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This week in PLG šŸ—ž

Take a long, hard look at yourself

Fresh off the PLG pressšŸ—ž: Figma sells out, Dreamforce takes over downtown SF, Fazz and Codacy get wings, and a lot more!

Gayatri Gaidhani
,
Rahul Krishnan
, and
Ruchin Kulkarni
Sep 22, 2022
8
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šŸ‘‹ Hey,Ā RuchinĀ here!Ā Welcome to this week’s editionĀ of the ✨Top of the Lyne✨ newsletter. Each week we publish the hottest news from the beautiful world ofĀ product-led growth! (PLG)

The outcome we're shooting for is simple... to get enough folks excited about the product-led world that we so dearly loveĀ ā¤ļø

Subscribe to get this newsletter every weekšŸ‘‡

Take Toplyne for a spin!šŸŽÆ


Into the Twitterverse 🐦🌌

  • Figma sells out 🫢

    Firstly - congratulations to the entire Figma team on the acquisition. Super well deserved! But as a vocal member of ā€œTeam Davidā€, I must say it was a sad day for me seeing Goliath get away with it.

    Context - Figma announced earlier last week that it will be acquired by Adobe for roughly ~$20B. The market reacted strongly against the move and Adobe’s stock plummeted 20% as a result.

    Now, here’s why I think the market has it all wrong - and why the math makes perfect sense for Adobe:

    • Where Figma is today: Projected ~$450M ARR at the end of 2022 and ~$800M at the end of 2023

    • GTM arbitrage: If historic acquisitions of high-growth tech companies by public market giants are to be considered (GitHub and LinkedIn by Microsoft, Slack by Salesforce), these companies are worth a whole lot more inside the acquirer than they are on their own. Something I like to call a ā€œGTM arbitrage tradeā€

    • The question to ask: If Figma is going to be at $800M ARR next year as an independent company, what can they achieve if they are to sell the product through Adobe's go-to-market engine. i.e., one of the meanest, baddest sales and marketing org on planet earth?

    • Answer: A whole lot more than $800M. Let’s imagine for a second that it is $2B.

    • Not so expensive: If Adobe, is able to achieve this - the $20B price tag doesn’t look so expensive anymore. It would be 10x next year’s ARR! Perfectly in line with long-term SaaS multiples.

    • Is there a price too high for survival? Adobe would also have taken out its #1 competitor and existential threat in the product design space.

    • TL;DR - I don’t think the market has done the GTM arbitrage math on Adobe’s transaction. Adobe might’ve managed to pull one of the shrewdest trades in recent M&A history.

Twitter avatar for @juanbuis
juan @juanbuis
figma: we are the fun, independent way to design :) adobe: what about $20,000,000,000 figma: ok fine
2:47 PM āˆ™ Sep 15, 2022
36,875Likes4,442Retweets

  • Dreamforce takes over downtown SF ā˜ļø

    Twitter avatar for @nickcald
    Nick Caldwell⚔ @nickcald
    City streets are looking abnormally clean. I’ve lived in SF long enough to know that it must be Dreamforce soon
    3:18 AM āˆ™ Sep 15, 2022
    355Likes13Retweets

The 20th Dreamforce has already given us the Salesforce Genie and the new Slack Canvas. We heard from Bono, Jane Goodall, Stewart Butterfield, and RHCP. We saw 30-foot artificial waterfalls and a man who attempted to dress himself head to toe with just free swag (and failed). All good stuff.

But lest we fail to forget amidst all the noise of Dreamforce - yesterday was the day Matthew McConaughey announced that a presidential run may be ā€œinevitable.ā€

  • Take a long hard look at yourself. šŸŖž

    • …if you think CRMs are broken for PLG. And then a long hard look at what you’re feeding into your CRM.

      If that doesn’t change your mind, maybe drop by the Moscone Center today. When Salesforce flex, they really flex.

