Product and Marketing Strategies

India has 150 million+ people above the age 60 and there is a massive opportunity to keep them healthy & fit. But everyone’s focused on Gen Z and no one’s building for their parents. It’s a hard business but a big one. We’ve invested in two companies. Here’s why it’s tough and how one should crack it. Understand the reality first. 1. Elders don’t think of “health” as proactive. They’re conditioned to wait until something breaks before acting. You’re selling a solution to a problem they don’t know they have yet. 2. The 65-year-old needs it but their 35-year-old child pays for it. You're not selling to the elder. You’re selling to their guilt-driven kids in Gurgaon or US. The buyer ≠ the user. 3. Trust is everything and you don’t have it. Indian elders trust: Their doctor, astrologer & their neighbour Not apps. Not tech bros. Not AI. You can't growth hack trust. You earn it slowly, locally. 4. They don’t want new habits. They’ve had the same breakfast for 40 years. You’re not selling a product. You’re undoing decades of routine. 5. Distribution is hyperlocal. Elders don’t click Insta ads. They talk to the uncle in their colony. You scale building by building not by user cohorts. Yes, 150M+ elders. But it’s not one market. It’s a thousand tiny tribes. Different languages, cultures, food habits, family structures, and tech comfort levels. If it were easy, Tata or Reliance would’ve done it already. But it’s wide open now. The one who combines tech + trust + real care will win. So how do you crack it? 1. Think first principles & not trends Don’t build a “senior fitness app.” Ask: Why did they stop moving? What gives them joy? You’re selling independence, not health. 2. Design for peace, not features. One-click help, One daily routine, One trusted face. Great elder products feel like human care not software. 3. Human-first, tech-enable. Don’t replace the daughter. Support her. Train 100 amazing elder coaches. Build tools to help them scale. 4. Don't focus on CAC. Here, it’s about trust per acquisition. You’re not selling toothpaste. You’re asking to be let into their daily life. Start offline. Build trust then tech. 5. You’re in the business of habit change & not selling an app or a pill. Get them to walk 15 minutes a day. Add protein to breakfast. Laugh more. Sleep better. Small wins compound. Don’t build for scale first. Build for consistency. Be in the business of habit change. 6. This isn’t a hackable D2C play. It’s a decade-long trust business. Build for one community. Get to know 100 elders by name. Solve deep, boring problems with elegance. Everyone’s chasing the next billion youth users. But the hidden opportunity lies in serving the first 150 million elders. The elder care market in India isn’t just underserved. It’s misunderstood and needs long-term play. Founders who crack this will build generational companies.

Neither an IIT nor an IIM degree, still, this guy made Rs 10,000 crores business by selling deo. 👉 Born in Ahmedabad and raised in Sambalpur, Odisha, Darshan's story is a testament to hard work, resilience, and an unshakeable entrepreneurial spirit. 👉 With no formal business education, Darshan, alongside his brothers, co-founded Paras Group, which eventually led to the success of Paras Pharmaceuticals—one of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies. They introduced iconic products like Moov, Krack, and Dermi Cool. 👉 In 2010, Darshan made headlines by selling Paras Pharmaceuticals for an incredible ₹3,260 crore. But rather than resting on his laurels, his entrepreneurial hunger only grew stronger. 👉 Darshan took a bold step into the fragrance industry with the launch of the 18 Plus perfume brand. Although it failed due to fierce competition, Darshan didn’t give up. He identified an opportunity to innovate the deodorant market. 👉 He realized that while the market had plenty of deodorants, none combined affordability and long-lasting quality. And so, Fogg was born—"No Gas, Only Spray". 👉 Fogg’s success story began in December 2011 when Vini Cosmetics was founded. Positioned as a revolutionary product with 800 sprays per 100g bottle, Fogg became an instant hit. It not only broke free from traditional gas-based deodorants but quickly became a household name. Marketing Innovation: Fogg’s success wasn’t just about the product. It was about strategy. By identifying a niche in gas-free sprays, Fogg stood out in a crowded market. Word-of-mouth marketing played a crucial role, with satisfied customers becoming the brand’s strongest promoters. The iconic “Kya Chal Raha Hai” campaign resonated with middle-class consumers, reinforcing Fogg’s message of long-lasting quality at an affordable price. 👉Strategic distribution made Fogg available everywhere—from retail stores to online platforms. 👉 Fogg’s affordable pricing (₹160-₹300) helped it dominate the market, competing with premium brands like Axe and Nivea that were priced much higher. 👉 In 2021, KKR, a global private equity firm, acquired a 55% controlling stake in Vini Cosmetics for $750 million and total valuation Rs 10,000 crore  Despite the acquisition, Darshan remains involved as the Chairman, ensuring the company's growth and expansion into global markets. Today, Vini Cosmetics is present in 50 countries, and with KKR’s backing, it’s poised for even bigger global success. 👉 Darshan Patel’s journey proves that success doesn’t come from degrees or privilege. It comes from identifying opportunities, taking risks, and staying determined. His legacy lives on not just in the brands he’s built, but in his commitment to empowering others and giving back to society.

