Michael Giardino

· LinkedIn

5 insights on Product, Monetization and Paid UA from one talk or podcast, each with the quote and a link to the moment it was said.

Product 3
Monetization 1
Paid UA 1

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Product

Create visually distinctive products that stand out from competitors to drive growth. When users see something that looks fundamentally different from what they're used to, they're more likely to share it and engage with it.

"I think this is where maybe the explosive growth came from is it just looked so visually different to anything left you know on the market. Yeah it was that and also just the fact that like you just like we attached buzzwords to it."

Oleve's Michael Giardino: Distribution by NewForm E06 at 14:19 · Featured in Growth Gems #123

Sylvain's take:

Below some app examples of this (sharing shorts but check out TikTok for more).

Touch grass
Focus Tree

Visually distinctive features can be leveraged in organic and influencer marketing as well as paid ads. If something visual and valuable exists directly in your onboarding quiz then it can actually become how you get users in. Examples:

Rise with Sleep Debt and Energy Levels info
Elevate with EPQ score

If your app or onboarding don’t directly have something like this, you can still build a dedicated experience that’s highly visual. A great example of this is BoldVoice’s Accent Oracle (here is a TikTok video showcasing it).

Product

Focus on building 'wedge companies' rather than just wedge products - businesses that can quickly establish a foothold in a market through a narrow entry point, then expand from that position of strength. The current environment of fast development cycles and novel AI features makes this strategy particularly effective.

"It's this perfect time to build what I'd say called like not just wedge product, but like wedge companies. Wow. And and so with that now I was like, okay, this is the perfect time to build these wedge companies."

Oleve's Michael Giardino: Distribution by NewForm E06 at 35:05 · Featured in Growth Gems #123

Product

Create a structured market validation process with predefined metrics, launch strategy, iteration limits, and clear decision points. This framework should include both kill conditions for failures and scaling plans for successes, including how to efficiently maintain cash cow products with offshore resources.

"It's like, okay, like, this is the metrics we're looking for, uh, this is how we're going to launch the product, uh, this is how much iteration we're going to do, and this is where we're going to cut the kill switch if it doesn't work, right? Or this is where we're going to say this is a cash cow, and we're going to, uh, take some offshore contractors, put them on this product, and, like, you know, use this as, like, another revenue stream for the company."

Oleve's Michael Giardino: Distribution by NewForm E06 at 41:11 · Featured in Growth Gems #123

Sylvain's take:

This reminded me from the approach described by Warren Woodward (CGO at Upptic) in Cracking Games Growth: Revealing the Upptic Playbook. Find all the insights in Growth Gems #104 👇

💎 Growth Gems #104 - Data, UA, and Creatives

Monetization

Consider weekly subscriptions instead of monthly ones, and don't be afraid to increase your pricing. This approach can significantly boost your recurring revenue by optimizing for higher frequency payments and capturing more of your users' willingness to pay.

"I hit up like Nikita beer on Twitter and I was like, 'Hey, like I just launched this app which I do,' and he was like, 'Make it a Weekly subscription and uh, more expensive.' We did that, like once again like next key unlock."

Oleve's Michael Giardino: Distribution by NewForm E06 at 13:26 · Featured in Growth Gems #123

Paid UA

When selecting markets to enter, prioritize those with both high user LTV and effective distribution channels. Fitness is particularly valuable because users have high willingness to pay and the influencer ecosystem provides powerful distribution where followers deeply trust recommendations.

"LTV of a user in fitness is great, right? B, like the distribution channels are awesome. Uh, like, I think, like, especially, like, fitness influencers, like, people treat them like gods, like, they, they'll follow their words because they want to be more like this, like, fitness influencer."

Oleve's Michael Giardino: Distribution by NewForm E06 at 23:55 · Featured in Growth Gems #123

Michael Giardino

Product

Monetization

Paid UA

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