Ramli John

Author of Product-Led Onboarding (+30K copies sold) | First Round Fast Track Mentor | Content Director at Appcues.

⭐️ Follow me for helpful tips to onboard, delight, and keep your customers coming back to your product.
📔 Author of Amazon #1 bestselling book "Product-Led Onboarding." 👉 𝙎𝙀𝘼𝙉 𝙀𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙎, Founder of GrowthHackers.com: "Product-Led Onboarding is 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 embarking on the critical activity of improving their user onboarding." 


⚡️ I use my multi-disciplinary skills in marketing, design, and software development to help product-led SaaS companies analyze their whole customer's journey and funnel to identify growth opportunities to 2-3X their MRR. 

Often, that means designing and implementing experiments to increase activation rate (trial-to-paid or free-to-paid conversions), decrease churn rate, or increase average revenue per user (ARPU)

If you asked my friends and colleagues how they would describe me, they'd say I'm resourceful, proactive, and entrepreneurial

►► CONTACT INFO
▷ Send a connection request
▷ Write me a note at ramli [at] ramlijohn.com

Founder

A weekly show and newsletter for marketers looking to level up their marketing and career. I interview world-class marketers to uncover the secrets, strategies, and frameworks behind their wins. In each episode, guests reveal three things:  (1) a marketing power-up,  (2) a real-world example of that in action, and (3) a power-up that’s helped them take their career to the next level.

Ramli "RJ" John

16 weeks ago, I could barely run 3K. Sunday, I ran my first half-marathon! I treated my training like growth experiments. 3 things that worked:


(Yes, I'm a nerd. My wife says I'm obsessed. I agree! 🤣)

Experiment 1: Fuel Strategy (Finding the Right Gel)

My biggest fear? Runner's trot. Google it if you dare.

I tested different energy gels to fuel a 2+ hour run. Honey Stinger caused stomach issues. Not fun.

I tried Maurten, GU, SiS, gummy bears, and baby applesauce.

Switched to Kronos, a Canadian maple-based gel. No issues and felt great.

The lesson? Test before it matters.

Your users won't tell you about embarrassing problems, but they'll quietly churn because of them.

Experiment 2: Continuous Running vs. Galloway Run-Walk-Run

I tested the Galloway method (run 90 seconds, walk 30, repeat). My splits were consistent. I felt fresher.

But I went with continuous runs that gradually increased speed.

Why? Simplicity. I didn't want to think about timers at kilometer 18 when my legs were screaming.

Same with product growth. The "optimal" solution isn't always the one users will stick with.

Experiment 3: Nose Breathing Technique

Two quick inhales through the nose, one long exhale. Sounds weird, right?

It dropped my heart rate. Made hard runs feel manageable.

A small technique change made a massive difference.

Just like when you change one small design tweak and retention jumps 15%.

In the end, I crossed the finish line in 2:19:01.

My "A goal" was just to finish. My "B goal" was somewhere between 2:10 and 2:30.

Mission accomplished!

It was fun running this one with Wes Bush and Catherine Hughes, M.Ed, PhD.

And honestly? I'm addicted. Already signed up for the full Toronto Marathon in May. Let's see what happens.

Every experiment started with "this should work."

Then I tested what actually worked for me. Then I kept what I could sustain for 21 kilometers.

Same process with product work. Best practices are starting points. Real users show you what actually works. Then you optimize for what they'll stick with.

—

What's something in your life right now that you're treating like an experiment?

Ramli John ⭐️

Building a community for AI Product Leaders. Founder @ Delight Path. 2x best-selling author. New book “Eureka” now available. Author of “Product-Led Onboarding” (+40K copies sold).

933 product leaders registered. 415 showed up live. That's 44% attendance (avg is 25%). The AI Product Leaders Summit exceeded everything I hoped for!


But the stats aren't what got me. It's the messages after yesterday's summit:

"Great Summit today Ramli! You provided huge value in the community!"

"Thanks, Ramli, this was a very enjoyable, educational and interactive summit! Great speakers and hosting! 👏👏"

"So well done! The speakers/content were top notch, where I just wanted more!"

Hosting a 5 hour live event drained my batteries. But messages like those made it all worth it.

Here are the biggest takeaways from 16 product leaders:

→ Every single session came back to customer research and knowing "why"
→ Lauren Creedon shared Goldcast's actual product org chart and AI roadmap (transparency level: 100)
→ Time-to-value matters, but product growth is now more than ever focused on time-to-trust
→ Product leaders opened up about the specific AI tools they're using to enable and upskill their teams
→ And a ton more (I'm writing a blog post about it!)

Thank you to every product leader who showed up—from 143 different companies. You made this what it was.