Twitter avatar for @NextBigTeng
Janelle Teng @NextBigTeng
Traditional GTM tools woefully underserve growth-stage PLG companies. But today’s modern data infrastructure stack has unlocked new enablers for a hybrid PLS motion. In our latest @BessemerVP roadmap, @spdholakia @aschmitt111 & I discuss purpose-built solutions powering PLGšŸš€šŸ‘‡
Image
5:59 PM āˆ™ Sep 21, 2022
75Likes15Retweets

šŸ”Ž The PLG hunt

Faster replies šŸ¤ Positive Replies ft. Lavender šŸ’œ

Lavender might become your new favorite email assistant. Get positive replies faster by personalizing and optimizing emails with AI.

Loved by teams across SaaStr, Brex, and many more, Lavender is a true email wizard for all sales teams!

Twitter avatar for @lavenderhq
its lavender duh šŸ’œ @lavenderhq
Our users are the real #emailwizards.šŸ§™ā€ā™‚ļøšŸ§™ā€ā™€ļø Lots of #LavenderLove for Adem and Will who sent us this video they made. šŸ’œ
5:47 PM āˆ™ Jul 28, 2022

Which hot and upcoming PLG company are you most excited about? šŸ‘‡šŸ»

Leave a comment


Fundraising, Venture Capital, and ExitsĀ šŸ¤‘

  • Fazz raises $100M Series CšŸ’ø

    Fazz empowers businesses in Southeast Asia with easy access to digital payments, growth capital, and inventory management.

Twitter avatar for @TechCrunch
TechCrunch @TechCrunch
Southeast Asian fintech Fazz raises $100M Series C to serve businesses of all sizes tcrn.ch/3U6u25n by @CatherineShu
tcrn.chSoutheast Asian fintech Fazz raises $100M Series C to serve businesses of all sizesFazz, the Southeast Asian digital financial services group created by the merger of Payfazz and Xfers, announced today that it has raised a total of $100 million in Series C funding.
6:04 AM āˆ™ Sep 14, 2022
18Likes5Retweets
  • Codacy closes a $15M Series BšŸŽ‰

    Codacy helps companies understand code quality, security, compliance, and performance. Round led by Bright Pixel Capital.šŸ’°

    Twitter avatar for @TechCrunch
    TechCrunch @TechCrunch
    Codacy nabs $15M to improve code reviews with automation tcrn.ch/3RWNW1j by @Kyle_L_Wiggers
    tcrn.chCodacy nabs $15M to improve code reviews with automationCodacy, a startup offering automated code review services and performance monitoring, has raised $15M in venture capital.
    6:00 AM āˆ™ Sep 22, 2022
    15Likes3Retweets

Launches, events, and releases

  • Make user research joyful ft. Betafi ✨

    Capture and share your ā€œahaā€ moments from user interviews to usability testing with a single click. Make product decisions enabled by user insights and not just good old intuition!

    Twitter avatar for @betafi_co
    Betafi @betafi_co
    Betafi - Your User Research Sidekick is now LIVE on Product Hunt We hope you enjoy doing user research on Betafi and show us your love and support on Product Hunt here: producthunt.com/products/betafi #userresearch #usability #uxresearch #usabilitytesting #producthunt #betafilaunckweek1
    Image
    7:06 AM āˆ™ Sep 21, 2022
    20Likes19Retweets
  • Can I have your retention? ft. Retention AI

    Synch your customer data with your marketing channels and use the data to create winning strategies!

    Brb, on our way to save time and money while improving our LTVšŸ˜Ž

    Twitter avatar for @filos
    filos.eth šŸ‡®šŸ‡¹šŸ„‹ @filos
    Are you into #ecommerce and retention is your #1 problem for you? Then you should upvote this on @ProductHunt producthunt.com/posts/retentio… Thanks!
    producthunt.comRetention AI - AI no-code tool for customer segmentation & retention | Product HuntAcquisition matters. But retention matters more. Turn your data into winning strategies: identify, understand & nurture the best customers, increase the number of loyal ones and improve LTV by synching your customers’ data to all your marketing channels.
    1:40 PM āˆ™ Sep 21, 2022

Nerding out on PLG šŸ¤“šŸ“š

Community is where it is at!šŸ”„

Claire Butler, Senior Director of Marketing, Figma deep dives into how Figma layered community into its GTM strategy at every stage from stealth to enterprise.

From taking over design twitter to design advocates, it is a true masterclass in fueling growth led by community!šŸš€

Blazing Hot Meme Zone āš”ļø


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