Copywriters obsess over words. Alex James? He obsesses over belief shifts—and that’s why his clients win.In this episode I sat down with Alex James, a messaging strategist who helps B2B service companies stand out in crowded, look-alike markets.His moto is "Your perspective is your product”🧠 What you’ll learn in this episode0:00 – Why most agencies and service firms all sound the same02:11 – How competition creates the need for sharper positioning03:57 – Why inspirational agency slogans fail (and what to say instead)06:42 – Alex’s definition of taste and why it’s a strategic advantage11:20 – How Alex developed his signature visual style (and why it works)15:35 – How environment shapes your creative taste18:43 – The competitive advantage of beauty in design & words21:44 – Your perspective is your product (explained with real SaaS examples)26:14 – How HubSpot used a perspective to win a market29:27 – How to find your own perspective without sounding like a sales pitch32:02 – The 3 types of perspective: mindset, method, tactic36:45 – When to use each perspective depending on audience warmth47:54 – Why selling services is harder than selling SaaS55:33 – How to make believable promises without over-promising59:26 – Why writing visually is so hard (and how to fix it)1:02:15 – How Alex actually works with clients (and why his process changed)1:14:24 – Why great collaborations need “escalating commitments”1:15:33 – Alex’s surprising answer to: What’s your favorite SaaS?💡 Steal these quick winsSwap “what we do” for “what you’ll be able to do because of us.”Most service pages talk about deliverables.Clients buy outcomes.This shift makes your message instantly more compelling and easier to visualize.Why it works: It reframes your value around client impact — not your internal process.1. Use metaphors to make abstract ideas visual.If they can picture it, they’ll understand it.If they can’t picture it, they’ll scroll.Why it works: Metaphors turn invisible ideas (like “strategy” or “messaging”) into images the brain can actually hold onto.2. Anchor your promise to something you can control.“10x revenue” is not in your control.“Make your SaaS more attractive and easier to understand” is.Why it works: Believable promises build trust. Unbelievable ones trigger doubt — even if your work is great.3. Identify your acquisition differentiator (not your retention differentiator).Clients say they love you because you’re reliable.But they chose you for a different reason. That’s your message.Why it works: Retention features keep clients. Attraction features win them.4. Document your perspective pyramid (mindset → method → tactic).Mindset = great for content.Method = great for your homepage.Tactic = great for cold audiences.Why it works: You’ll stop guessing what to say. Every channel gets the perspective it can actually convert with.

Your SaaS design might be functional, loved by customers… and still too shy to stand out. That was Wise before their rebrand.In this episode I’m talking with product designer Meylin Bayryamali, who’s worked on global products at Wise and now Cash App.We dig into how she thinks about taste, why she started DJing to escape the Figma bubble, and how that led into one of the most interesting fintech rebrands of the last decade. We also talk about design process, research that actually ships, and how her team uses AI in a way that raises the quality bar instead of lowering it.If you’re a SaaS founder or someone leading product in a “serious” space (fintech, ops, B2B), this one will give you a very practical way to think about taste, branding and AI without the hype.🧠 What you’ll learn:00:45 – Meylin’s story from agency life to Wise and Cash App02:57 – What “taste” means to her and why average is the real enemy04:40 – How DJing and music unlocked better product taste than staring at Figm08:20 – Inside Wise’s rebrand and the moment customers loved the product but not the look10:25 – Why tone of voice and culture mattered more than just new visuals12:14 – Working with an external agency without losing in-house ownership16:52 – The origin story of Wise’s tapestry visuals and the “lost art” of banknotes21:12 – Balancing growth and delight when time is always the constraint24:26 – How projects are scoped and shipped without rigid sprints27:32 – Wise’s approach to research: when to talk to customers vs when to measure33:06 – Why LinkedIn is a terrible place for design advice and how to avoid bad taste36:16 – Very practical ways Cash App uses AI to speed up quality work38:36 – Using AI imagery to sell an idea internally and get branding support41:35 – Why Bump is her current favorite product and what it says about committing to a strong style42:47 – Closing the loop on taste: good, bad, but never in the middle💡 Steal these quick wins:1/ Use “good or bad, but never average” as a design filter.Before you ship a flow or a page, ask: *does this have any point of view or could it belong to any competitor?*Why it’s worth it: this one question forces you to add at least one bold decision — in layout, copy, or visuals — that makes your product memorable.2/ Stop looking at SaaS to design more SaaS.Build a habit around non-digital inputs: art, photography, music, architecture, film. Treat it as part of your design work, not a hobby.Why it’s worth it: you stop recycling the same rounded cards + gradients as everyone else and start importing ideas from places your competitors don’t look.3/ Pick research methods to match the project, not the playbook.For big direction changes (like a new home screen), talk to customers directly and roll out gradually instead of over-optimizing surveys. For mature flows, use more quantitative research to tweak.Why it’s worth it: you save time on “performative research” and only dig deep where the upside is huge.4/ Use AI to kill boring ops, not your taste.Start with one workflow where your team wastes time (like sorting bug reports or drafting visual directions), and use AI to speed that up — while humans still decide what “good” looks like.Why it’s worth it: you free up hours that can go into craft, details, and better decisions instead of ticket admin.5/ Prototype vibes, not just flows.For ideas that need a strong identity, generate one or two AI images that capture the feeling you’re after before the brand team is even involved.Why it’s worth it: “seeing is believing” — visual vibes get stakeholders excited and pull branding partners in faster than decks and documents.