Thank you to the speakers who brought real strategies, not theory:
Janna Bastow, C. Todd Lombardo, Nesrine Changuel, PhD, Netali Jakubovitz, Christine Itwaru, Lauren Creedon, Bernadette Fisher, Mariana Danylak, Deepti Pradeep, Lauren Schuman, Jacob Bank, Betsy Shaak, Vivek Balasubramanian, Partho Ghosh, Ryan Barry, Colin Matthews, and Matthew Abersfeld.

You shared what actually worked (and what didn't). That's what made this valuable.

Thank you to Userflow, Goldcast, and LogRocket for sponsoring and making the giveaways happen.

One more thing:

I announced something BIG yesterday. Something I've been quietly building the last few weeks. I shared it live at the summit.

I'll share more tomorrow. Can't wait!

What was your biggest takeaway from the summit?

I've had the same conversation 30 times in the past few weeks. Different product leaders. Different companies. Same exhaustion...


Here's what I heard:

🔥 "I'm exhausted from constant firefighting."
🙅‍♂️ "I need to learn to say no with confidence."
😵 "AI is changing things so much. It's hard to catch up."
🤔 "I need more space for strategic thinking than being stuck in the weeds."

Product leaders are stuck firefighting when they want to be two steps ahead. 

AI's moving fast, expectations are moving faster, and we're supposed to have all the answers while coaching our team and keeping execs confident.

And when we finally pause? It's hard to find people who actually get what it's like to sit in our seat.

The truth is that we don't need another framework or AI playbook.

We need space to think, connect with peers who get it, and build our leadership practice.

That's why I'm excited to finally announce the Product Leaders Lab. 🧪

A private community I'm building for experienced product leaders (CPOs, VPs, Directors, Heads, Group PMs, etc.) who want to stay ahead and lead through change with confidence.

Inside the Lab, you'll get:

→ Cabin Crews: Small groups of 5-6 peers for honest conversations and accountability
→ Workshops & AMAs: Leadership topics like setting strategy, managing up, and leading through AI-driven change
→ Co-Labs: Bring a challenge, leave with clarity and support
→ The Leadership Library: Resources on defining success, influencing without authority, and building teams that scale

I'm also intentionally building for diversity. The industry is male-dominated, and I'm aiming for at least 50% of members to be women. There's real value in creating a more balanced space where different perspectives shape the conversation.

I'm opening 25 Founding Member spots right now.

Apply by November 25 to help shape the Lab.

✅ Apply now → https://lnkd.in/gHrG7AaB

I've already said yes to a handful of product leaders:

→ Betsy Shaak, VP of Product at Voxpopme
→ Luis Caceres, Product Director at Spotify
→ Brent Beatty, VP of Product at 7shifts
→ Michelle (Reiman) Wright, CPO at Kurtosys

Want to join them? That means only 21 spots left.

—

PS. Know a product leader who needs this? Tag them below. They'll thank you for it!

If I could grab coffee with my 21-year-old self, I'd give him 3 networking tips that took me 19 years to figure out.

Last week, I met someone new to the industry. They made every mistake I made early on.

Here's what I wish someone had told me:

1. Give more than you take.

Early in your career, you don't have much to give. What you CAN give:
→ A genuine thank you
→ Updates on how their advice helped you
→ Buying coffee when you can afford it

As you gain influence, you can give more. Just this week, someone I barely know sent me a Starbucks gift card out of nowhere. Didn't ask. They just wanted to say thanks for advice I gave months ago.

That's what happens when you give first.

2. Go beyond work topics.

Most people treat networking as transactions. It's short-term gains, immediate asks.

But real relationships are built on more than work:
→ Ask about their hobbies
→ Remember their kids' names
→ Check in about that marathon they mentioned

When I ask someone, "How's Cam doing?" and they're surprised I remembered their son's name? That's not a networking tactic. That's being a decent human who actually listens.

3. Turn online into offline when you can

If someone's in your city, make time to meet.
→ Not a 30-minute "networking coffee."
→ An actual hangout  for breakfast, a walk, whatever feels natural

Five years ago, Kirsty McConnell just started at Chameleon. She helped promote my first book, Product-Led Onboarding, when almost nobody knew who I was. Last week, she flew from Barcelona to Toronto. We met, not for networking but as friends.

We talked about marathon training, family adventures, and life moves. The professional stuff came up, but it was secondary.

That shift from transaction to friendship? That's when your "networking" becomes more about relationship-building.

Networking is simple: be genuinely helpful, stay in touch, and show up when you can.

If you're ever in Toronto, let me know. There are some great coffee spots I'd love to show you.

What's one networking lesson you wish you'd learned earlier?

—

PS. 🔖 Bookmark this for when you're wondering how to build real relationships, not just collect connections.

PPS. I'm building a private community space for 25 experienced product leaders (VPs, Directors, and Heads of Product) to connect about life and the latest hot topic... AI in product. It's called the Product Leaders Lab. If that's you, I'd love to connect.

