MIND YOUR BUSINESS
state-of-the-art venues tailored for jazz appreciation. Fans are busy - so shows are generally 90 minutes long, giving people time to enjoy a break and still make it home to go to school or work the next day. He knows his audience wants to feel connected to the community, so outreach through education and artist development are integral to the SFJAZZ mission.
SFJAZZ now has one of the highest rates of audience-sponsored revenue in the artistic nonprofit arena. Donations and sponsors are still important, but knowing what customers want has given SFJAZZ a unique advantage in being self-funding (through ticket sales) for a large part of its operation.
Creating product-marketing fit
Second, create product-market fit. Not every organization nails this. Some try to create a fit over time or believe so much in their own innovation that they power forward, unsure why revenue is slow to keep pace. Sasha Orloff, co-founder and CEO of Puzzle, has been hyper-focused on product-market fit since before the company even shipped.
Sasha knew he wanted to upend the status quo in bookkeeping and accounting. Artificial intelligence (AI) and rapid technological change were creating opportunities for new ways to handle finance, but accounting software wasn't keeping pace with the rest of the tech world. While Sasha understood some of the frustrations, he explored deeply what customers would want by tackling product development from a variety of perspectives.
He leaned hard into the Sean Ellis
methodology, a fast and effective way to evaluate the consistency of a particular product in the market, by taking best practices from the methodology and applying them effectively. He surveyed and had deep conversations with business entrepreneurs and founders to understand what they were missing from legacy accounting technologies. Then he talked with the people who would use any accounting technology on a daily basis and got close to accountants and bookkeepers.
His efforts have paid off tremendously. Puzzle is now positioned as the modern accounting platform for the AI era, enabling its customers to get financials and insights every day. Importantly, Puzzle is trusted by the industry and thousands of start-ups and has auto-categorized $30B+ of transactions.
Remaining flexible
Third, remain flexible. Business is going to change every day - twists and turns are normal. Christine Tedstrom, Senior Director of Finance at apparel powerhouse Marine Layer, tells other business leaders and colleagues to look at long-term value creation and not just short-term gains. The only way to achieve those goals is to acknowledge that flexibility is essential to great outcomes - and while plans are super, they will have to adapt.
A well-known host of a fashion reality show used to say that in fashion, "one day you're in and the next you're out." As an innovative, California-inspired retailer focused on sustainability and recycled materials, Marine Layer's leadership makes sure they stay absolutely "in" by committing to great products, keen market tracking and business understanding delivered with financial data. They know when to stay the course