Growth marketing is in shambles. Paid is saturated and expensive. Building viral loops is near impossible. In response, Maven is going hard on community-led growth… I got my start in tech by doing highly data-driven, deterministic growth marketing. At Udemy, we started by hacking Facebook and YouTube to siphon users. Then, we heavily optimized our signup flow to encourage sharing. Next, we explored paid marketing and SEO. Ahh, the good old days. Today most of those channels are played out. AI is coming in hot but hasn’t yet emerged into a new growth opportunity (I did a talk with Andrew Chen and neither of us could come up with a great AI growth hack yet). So, Maven is investing heavily in community-led growth. It's a big shift for me. After spending years in data-driven marketing, I'm now a believer in "faith-based marketing." Community-led growth means investing in connecting your users to each other through informal and formal communities. - Informal: Creating pockets on social media where users talk about you - Formal: Building Slack or Discord communities for your users As connections between users grow, they feed off each other, get inspired, and feel stronger affinity for your brand. This transforms them into ambassadors. At Maven, our informal efforts happen by encouraging instructors and students to talk about us on social media. We create "themed" launches that instructors can rally around, provide assets to make posting easy, and coach them on how to succeed on social. Our formal efforts are two separate Slack communities - one for instructors and a new one for students - where we are slowly building a buzzing forum for people to trade notes and discuss their business needs. Why is community-led growth so attractive? It's incredibly efficient (minimal ad spend), scalable (networks can grow exponentially), and flexible (once established, communities can serve multiple goals). Out of our 5 go-to-market team members, 2 are focused on community-led growth. It's by far our biggest marketing bet. I’m also asking the team to take mallory contois’s Community-led growth course so they can learn the best practices of the space and then apply them to Maven. She leads community-led growth at Mercury, one of my favorite products and brands in tech right now. To join my team members in taking Mallory’s course, check it out here (it starts next week): https://bit.ly/4bz5bjZ This is a huge bet and shift in thinking for someone who used to live and die by data-driven marketing. I believe it's happening across the industry: community/brand/social marketers are gaining momentum, and I'm determined to make Maven best-in-class.

How to sell (without feeling salesy): First, understand the Ethical Wealth Formula: (Value First × Trust Building) × Authentic Positioning  ———————————————————  Frequency of Asks × Pressure Tactics This isn't abstract theory. It's practical math: • Increase the numerator: deliver more value, build more trust, position more authentically • Decrease the denominator: reduce frequency of asks, eliminate pressure tactics • Watch revenue soar while your integrity remains intact Ethical doesn't mean unprofitable. It means sustainable. Principle 1: Value-First Monetization The approach that generates $864,000 monthly without a single "hard sell": • Deliver so much value upfront that buying feels like the obvious next step • Create free content so good people say "If this is free, imagine what's paid" • Solve small problems for free, big transformational problems for a fee Give until it feels slightly uncomfortable. Then give a little more. Principle 2: Trust Through Consistency I've never missed weekly content in 3 years, through vacations, illnesses, market crashes. The trust-building machine that works while you sleep: • Show up reliably when competitors disappear during tough times • Do what you promise, when you promise it • Maintain quality across every touchpoint One founder implemented this and saw conversions increase 74% in 30 days, without changing offer or price. Trust isn't built in grand gestures. It's built in boring consistency, most won't maintain. Principle 3: Authentic Positioning The approach that helped me raise prices 300% while increasing sales: • Own your expertise unapologetically, confidence is not arrogance • Speak to specific problems you solve, not vague benefits you provide • Tell detailed stories of transformation instead of listing features You don't need to be perfect to sell effectively. You need to be authentic about how you help. Principle 4: Invitation Vs. Manipulation The ethical alternative to high-pressure tactics: • Invite people when they're ready, don't push when you're ready • Create genuine scarcity (limited capacity) not fake urgency (countdown timers) • Respect "no" as "not now" rather than objection to overcome My most profitable sales sequence has zero countdown timers, zero artificial scarcity, zero pressure. Ethical selling feels like extending help, not hunting prey. — Enjoy this? ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Matt Gray for more. Want to improve your sales strategy? Join our community of 172,000+ subscribers today: https://lnkd.in/eTp4jain

