Nextdoor Co-Founder Sarah Leary on The Journey of the Pivot | #ProductSF 2016 | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Nextdoor co-founder, Sarah Leary, shares the story of how the company came to be and the ups and downs they faced along the way.

Key Insights

• 🥺 Pivoting from a failed venture can lead to success if a real need is identified and validated.
• 🥡 Taking a hypothesis-driven approach and testing ideas quickly is crucial for product development and growth.
• 😖 Pride of ownership and responsibility can be instilled in users by making them founding members of their neighborhoods.
• 🚱 Non-traditional growth strategies, tailored to a specific product or market, can yield positive results.
• 👤 Collecting and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data is essential for understanding user needs and accelerating growth.
• ⚖️ Scaling a platform internationally requires adapting successful strategies from one market to another.
• 💨 Building a product that people need and will miss if it's taken away is a sign of success.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How did Nextdoor pivot from the failed company Fanbase?

Fanbase, an online Almanac for sports fans, didn't succeed, but the Nextdoor co-founders had the opportunity to pivot. They took the lessons learned from Fanbase's failure and conducted thorough research to identify a real need for a platform that connects local communities.

Q: What were some of the challenges faced by Nextdoor during its early stages?

Nextdoor faced challenges such as identifying a product market fit, validating the need for their platform, and finding effective growth strategies. They had to iterate on their product and gather feedback from potential users to ensure they were meeting their needs.

Q: How did Nextdoor convince people to become founding members and start their own neighborhoods?

Nextdoor made becoming a founding member a special and responsible role. Interested individuals had to fill out an application and draw their neighborhood boundaries. They were given a limited time to recruit enough verified members to launch their neighborhood.

Q: How did Nextdoor grow and gain traction outside of Silicon Valley?

Nextdoor used various growth strategies, including partnering with city officials and police departments, using offline invite mechanisms like mailed invitations, and leveraging local press coverage. They also tested their platform in different cities and states to ensure it worked across the country.

Summary

Sarah Leary, co-founder of Nextdoor, shares the story of how the company pivoted from its failed project, Fanbase, and became a successful online community platform for neighborhoods. She discusses the importance of learning from mistakes, understanding market needs, and iterating quickly. She also emphasizes the unconventional growth strategies Nextdoor used, such as offline invite mechanisms, partnerships with city officials, and leveraging local press. Sarah highlights the significance of data and the commitment to understanding user behavior in order to drive growth. She concludes by talking about the international expansion of Nextdoor and the importance of hypothesis testing in innovation.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did the failure of Fanbase lead to the start of Nextdoor?

Sarah and her co-founders started a project called Fanbase, which aimed to be the world's largest online Almanac for sports fans. However, after realizing that Fanbase wasn't going to be the next ESPN killer, they decided to pivot and explore new ideas. They wanted to build something that people really needed, which led them to the idea of Nextdoor.

Q: How did Nextdoor approach the pivot and ensure they were building something needed?

Nextdoor approached the pivot by learning from their mistakes with Fanbase. They realized that Fanbase was a nice-to-have product rather than a must-have. They took too long to get the product to market and lacked market feedback. They also missed the product-market fit. To ensure Nextdoor was different, they conducted a survey to understand if people wanted to be more aware of what's happening in their neighborhood. The results showed that 78% of people agreed, indicating a significant need. They also asked about interest levels in different types of information, which validated the need for a neighborhood-focused social network.

Q: How did Nextdoor get feedback on their ideas before building anything?

Before writing a line of code or designing anything, Nextdoor created wireframes and mock-ups to share with potential users of the product. They discussed the concept with people in different parts of the country and sought their feedback. These wireframes and mock-ups allowed Nextdoor to understand the level of excitement and interest in the idea. This early feedback was crucial in determining the direction they should take with the product.

Q: How did Nextdoor validate their product-market fit before launching?

Nextdoor validated their product-market fit by testing the product in a real-world setting. They found a community in Menlo Park that was willing to be their guinea pig. Within six weeks, they built a simple prototype and launched it in the Menlo Park community. This allowed them to test if people would actually use the product as they had indicated in the earlier feedback. The positive response and usage of the product in the Menlo Park community validated their product-market fit.

