Product Led Growth Leaders

Hosted by Thomas Watkins

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Episodes

187

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

What separates startups that stall from those that dominate their market often comes down to one thing: product experience. This show is built for startup founders who want to move beyond reactive product decisions and build products that win consistently in the market. Through solo episodes and interviews with high-performing SaaS founders, the show explores UX strategy, product decisions, hiring, and how to scale without chaos. It’s built for founders who want to move beyond patching problems and start building products that lead their category. The show is hosted by Thomas Watkins, UX designer and founder of 3Leaf, who has helped series A-C startups build well-structured products, streamline execution from idea to launch, and become preferred choices in their category.

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60 recent

June 11, 2026Episode 18726 min

187 - Product-Led Growth Meets Agentic Selling - with Channing Ferrer

Your product might be the best salesperson you’ll ever hire, and AI is about to make that idea even more literal. We sit down with Channing Ferrer, Chief Revenue Officer and CEO Americas at Brevo, to get precise about what product-led growth actually means: a path where users discover value, solve problems, and choose to expand without needing a human to nudge them along. We also call out a common trap: slapping a 15- or 30-day free trial on a pricing page and calling it PLG. From there, we explore the new grey zone: autonomous selling. If an AI can answer questions instantly, guide a user past a limit, or even deliver a personalized demo you can interact with, what bucket does that fall into: PLG, sales-led, or something new like agent-led selling? We dig into practical examples like chatbots that function as always-on product experts, shortening time-to-value and quietly increasing conversions by removing friction at the exact moment a user gets stuck. We also zoom into Brevo’s world of omnichannel marketing for high-volume customer bases, where the real challenge is not choosing email vs SMS vs WhatsApp, but stitching together scattered touchpoints into one coherent customer journey. Along the way we talk UX as a differentiator, the shift toward extensibility and agent-friendly systems, and a grounded buy vs build framework for anyone tempted to vibe-code their own CRM or system of record. If you care about product-led growth, SaaS monetisation, AI sales automation, CRM and CDP strategy, and the future of agentic marketing, this conversation will sharpen your mental model. Subscribe, share with a GTM friend, and leave a review. Where do you want automation to help customers, and where do you still insist on a human?

June 4, 2026Episode 18625 min

186 - What If Recognition Worked Like A Viral Product - with Ali Linz

Remote work didn’t erase birthdays, farewells, sympathy moments, and thank-yous it just removed the simple office ritual that made them easy. We sit down with Allie Lenz, co-founder of GroupTogether, to unpack the very real “recognition gap” that shows up when teams go hybrid: people still want to show appreciation, but the old card-and-envelope flow doesn’t work, and asking coworkers to chip in can feel awkward.We walk through how GroupTogether turns that messy process into a self-serve digital group card and group gifting platform that feels surprisingly personal. You pick a card design, share a link in Slack or email, teammates add messages, photos, and GIFs, and optional contributions stay private. The recipient gets a polished reveal experience and a flexible gift card option, which helps employee recognition feel like a keepsake rather than another notification.Then we zoom in on product-led growth: why the product’s inherent virality matters more than heavy integrations, how UX drives the loop (and where friction kills it), and how Allie’s team uses customer conversations, behavioural analytics, and the right metrics instead of vanity stats. We also talk about AI in a human-centred way: using AI to help people find the right words without automating away intention, plus why trust, compliance, and payment safety become key differentiators as volume scales.If you care about PLG, employee engagement, team culture, and building software that delivers real emotion, this one will spark ideas. Subscribe, share the episode with a teammate, and leave a review with your favourite takeaway.

May 28, 2026Episode 18514 min

185 - Stop Drowning In Applicants with Matthew Stewart

Your hiring inbox shouldn’t feel like spam, but that’s where recruiting is heading as AI makes it effortless to generate resumes and apply at scale. We sit down with Matthew Stewart, a software engineer turned founder of Talent Sprout, to unpack what’s breaking in modern recruiting and why the biggest pain shows up right at the start: screening. When you can’t tell who’s real and you’re buried under PDFs, the first phone screen becomes a bottleneck that quietly taxes your entire hiring pipeline. Matthew explains how Talent Sprout uses conversational AI to run that initial screen, moving beyond the old one-way video interview format. We talk through how the AI can ask questions in a more natural flow, evaluate responses in real time, and produce a structured scorecard so recruiters can quickly spot strength instead of watching endless recordings. We also get practical about implementation: pulling context from your company site, generating interview questions from a job description, and sharing smart links with candidates. We dig into the trust and quality side too, including the guardrails that keep candidate experience consistent and scoring reliable across high volume hiring. Then we zoom out to product strategy: why UI/UX still matters in HR tech, how 50+ ATS integrations create real workflow value, and how to avoid building something that feels like a thin “LLM wrapper.” Matthew closes with what’s next, including AI candidate sourcing and a longer-term path toward a more comprehensive recruiting platform.

