Naomi Ionita's guest appearances

Naomi Ionita

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

Greymatter

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

Aaron Levie

Michelle Zatlyn

Eric Yuan

Jeff Lawson

Jennifer Tejada

Harry Stebbings

Sandi Lin

Taro Fukuyama

Patrick Moran

Dan Adika

Nakul Mandan

Mark Geene

Chris O'Neill

Blake Bartlett

Dan Burkhart

OwlTail

Naomi Ionita is a Partner at the venture capital firm, Menlo Ventures. She started her career in engineering in 2002, shifted to product in 2006, and built product growth and monetization teams starting over a decade ago as one of the first PLG leaders in B2B. She was an early mentor at Reforge and her expertise is in building full-stack growth teams and cultures, launching new products, and helping existing products monetize and retain their users. Consider today’s episode a master class on monetization and pricing. We talk about common mistakes made by founders, specific experiments for how to determine pricing, and why initial growth sometimes comes at the expense of revenue. Naomi also introduces the concept of the Modern Growth Stack, how AI will play a role in growth, and what she’s most excited about for the future.—Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-price-your-product-naomi-ionita-menlo-ventures/#transcript—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this podcast:• Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life: https://miro.com/lenny• Notion—One workspace. Every team: https://www.notion.com/lennyspod• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny—Where to find Naomi:• Twitter: https://twitter.com/npilosof• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomipilosofionita/• Website: https://www.menlovc.com/naomi-pilosof-ionita—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—Referenced:Disclaimer: Lenny is an angel investor in a few startups mentioned in this episode: Eppo, Endgame, Pocus• Evernote: https://evernote.com/• Figma: https://www.figma.com/• The Van Westendorp pricing model: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccasadwick/2020/06/22/how-to-price-products/?sh=7e6077f855c7• OpenView: https://openviewpartners.com/• SaaS business model at Profitwell: https://www.profitwell.com/recur/all/saas-business-model• Envoy: https://envoy.com/• Invoice2go: https://invoice.2go.com/• Gas: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gas/id1641791746• Endgame: https://www.endgame.io/• Pocus: https://www.pocus.com/• Optimizely: https://www.optimizely.com/• Eppo: https://www.geteppo.com/• Amplitude: https://amplitude.com/• Chargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/• Zuora: https://www.zuora.com/• Metronome: https://metronome.com/• Orb: https://www.withorb.com/• Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price: https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867• Ask the Storybots on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80108159• Madhavan Ramanujam on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan-ramanujam-monetizing-innovation-simon-kucher/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Naomi’s background(06:21) Why Evernote wasn’t able to leverage the kind of growth that Notion did(08:06) What founders get wrong when it comes to monetization(12:34) Which features to include in a freemium product(13:22) Day one vs. day one-hundred premium features(15:35) Matching price to value for optimal segmentation(18:50) When pricing should be revisited(19:38) How to determine price, and why it’s a good idea to have a cross-functional pricing team(23:06) How to restructure pricing holistically (25:58) How Envoy learned that they were undercharging(28:39) The importance of experimentation (32:19) How to balance growth with revenue(35:12) What is the modern data stack?(36:45) The modern growth stack(42:22) The importance of experimentation in the growth stack(42:59) Platforms for billing and monetization(46:13) Why a hybrid model of pricing tends to be most used in SaaS companies(49:01) Leveraging AI (49:52) Lightning round—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