My AI tool stack saves me 156 hours a year. That's 21 working days that I get back with my 3-year-old son, Zane...


Most product leaders I talk to use AI randomly. Chat here, summarize there, no system.

Here's what actually works for me (my 6-tool AI tool stack):

1. Claude (Projects)

Every client gets a project. Half-marathon training gets a project. Evening journaling gets a project.

I have everything in my life organized in Claude projects. That way, it has context about me and produces a richer, more accurate output.

This approach is way more powerful than prompt-and-pray.

2. Better Dictation (Text-to-speech AI tool)

I talk faster than I type. Always have. This voice-to-text helps me write posts, emails, and (yes) even books by speaking my thoughts. The ROI paid for itself after writing 3 client emails.

The best part is that it's a one-time payment (not a subscription!). Oh, it also helps that it uses ChatGPT for accurate transcription.

3. ClickUp (AI needs structure)

AI is only as good as your data structure. I codify every workflow in ClickUp, including deliverables, presentations, and tasks.

The AI can then actually help, rather than hallucinating random suggestions.

4. Fathom.ai  (Meeting notes)

This records my client calls and lets me chat with the transcripts afterward. I use it to recap client requirements, pull exact quotes for proposals, and craft follow-up pitches

Saves me from frantically searching "wait, what did they say about their onboarding drop-off rate?"

5. Lex Page (Long-form writing copilot)

This helped me write my new book, Eureka. It's built specifically for long-form content, not just quick prompts. When I'm stuck on a chapter or a framework explanation, Lex helps me think it through without losing my voice.

6. Mem (My second brain)

I dump thoughts here, and it organizes them automatically. Then it funnels insights into my calendar, links to relevant projects, and surfaces patterns I wouldn't have seen.

It's like having a research assistant who actually remembers what you said 3 months ago.

The Pattern is that each tool solves one specific friction point in my workflow:

→ Claude = thinking partner
→ Better Dictation = speed up input
→ ClickUp = structure the chaos
→ Fathom = never lose context
→ Lex = write without losing your voice
→ Mem = organize thoughts automatically

The result is 2-3 hours back every week.

That's time I spend with my family, not typing the same client email for the 47th time.

What's your AI stack look like? 
What am I missing?

—

✅ PS. Bookmark this stack for when you're drowning in admin work and need those hours back. Future you will thank me.

PPS. If you like this, I'm hosting the AI Product Leaders Summit next Tuesday, 11/18. I have product leaders from Adobe, Slack, and Google sharing their daily AI Toolkit.

Register via the last page of the document.

Ramli John's 6 AI Tool Stack

Excited to be hosting the AI Product Leaders Summit on 11/18. 
Here's why I'm genuinely excited about this..


I've been watching product leaders navigate AI for the past year. Some thriving, most overwhelmed. Everyone's trying to figure out the same things: 

How do we build AI products users love? 
How do we structure teams for AI success? 
How do we get CEO buy-in without overpromising?

This summit brings together people who are doing this work right now:

→ Christine Itwaru ( VP of Product and Design at Beamer/Userflow) on building AI-first product teams
→ Lauren Schuman (VP of Product Growth at Close) on maintaining PLG principles while integrating AI
→ Partho Ghosh (VP of Product at Uberall) on getting product-CEO alignment
→ Jacob Bank (Founder at Relay.app, Former PM at Google) on the AI toolkit that actually matters

Plus product leaders who work or have worked at Adobe, Slack, Spotify, Microsoft, and more.

No vendor pitches. No theory. Just real strategies from people actively building AI products and leading teams through this transformation.

November 18th, 10 AM to 3:30 PM EST. Free and virtual.

Register for free: https://lnkd.in/gcCwnvvA

What's your biggest question about leading AI products?

—
PS. Thanks to the sponsors Userflow, LogRocket, and Goldcast for making this event possible and giving away over $4,000 in prizes, including a product onboarding audit, an AI prototyping course, and books from speakers.

PPS. Tag a product leader who needs to see this.

+10K AI tools exist right now (and growing). What are product teams actually using to ship features? That's a question we're answering at the AI Product Leaders Summit.

Not what's trending on Product Hunt. Not the flashiest new thing. 
The tools product teams are actually using day-to-day.

I'm bringing together some stellar product leaders to tackle this topic and more:

→ Matthew Abersfeld (LogRocket's CEO, ex-Google Chrome PM) on frontend monitoring for AI product experiences
→ Mariana Danylak (Director of PM, Growth at Slack) on what her growth team uses to ship AI features
→ Jacob Bank (CEO of Relay.app, ex-Google Gmail/Calendar PM) on the tools that matter for product leaders
→ Deepti Pradeep (Director of PM, Growth at Adobe) on the tools driving growth for Photoshop and Lightroom

What frameworks help you decide what to build? What prototyping tools are worth learning? How do you monitor AI features in production?

