What I'm Reading - November
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Kevan
Don't do the "Spotify Model." Do your own model.
Quote:
“What is the best thing about working at Spotify? What is the most challenging thing about working at Spotify? The answer for both questions is the same: Autonomy.”
HubSpot Q3 earnings conference call
Takeaways: Keys to a great Q3: Flywheel taking off w/ a free plan and the most product features shipped, ever.
The business case for support-driven growth
Takeaways: How support-driven growth happens:
Boost expansion and retention
Make better product decisions
Embrace a new way of selling
Have we reached the end of Lean Startups?
Quote:
Lean was an answer to a specific problem, one that most entrepreneurs still face and that ebbs and flows depending on capital markets. It’s a response to scarce capital, and when that constraint is loosened, it’s worth considering whether other approaches are superior.
The best goal-setting frameworks
Takeaway: There are three different kinds of goals: absolute goals, relative goals, and sustainment goals.
You've got product-market fit. What about marketing-market fit?
Highlights: The four steps below are what “smart, responsible, thoughtful” marketers do. Do we do them? Have we done them?

Marketing-market fit (Sparktoro)
There are only a few ways to scale user growth. Here's the list.
Takeaways: We do two of them at Buffer: virality and SEO, both of which are loops. In order to do virality right, we need good UX and retention.
Quote:
The best research questions are about past behavior, not future behavior. Asking a study participant Will you try to live a healthy lifestyle? or Are you going to give up sugar? or Will you purchase this product? requires they predict their future behavior. We are more interested in what they’ve done than what they’ll do. We’re interested in actual behavior, not a prediction of behavior.
Trello’s Justin Gallagher on remote people-management
Quote:
I keep my 1:1s pretty casual and conversational. Our team is majority remote, so for me, these meetings are as much about building relationships as they are about checking in on projects, performance, and career aspirations.
21 Lessons from Jeff Bezos' annual letters to shareholders
#longread
Ad-free, "unbreaking" news from The Correspondent
Highlights: Really interesting model, great launch, and powerful founding principles.
Incredible data viz 💯
By Kevan Lee
VP of marketing at @buffer. Hi there!
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Kevan Lee, 11150 W Aldbury Ave, Nampa, ID 83651