetized. They tried different business models and learned from failures. The key was having a macro concept in mind and not relying solely on ad revenue as it requires massive scale.

Q: How did LinkedIn eventually find its successful revenue model?

LinkedIn found success with their InMail feature, which allowed people to reach out to others who weren't directly connected to them. They analyzed the data and found that outbound professionals, such as salespeople and recruiters, derived the most value from this feature. They prioritized these user segments and created an ecosystem where they could monetize recruiters while delivering value to the platform's users. This led to the development of a specific enterprise product for recruiting.

Q: How did LinkedIn deal with the tension between monetization and user experience?

LinkedIn faced challenges in striking the right balance between monetization and user experience. They had to decide how much access to give for free and where to draw the line. They learned that it was better to err on the side of the user and prioritize their experience. Monetization shouldn't degrade the user experience, especially considering the importance of retention for a freemium business model like LinkedIn's. They focused on making their existing customers happy and retained, which had a powerful impact on financial growth.

Q: How did LinkedIn handle the tension between sales and other product teams?

The tension between sales and other product teams was an ongoing challenge at LinkedIn. One of the hardest parts of the job was deciding where to draw the line regarding access to the platform's database. The key was to be thoughtful about the messages sent and to use pricing as an impediment for excessive outreach. It was important to consider the user experience and avoid overwhelming users with unwanted messages. LinkedIn acknowledged the high demand for recruiters to reach out to professionals but also ensured it was a positive experience for both parties.

Q: How did LinkedIn prioritize projects and balance the focus between consumer growth and monetization?

LinkedIn invested a significant amount of time and resources into their core products. They prioritized reinvesting in core products to make their existing customers even happier. The focus was on retention rather than acquiring new customers. While acquisition is important, retention plays a crucial role in financial success at scale. The challenge was not to get distracted by pursuing new opportunities and instead stay focused on the core business.

Q: What were some of the qualities that David Hahn developed as he grew in his career, and what does he look for in product managers?

David Hahn credits his growth to working under great mentors and being given challenging roles that pushed him beyond his comfort zone. He believes it's important to work for the right person who takes risks on people and designs roles where individuals feel underwater. Being the CEO of your product means taking ownership, not making excuses, and ensuring a strong belief in the product's success. Effective communication is also critical. Great product managers are assertive, have depth of knowledge, and can simplify complex ideas for easy understanding. They must communicate effectively with executives and have a strong presence.

Takeaways

David Hahn emphasizes the importance of experimenting, iterating, and staying focused on the core product in order to achieve success in monetization. LinkedIn's success came from having a macro concept and investing in valuable assets. Prioritizing user experience and retention, as well as effective communication and ownership, are key attributes for product managers. It is also crucial to work for mentors who push you beyond your limits and design roles where you feel underwater, enabling accelerated growth in your career.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• David Hahn joined LinkedIn when it was a small company and played a pivotal role in its monetization strategy, eventually becoming the VP of Revenue Products.

• It took several years of experimentation for LinkedIn to figure out its breakout revenue strategy.

• LinkedIn prioritized building an asset that would be valuable to different industries, leading to the development of a successful enterprise product for recruiting.