Naomi Ionita is a Partner at the venture capital firm, Menlo Ventures. She started her career in engineering in 2002, shifted to product in 2006, and built product growth and monetization teams starting over a decade ago as one of the first PLG leaders in B2B. She was an early mentor at Reforge and her expertise is in building full-stack growth teams and cultures, launching new products, and helping existing products monetize and retain their users. Consider today’s episode a master class on monetization and pricing. We talk about common mistakes made by founders, specific experiments for how to determine pricing, and why initial growth sometimes comes at the expense of revenue. Naomi also introduces the concept of the Modern Growth Stack, how AI will play a role in growth, and what she’s most excited about for the future.—Find the full transcript here: <a href="https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-price-your-product-naomi-ionita-menlo-ventures/#transcript" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-price-your-product-naomi-ionita-menlo-ventures/#transcript</a>—Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this podcast:• Miro—A collaborative visual platform where your best work comes to life: <a href="https://miro.com/lenny" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://miro.com/lenny</a>• Notion—One workspace. Every team: <a href="https://www.notion.com/lennyspod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.notion.com/lennyspod</a>• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: <a href="https://vanta.com/lenny" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://vanta.com/lenny</a>—Where to find Naomi:• Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/npilosof" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/npilosof</a>• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomipilosofionita/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomipilosofionita/</a>• Website: <a href="https://www.menlovc.com/naomi-pilosof-ionita" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.menlovc.com/naomi-pilosof-ionita</a>—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.lennysnewsletter.com</a>• Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/lennysan" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/lennysan</a>• LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/</a>—Referenced:Disclaimer: Lenny is an angel investor in a few startups mentioned in this episode: Eppo, Endgame, Pocus• Evernote: <a href="https://evernote.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://evernote.com/</a>• Figma: <a href="https://www.figma.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.figma.com/</a>• The Van Westendorp pricing model: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccasadwick/2020/06/22/how-to-price-products/?sh=7e6077f855c7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccasadwick/2020/06/22/how-to-price-products/?sh=7e6077f855c7</a>• OpenView: <a href="https://openviewpartners.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://openviewpartners.com/</a>• SaaS business model at Profitwell: <a href="https://www.profitwell.com/recur/all/saas-business-model" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.profitwell.com/recur/all/saas-business-model</a>• Envoy: <a href="https://envoy.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://envoy.com/</a>• Invoice2go: <a href="https://invoice.2go.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://invoice.2go.com/</a>• Gas: <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gas/id1641791746" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gas/id1641791746</a>• Endgame: <a href="https://www.endgame.io/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.endgame.io/</a>• Pocus: <a href="https://www.pocus.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.pocus.com/</a>• Optimizely: <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.optimizely.com/</a>• Eppo: <a href="https://www.geteppo.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.geteppo.com/</a>• Amplitude: <a href="https://amplitude.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://amplitude.com/</a>• Chargebee: <a href="https://www.chargebee.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.chargebee.com/</a>• Zuora: <a href="https://www.zuora.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.zuora.com/</a>• Metronome: <a href="https://metronome.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://metronome.com/</a>• Orb: <a href="https://www.withorb.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.withorb.com/</a>• Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867</a>• Ask the Storybots on Netflix: <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80108159" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.netflix.com/title/80108159</a>• Madhavan Ramanujam on Lenny’s Podcast: <a href="https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan-ramanujam-monetizing-innovation-simon-kucher/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan-ramanujam-monetizing-innovation-simon-kucher/</a>—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Naomi’s background(06:21) Why Evernote wasn’t able to leverage the kind of growth that Notion did(08:06) What founders get wrong when it comes to monetization(12:34) Which features to include in a freemium product(13:22) Day one vs. day one-hundred premium features(15:35) Matching price to value for optimal segmentation(18:50) When pricing should be revisited(19:38) How to determine price, and why it’s a good idea to have a cross-functional pricing team(23:06) How to restructure pricing holistically (25:58) How Envoy learned that they were undercharging(28:39) The importance of experimentation (32:19) How to balance growth with revenue(35:12) What is the modern data stack?(36:45) The modern growth stack(42:22) The importance of experimentation in the growth stack(42:59) Platforms for billing and monetization(46:13) Why a hybrid model of pricing tends to be most used in SaaS companies(49:01) Leveraging AI (49:52) Lightning round—Production and marketing by <a href="https://penname.co/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://penname.co/</a>. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email <a href="mailto:podcast@lennyrachitsky.com">podcast@lennyrachitsky.com</a>. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at <a href="https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=CTA_4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe</a>

How to price your product | Naomi Ionita (Menlo Ventures)