Q: What were some of the challenges Nextdoor faced in terms of growth?

One of the main challenges Nextdoor faced was figuring out how to grow and get neighborhoods across the country to start using Nextdoor. They had to think outside of traditional growth strategies and try unscalable things in the beginning. They focused on seeding the communities and getting things right before scaling. They used offline invite mechanisms such as mailed invitations, postcards, flyers, and lawn signs to get the word out to neighbors who might not know their neighbors' names or have their email addresses. They also formed partnerships with city officials and police departments to get their support in spreading the word. Additionally, they leveraged local press to share stories of neighborhoods coming together using Nextdoor.

Q: How did Nextdoor ensure a sense of ownership and pride for founding members of neighborhoods?

Nextdoor made the process of becoming a founding member special and a source of pride. When someone signs up and there isn't already a neighborhood in their area, they are given the option to be the founding member. They are asked to fill out a form and then have to draw the neighborhood boundary and give it a name. They are also given the responsibility of recruiting a certain number of verified members within a specific timeframe. Being a founding member comes with a sense of ownership and the knowledge that they played a crucial role in starting the neighborhood.

Q: How did Nextdoor manage their team during the wayfinding process and ensure maximum productivity?

Nextdoor had a team of seven people who were willing to go on the pivot journey. They had daily meetings to come up with ideas and tested them quickly. They worked on multiple projects in parallel and gathered feedback, eventually letting data guide them towards Nextdoor as the winning idea. Nextdoor made it clear that everyone had the option to leave if they didn't want to go on the pivot journey. The team's enthusiasm and commitment to the unknown journey were crucial for the success of Nextdoor.

Q: How did Nextdoor approach growth strategies internationally?

Nextdoor's growth strategies, such as offline invite mechanisms, partnerships with city officials, and leveraging local press, were adapted for international expansion. They started in the Netherlands, where they repeated the tactics that worked in the US but with a faster pace. They focused on validating the product-market fit in each country and applied their learnings from the US to other markets. They have seen success in countries like the Netherlands and the UK.

Q: Can you explain the importance of hypothesis testing in Nextdoor's approach to innovation?

Hypothesis testing is a key aspect of Nextdoor's approach to innovation. They believe in coming up with hypotheses and being willing to test unconventional ideas that may not be considered best practices. They emphasize the importance of testing things that make sense for their specific product and market. It allows them to discover innovative solutions and iterate based on data and user feedback.

Q: How has Nextdoor utilized data to drive growth?

Nextdoor has a strong commitment to data and understanding user behavior. They track how people use the platform and gather both qualitative and quantitative data to gain insights into user satisfaction, frustrations, and usage patterns. This data helps them identify areas for improvement and accelerate growth. Nextdoor's focus on data has been a crucial factor in their success.

Takeaways

Nextdoor's journey from a failed project to a successful online community platform for neighborhoods highlights the importance of learning from mistakes and understanding market needs. They focused on building a product that people truly needed, rather than just a nice-to-have. They validated their product-market fit by conducting surveys, getting feedback on wireframes and mock-ups, and testing the product in a real-world setting. Nextdoor's unconventional growth strategies, such as offline invite mechanisms and partnerships with city officials, have been instrumental in their growth. They emphasize the significance of data and the commitment to understanding user behavior in driving growth. Nextdoor's expansion into international markets has allowed them to apply their learnings from the US and continue their success. Overall, Nextdoor's approach to hypothesis testing and innovation has been a key factor in their ability to bring value to their users and grow as a company.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Nextdoor started as a pivot from the failed company Fanbase, which aimed to be an online Almanac for sports fans but didn't gain traction.

• Before writing a single line of code, Nextdoor conducted surveys to gauge interest in a platform for local communities and found that people had a real need for it.

• Nextdoor went through multiple iterations, testing wireframes and mock-ups to validate their product market fit before launching in a local neighborhood as a pilot.

• They focused on non-traditional growth strategies, such as offline invite mechanisms and partnerships with city officials and police departments, to scale the platform.