Has your SaaS growth stalled? It’s not your funnel. It’s who you’re listening to (and who you’re not).In this week’s episode, I sat down with Georgiana Laudi, co-founder of Forget The Funnel and author of Customer-Led Growth.She’s one of the few people in SaaS who’s been shaping how founders think about marketing long before “PLG” became a buzzword. Her frameworks have guided hundreds of SaaS teams to connect the dots between customer insight, positioning, and growth — without the fluff.🧠 What you’ll learn:00:00: Why SaaS founders still overcomplicate growth02:00: Georgiana’s journey from marketer to customer-led growth advocate06:00: The real reason teams keep guessing instead of researching10:30: AI, layoffs, and why marketers are more reactive than ever16:50: The story of a social media SaaS that targeted the wrong audience20:40: How to know *who* to listen to and filter bad feedback28:00: Why old research data can quietly kill your growth33:00: The UserVoice case: when your customer changes but your messaging doesn’t37:10: Customer-led growth in plain English40:20: Three steps to make it real inside your company45:00: Building recurring systems to stay close to your customers53:00: The SaaS wake-up call: why “good enough” products won’t survive58:00: Mindset shifts founders must make to keep growing💡 Steal these quick wins:1/ Talk to 10 recent customers — not all your usersFocus on *recency + retention*. These people reflect today’s market reality, not last year’s. You’ll uncover what’s actually driving purchases *right now* and which problems are still worth solving.2/ Record and review your last 5 sales callsStop guessing your messaging. Your customers have already told you what matters — how they describe pain, what made them choose you, and which results they value. Listening back reveals the exact words that should be in your copy.3/ Filter customer feedback — don’t treat all of it as gold.Most teams get trapped by the “vocal minority.” Learn to distinguish *who to listen to*: the ones with high retention, strong usage, and willingness to pay. This prevents you from building for noise instead of value.4/ Run a weekly 1-hour onboarding audit.Onboarding decay is silent but deadly. Products drift as features change, and first-time experiences quietly break. A weekly walkthrough keeps everyone close to the real user journey — faster activation, fewer cancellations.5/ Turn customer research into a system, not a side project.Insight compounds like product debt. Formalize it: recurring interviews, Slack summaries, quarterly synthesis. The teams that operationalize customer understanding outpace those who only do it “when growth slows.”Keywords: SaaS, marketing, customer-centric, product development, customer feedback, growth strategies, user experience, marketing research, customer signals, product onboarding

What can SaaS founders learn from how Buffer builds, tests, and ships product ideas?In this episode with Amanda Marochko, Staff Product Manager at Buffer (and ex-Shopify), we dive deep into how small, thoughtful teams can build great products faster—without burning out or losing quality.Here’s what you’ll learn:- How Buffer shifted from enterprise-style pricing to a simpler, usage-based model—and why it made them more profitable.- What “iteration is key” really means in practice (and why you should stop over-polishing V1s).- How to build in public, gather feedback early, and turn your users into collaborators.- Why some features deserve to be “slow and polished,” while others should be “fast and scrappy.”- How Buffer uses habits, streaks, and small wins to keep users engaged.Steal these quick wins 💡- Ship small, polished versions early—then improve them through feedback, not guesswork.- Add a simple beta label to manage expectations and learn faster.- Build a group of power users (Discord, Slack, or even Facebook) to test new features before launch.- Make customer research part of your weekly routine, not a one-off project.- Celebrate small releases publicly—momentum builds trust. Chapters00:00 Reconnecting and Career Paths03:26 Buffer's Strategic Shift: From Enterprise to PLG06:26 Transforming Pricing Strategies at Buffer09:29 Navigating Pricing Changes: Insights and Experiences12:26 The Power of Free Plans in SaaS15:16 Building Habits: The Role of Gamification18:16 Iterative Development: Learning from Feedback21:25 Building in Public: Trust and Community Engagement24:21 Balancing MVPs and Core Functionality27:20 The Importance of User Experience in Product Development33:46 Understanding User Experience Through Feedback35:14 Continuous User Research Practices38:11 Engaging with Customers for Insights42:19 The Importance of Customer Empathy46:59 Balancing Fast and Slow Product Development57:32 The Role of Transparency in Product Management

Ever wondered what “great design” looks like in a cleaning business? This conversation with Stephanie Pipkin, founder of Serene Clean, shows how design thinking can transform any industry — even one as hands-on as cleaning. We dive into how she built a $1.4 million cleaning business that runs remotely, and how she uses taste, empathy, and intentional design to create delight for both customers and employees. Here’s what you’ll learn:How working with customers during design sprints can 10× your product decisions.What “taste” really means in business — and why it’s about intentionality, not aesthetics.How to turn ordinary customer experiences into delightful ones (yes, even with mops and checklists).Why delighting your team is as important as delighting your customers.The one SaaS onboarding process that completely changed how Stephanie runs her own company. Steal these quick wins 💡 Invite a real customer into your next design or strategy session — you’ll get clarity and speed you can’t find in a survey.Focus on show, don’t tell: let your brand’s actions and details speak louder than words.Add one small “unexpected moment” for your users — a thank-you note, a scent, or a tiny surprise that makes them smile. Remember: delight doesn’t require budget, just thoughtfulness.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Serene Clean and ZenMaid 03:40 The Retreat Experience and Collaboration06:17 Designing with Customer Feedback09:22 The SOS Feature Development12:21 Insights from Design Calls15:22 The Impact of Design on Business18:31 Understanding Product Development and Customer Needs21:17 The Role of Taste in Business Branding33:38 Show, Don't Tell: The Essence of Branding37:18 Understanding the Customer: Empathy in Business40:41 Delighting Customers: The Unexpected Touches49:38 The UX of Employees: Internal Customer Experience55:35 Favorite Tools: The Role of SaaS in Business01:05:28 Personal Touch: How Small Details Matter