Steve Jobs had a working iPad prototype in 2002 – but he refused to launch it. (A short story about category creation) Steve's decision reveals a crucial lesson about category creation that most founders get wrong. Think about it - In 2002, a tablet would’ve been a slow laptop with no keyboard or apps. Who would want that? Instead, Steve saw what nobody else did… While a full-sized tablet would’ve been a laptop downgrade, a pocket-sized tablet was a huge upgrade to the mobile phones of the day. Steve’s decision reveals one big thing: Categories don’t just pop out of thin air. You're always replacing something. • Spotify didn’t invent streaming music, they made it effortless • Slack didn’t invent workplace chat, they made it efficient • AWS didn’t invent SaaS hosting, they made it scalable • Salesforce didn’t invent CRM, they made it accessible • Canva didn’t invent design software, they democratised it    These so-called “category creators” didn’t create categories at all. They found underserved markets and disrupted them via a deeper understanding of customer needs. The products were innovative, but they were positioned in a familiar way. That last point is critical: Humans don’t adopt new behaviors easily. Often the path of least resistance starts in a familiar place, even if it leads somewhere new. If you’re trying to sell an unfamiliar new product, start by asking yourself: 1. What outcome are my prospects struggling to achieve? 2. How is their current solution coming up short? 3. Where would they look for alternatives? 4. What do they expect those alternatives to look like? Remember: Before you can sell them what they need, show them what they want. But how do you find exactly the right words that will resonate with prospects? How can you make prospects feel like you've read their minds? Grab our free "Language Market Fit" kit for step-by-step instructions. (I'll link in the comments)

The strongest GTM motions have one thing in common: product marketing ownership, locked in at every stage. Here's what you risk without it: 👉 Fragmented messaging that confuses customers 👉 Pricing strategies separate from market reality 👉 Sales teams lacking the right tools to succeed 👉 Launch execution that fails to deliver impact So, I teamed up with GTM expert Maja Voje to create: The product marketing GTM pyramid 🔼 Our infographic clarifies product marketing’s role in go to market: from foundational market research, all the way to to launch execution. Every layer builds on the previous one with product marketing as the connective tissue between: 🛠️ Product 💰 Sales 📈 Marketing 🤝 Customer Success PMMs, use this infographic to clarify your role in GTM, gain better cross-functional alignment, prove your value, and ultimately - execute a more powerful GTM strategy. Think we missed anything? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

Ever noticed why Zomato named its new product “District”, starting with Di? Today I did. 👀 Think about it, Most people who love eating out already have Swiggy Dineout on their phones. Now, when District by Zomato runs heavy ads + offers, users download it… and guess what? It doesn’t just sit anywhere on your screen. It sits right beside Dineout, because both start with “Di.” That’s not coincidence. That’s strategic naming. It’s a tiny detail, but it matters. Your app placement on a user’s home screen is prime real estate. Being “next to your competitor” means higher recall, higher taps, higher chances of stealing attention. Most marketers focus on campaigns, budgets, or offers. But the smartest brands? They play on consumer behavior + UI psychology at every touchpoint. Sometimes branding isn’t just about how loud you shout. It’s about quietly sitting right next to your competitor… and being chosen instead.

