As we enter a new phase at HockeyStack, I have been thinking a lot about our goals and KPIs.
We have the usual ones that every company tracks: revenue, qualified pipeline, and all that
BUT after talking to 20+ unicorn founders, marketing leaders at $1B+ ARR companies, and world-class investors, I’ve uncovered the most well kept secret
KPI:
TAM
The best founders and product leaders are paranoid about TAM.
They are constantly looking out for new ways to expand it.
They make it a core metric for their quarterly reviews.
They develop product to expand their TAMÂ .
OR to get more out of their TAM
The most famous example is Rippling.
At a dinner with Parker Conrad (Co-founder & CEO at Rippling) he mentioned they are - and will continue - dominating their market because they develop
TWO products a year.
While their competitors have 1 MAYBE 2 products total.
This goes against all of the standard product marketing advice you hear.
But in the real world, TOP companies expand their TAM and get MORE out of their existing market by reaching PMF with their existing products and continuously developing more.
TAKEAWAY:
If you are a product leader or a founder:
Get as close as possible to your success team...
What do the customers want, what would they buy tomorrow if you build it, what add-ons do they need, what other markets can you get into with your existing product, what resources (CS, localization, product, etc.) do you need to increase your TAM?
If you are a marketing leader:
How can you support the TAM expansion with localization in new markets and product marketing to tailor the language to different markets?
That's the secret to $1B startup success.
This post was originally shared by Emir Atli on Linkedin.