SaaS is about creating long-term value for your customer, and being compensated appropriately for that value as a business. Learn actionable monetization tips from a Product/Growth operator turned VC, Menlo Ventures Partner Naomi Ionita. Missed the session? Here’s what Naomi  talks about:  How to avoid underpricing your product Fitting your businesses’ product to the market  This podcast is an excerpt of Naomi’s session at SaaStr Annual 2019. You can watch the full video on our website. If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin SaaStr  Naomi Ionita Today's sponsor: Traditional customer beta testing can't keep up with the speed of Agile or the demands of continuous delivery. Centercode's approach to real-world Delta Testing fuels product and engineering teams with actionable quality and UX insights before every new release. Visit Centercode.com to learn more.

SaaS is about creating long-term value for your customer, and being compensated appropriately for that value as a business. Learn actionable monetization tips from a Product/Growth operator turned VC, Menlo Ventures Partner Naomi Ionita. Missed the session? Here’s what Naomi  talks about: <ul> <li>How to avoid underpricing your product</li> <li>Fitting your businesses’ product to the market</li> </ul> This podcast is an excerpt of Naomi’s session at SaaStr Annual 2019. You can watch the full video <a href="https://www.saastr.com/3-lessons-monetization-menlo-ventures/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">on our website</a>. If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonlk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jason Lemkin</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/saastr" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SaaStr</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/@npilosof" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Naomi Ionita</a> Today's sponsor: Traditional customer beta testing can't keep up with the speed of Agile or the demands of continuous delivery. Centercode's approach to real-world Delta Testing fuels product and engineering teams with actionable quality and UX insights before every new release. Visit <a href="http://centercode.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Centercode.com</a> to learn more.

SaaStr 267: Menlo Ventures Partner Naomi Ionita on 3 Lessons in Monetization - Matching Price to Value

Casey Winters

Historically, there has been a clear divide of how to grow a B2B company and a consumer business. However, in the past 5 years, we have seen B2B companies shift from the traditional sales growth practice to techniques used by consumer startups, such as product driven growth initiatives, distribution through mobile App stores, free trials and lower price plans. Today’s leading companies like Atlassian and Twilio reached IPO levels without a traditional sales-specific approach and startups like Dropbox and Slack use growth tactics pulled right out of a consumer-oriented playbook.In this episode of Greymatter, Invoice2go VP of Growth Naomi Ionita and Greylock Growth Advisor in Residence Casey Winters discuss their experience with growth retention and monetization at B2B companies. They share insight on monetizing your product, best practices for converting your freemium users to paying customers and advice for preventing customer churn.  Both have a deep understanding of what drives user retention and paid conversion. Prior to Invoice2go, Naomi worked in mobile product management at Evernote where she founded and built the Growth team. Casey led acquisition efforts at Pinterest and ran marketing for Grubhub, where he helped the company grow from 30,000 users to over 3 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historically, there has been a clear divide of how to grow a B2B company and a consumer business. However, in the past 5 years, we have seen B2B companies shift from the traditional sales growth practice to techniques used by consumer startups, such as product driven growth initiatives, distribution through mobile App stores, free trials and lower price plans. Today’s leading companies like Atlassian and Twilio reached IPO levels without a traditional sales-specific approach and startups like Dropbox and Slack use growth tactics pulled right out of a consumer-oriented playbook. In this episode of Greymatter, Invoice2go VP of Growth Naomi Ionita and Greylock Growth Advisor in Residence Casey Winters discuss their experience with growth retention and monetization at B2B companies. They share insight on monetizing your product, best practices for converting your freemium users to paying customers and advice for preventing customer churn.    Both have a deep understanding of what drives user retention and paid conversion. Prior to Invoice2go, Naomi worked in mobile product management at Evernote where she founded and built the Growth team. Casey led acquisition efforts at Pinterest and ran marketing for Grubhub, where he helped the company grow from 30,000 users to over 3 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

Driving Fast Growth in B2B Companies with Casey Winters and Naomi Ionita | Greymatter