Your Product Is Just the Starting Point—Sell the Transformation I used to hear that psychology is everything in marketing and didn’t fully grasp it—until I saw it work. Here’s the truth: Nobody buys a product for its specs. They buy the outcome it delivers. Took me a while to internalize this, but once I did, everything changed. Examples to Shift Your Messaging: 📱 iPhone ❌ 5,000mAh battery ✅ Charge once, stay connected all weekend 🚗 Tesla ❌ 1,020 horsepower motor ✅ 0 to 60 in 2.1 seconds—without a drop of fuel ☕ Coffee Machine ❌ *15-bar pressure espresso* ✅ *Barista-quality coffee in 30 seconds* 🎵 Apple iPod (Classic!) ❌ 5GB storage ✅ 5,000 songs in your pocket 🗣️ Duolingo ❌ *1,000 bite-sized lessons* ✅ Speak fluent Spanish by your summer trip 🤖 AI Assistant ❌ 98% accurate transcription ✅ Never miss a meeting, even on your day off 👟 Nike ❌ Carbon-fiber tech ✅ Stay light on your feet for all four quarters 🧹 Dyson ❌ 120AW suction power ✅ Clean your entire home in half the time 🛏️ Mattress ❌ Memory foam with airflow ✅ Fall asleep 5x faster & wake up refreshed This principle never expires. The brands that master it? They win. Which example resonates most? Any others you’d add?** Great marketing starts with the right mindset by Tom Pestridge Luckily, this one’s timeless. (For all product and marketing leaders—tag someone who needs this!) #Marketing #ProductManagement #ConsumerPsychology #productmarketing

Too many designers still build portfolios like it’s 2015. Pretty screens. Trendy mockups. No context. That used to work. It doesn’t anymore. Today’s portfolios need clarity, not just aesthetics. Strategy, not just style. Outcomes, not just interfaces. Hiring managers don’t want eye candy. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸. They’re not guessing what you 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 do. They’re looking for proof of how you think, how you solve, and how you make decisions under real constraints. Show how you think, not just what you made. Talk about the problem, your process, your role, the tradeoffs, and the results. That’s what separates a designer from a decorator. (𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘐-𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦!) Your portfolio isn’t a museum of your favorite work. It’s a business pitch. Treat it like that! Tell the story of how you create value. Clearly, confidently, and fast. ✌️ ↓ Here’s a comparison between bad portfolios and good ones. P.S. Share your favorite portfolio tip in the comments. Let's help the design community grow!

I’ve been the first marketer at two companies now worth over $2 billion. If I did it again, here’s 9 things I’d do differently: 1️⃣ Start with brand as a scalable system Build a modular design system early with components you can combine instead of create. A Figma system, Canva templates, Google Slide layouts. Pair that with a messaging doc, your "copy-paste" bank of positioning, beliefs, and product language. It becomes a foundation for consistency and a knowledge base for AI. 2️⃣ Prioritize the 95%, not just the 5% LinkedIn & search ads worked early, but only because we caught the 5% already in market. The "demand capture" pool dries up fast. Invest early in "demand creation." Reach the 95% who aren’t ready yet, but will be. 3️⃣ Build in public People trust people more than companies. Let internal voices share what they’re building and learning. In the AI era, content is easy. Opinion & stories are valuable. 4️⃣ Know your customer so well the strategy writes itself I used to sit on every sales call and write every piece of copy. That proximity helped me hear what customers cared about, what words they used, where they hung out. Be close enough to "hear the music," and messaging & growth channels become obvious. 5️⃣ Start community early Create spaces where early customers can connect: Slack, Reddit, meetups, certification. It fuels your roadmap and scales support when customers can help each other. Even better if it creates user-generated content that is indexable/shareable. 6️⃣ Create the problem Don’t build the whole funnel on day one. If you don’t have traffic, don’t worry about conversion. Solve the problem you actually have. Let the next one emerge or you'll be building and rebuilding as things inevitably change. 7️⃣ Look bigger than you are Design clean & consistent. Logo small (bigger companies don't oversize their logo). Feature your biggest customers, your compliance certifications. Use big company channels but use them small (buy one billboard, get one great PR story, speak on one well-known podcast). Make big company content but do it small (like a single high production video). 8️⃣ Build lightweight systems You don’t need full-blown infrastructure. A Notion board or copy-paste doc can carry you farther than you think. Build systems for speed, not scale. 9️⃣ Protect your focus Get used to working with an infinite backlog. I used to start each day with a sticky note on my laptop of my 3 to 5 most important tasks. You weren’t hired to do everything, you were hired to make impact. If you've done this - what would you add?