May 21, 2026Episode 18416 min

184 - If Partnerships Drive Most Revenue, Why Do We Wing It? with Jon Mead

We talk with John Mead, founder and CEO of Partnerbridge.io, about why partnerships drive huge SaaS revenue while most programs still fail from a lack of strategy. We break down partner types, how data and UX shape partner discovery, and how a PLG approach can still include human guidance for better decisions. • the partnership revenue paradox and why failure rates stay high • what partnerships mean in practice: integrations, marketplaces, affiliates, services firms • how to narrow the problem by focusing on technology partners vs solutions partners • how Partner Bridge matches partners using strategic fit levers and filters • who typically owns partnerships across different company stages • what the competitive landscape looks like and why iteration matters • why UX and approachable data presentation can be a real differentiator • onboarding flow, free tier goals, data scraping, and user corrections • combining product-led growth signals with user groups to guide the roadmap

May 14, 2026Episode 18326 min

183 - Verbal identity as the antidote to generic AI content with Ken Marshall

We talk with Ken "Magma" Marshall, co-founder of Meet Sona, about why most leaders struggle to publish consistently and why “sounding human” is now a competitive advantage. We break down an interview-first workflow that turns short voice conversations into platform-ready content without losing your taste, judgment, or stories. • Ken’s path from sales to coding to SEO and agency life, then building Meet Sona • The three constraints behind inconsistent posting: time, confidence, and differentiation • Why conversation pulls out more distinct ideas than writing from a blank page • Verbal identity as the antidote to generic AI content and “AI blindness” • How guided voice interviews become LinkedIn posts, blogs, newsletters, and X posts fast • Pricing trade-offs versus done-for-you content teams and the CAC payback reality • What meaningful analytics should reveal beyond impressions and comment counts • The competitive landscape across chat tools, writing tools, voice notes, and interview-based products Check It Out At Meetsona, S-O-N-A, Meetsona.Ai

May 7, 2026Episode 18222 min

182 - What If Onboarding Let Users Stay In Control? with Karel Papik

We talk with Karel Papik, co-founder of Product Fruits, about why most products lose users in the first minutes and how better onboarding fixes trial drop-off. We dig into AI-powered user journeys that feel like a seamless, human layer inside your app while still giving product teams clearer feedback and faster insights.• why consumer-style impatience now defines B2B SaaS onboarding and activation• how Product Fruits uses discovery conversations to tailor the in-app experience• using an AI copilot for contextual help, tours, arrows and memory• turning chat and survey feedback into “outcomes” that highlight friction points• why bolting on AI often fails and when rebuilding around AI works• keeping AI answers trustworthy with internal checks and tuning• integrating with analytics tools instead of rebuilding full product analytics• when a complex product with many segments benefits mostGo to productfruits.com to check it all out.

April 30, 2026Episode 18121 min

181 - Voice AI For Small Businesses with Laurent Cohen

Voicemail trains your customers to give up, and it trains you to live on your phone. We sit down with Laurent Cohen, CTO of GetOblick, to unpack a sharper idea: not every call deserves an interruption, but no opportunity should be missed. From missed leads to unhappy customers, we talk about why small and local businesses feel the pain of inbound calls more than anyone, and why voice AI is finally good enough to change the default.We dig into what modern voice AI for small businesses actually does beyond “answering the phone”: filtering spam, handling service and pricing questions, supporting multiple languages, and even delivering thoughtful upsells when it makes sense. Laurent explains why the real differentiator is not a flashy voice, but the instruments behind it: the data, the guardrails, and the fallback logic that knows when to hand off to a human. Trust is the unlock, so we discuss a practical rollout path that starts small and scales up as confidence grows.Then we zoom out to the platform bet: GetOblick as a voice-first directory that becomes a voice-only directory. With a growing graph of anonymised interactions, each conversation can improve the system over time, and that same infrastructure opens the door to better local discovery and appointment scheduling by phone. We also explore an unexpected growth lever: on-site voice widgets that increase time on page, improving retention signals that can help with indexing and local SEO visibility.If you care about customer experience, call handling, local business growth, voice AI agents, and SEO retention, this one is built for you.

April 24, 2026Episode 18020 min

180 - How Leaders Find Their Real Identity with Kat Perkins

We talk with leadership strategist Kat Perkins about how people end up living identities shaped by trauma, culture, and even well-meaning family pressure. We explore her framework for identity revelation and why leaders must get clear on who they are before they can build healthy teams. • what an identity strategist does and why identity gets layered over time • identity interference and how life scripts form before age 25 • how trauma and love can both distort self-belief • Kat’s story of steering her son toward medicine before recognising his real calling in the arts • recognition, permission, and submission as practical steps toward identity revelation • why inner conflict becomes toxic leadership and damages workplace culture • Kat’s memoir Girls With Pearls Have Power and the message of resilience • courses including Empowered By Design and Seven Days To Resilience https://www.linkedin.com/in/kat-perkins-21543432/

April 22, 2026Episode 17926 min

179 - Building the Future: How Companies Can Leverage AI for Sustainable Growth and Innovation with West Stringfellow

In this episode of Product Led Growth Leaders, your host Thomas Watkins talks to West Stringfellow, Founder and CEO of HowDo. West discusses how AI, especially large language models, can transform business innovation and growth.Drawing on his experience at major companies, West explores the democratization of technology, the critical role of human judgment, and the need for better data and processes. He emphasizes that successful AI adoption requires cultural shifts, continuous learning, and reinvesting gains into talent and technology, offering practical insights for organizations seeking sustainable, AI-driven transformation.Learn more about West's work HERE.Connect with West on LinkedIn HERE.

April 22, 2026Episode 17822 min

178 - Connected Care: Using Technology to Deepen Human Relationships in Aging Services with Lindsay Friedman

In this episode of Product Led Growth Leaders, Lindsay Friedman, Founder of LTCareNav, joins host Thomas Watkins to discuss the challenges of long-term care in the U.S. and how her company uses technology to support seniors and their families.She explains the difference between health care and long-term care, introduces innovative monitoring and planning tools, and shares insights on balancing technology with human connection. Lindsay also highlights rapid growth, B2B partnerships, and offers resources for families navigating care decisions, emphasizing the importance of dignity, privacy, and mission-driven solutions.Learn more about Lindsay's work HERE.Connect with Lindsay on LinkedIn HERE. Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.