Real tools. Real workflows. No vendor pitches.

November 18th, 10 AM - 3:30 PM EST. Free and virtual.

Register for free: https://lnkd.in/gcCwnvvA

What AI tool has actually made your team more productive?

—

PS. I'm giving away a $1,450 seat for Colin Matthews' "AI Prototyping for Product Managers" course to a live attendee! I took the course and loved it.

He'll also be joining us for the panel, "The AI Toolkit for Product Leaders!"

PPS. Tag a product leader who needs to see this toolkit session.

Product Magic

Owner
• 2022 to present: Acquired existing camping gear content website business listed on Flippa. Updated Amazon Associates affiliate links and transitioned ad network from Google Adsense to Ezoic. 

Advisor/Investor
• 2011 to present: Advise and invest in start-up internet businesses.
Advisor and investor in EZWebplayer, an innovative video hosting platform that offers encoding, customized video players, and video management for publishing and streaming videos more cost effectively.

Founder
• 2003 - 2004: Founded online classified site for pets. Grew site traffic through search engine optimization, search engine marketing using Google Adwords, and link building. Sourced and installed software at hosting site and coded updates in Javascript and HTML. Achieved profitability through paid listings using Paypal, affiliate links from Linkshare, and Google Adsense. Made nearly $10,000.

Affiliate Revenue Negotiator
• 2001 - 2002: Negotiated 2 year, $150,000 affiliate marketing arrangement with Spiegel Catalog to redirect traffic from my family owned Speigel.com domain name.

Zocket

Zocket's mission is to empower businesses of all sizes to effortlessly launch and manage their social media ads with AI.

Zocket leverages cutting-edge AI technologies to simplify the advertising for both small enterprises and large scale business. Our suite of AI modules include:

[1] 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨: lets you harness the power of AI for stunning ad visual creation helping marketers create stunning ad copies across Facebook, Instagram, Google, Linkedin, Snapchat, Tiktok ads etc. in minutes

[2] 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨: Adaptive clustering models to target and engage with the most relevant audience segments across channels

[3] 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: Centralize your advertising efforts across multiple platforms—including meta, Google, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and more—from a single, streamlined interface

[4] 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐛: Provides analytics, with customizable inputs to ensure your advertising strategies work the way you want them to

[5] 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫: Imagine slack for marketing teams! Stay organized and in control with our intuitive command centre helping marketing teams (performance marketers, graphic designers, copy writers, budget managers) operate in a well co-ordinated way

[6] 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐚𝐛: Optimize your campaigns with ease, maximizing ROI and driving impactful results with AI driven rule engine

GTM and AdTech Advisor

Product Career Accelerator

I teach networking skills to ambitious, successful product managers to help them land roles at top public and private tech companies.
Multiple students have received responses and landed interviews - bypassing application queues - at companies like Meta, Google, Uber, AirBnB, and Walmart using my advice.
Examples:
"Hey David! Good news: Your advice for helping me craft short messages to add to cold connection requests helped me add 4 PM recruiters at Meta. Also got on a call with one of them last week and am now preparing for first round case interviews"
"Hi David, that AirBnB hiring manager finally accepted my LinkedIn invite thanks to your tricks!"
"Your advice to engage with PMs who set their profile to 'Actively hiring' landed me a call with a Walmart hiring manager"

Networking coach

Popular Pays, a Lightricks Company

Promoted from Principal Product Manager, Brands to Head of Product Growth, Influencer Marketing Platform
- Coordinated a team of 4 product managers, 3 UX designers, 1 product marketing director, and a data analyst to prioritize, design and implement self-serve, Product Led Growth features: online payments, freemium and free trial offers, onboarding flows, pricing plans, packages and pricing page, surveys, feature gating, email campaigns, and renewal reminders.
- Increased self-serve conversions from 0 to 50/month. Generated $XX,000 in recurring brand platform subscription revenue and $XX,000 in brand to creator payments/month
- Conducted user research interviews. Analyzed qualitative and quantitative feedback to prioritize usability enhancements to increase self-serve conversion rates.
- Built dashboards in Trevor, Redash, Pendo, and Google Analytics to monitor and optimize activation and retention
- Participated in numerous AI projects including an AI Brief Builder (LLM agent), AI Studio image enhancement (background removal, scene modification), and an AI voice feature for consumer apps.

Head of Product Growth - Influencer Marketing Platform

- Gathered feedback from Sales to facilitate and prioritize a retention focused roadmap. Led teams to build new features, retaining two $1M+ ACV brands about to leave. Also brought back an additional $1M+ ACV brand.

Principal Product Manager, Brands

LiveRamp

I led the team that designed, built, and launched a cookieless client side tag (CST) to track MAIDs, CTV-IDs and RampIDs.
- CST product earned $X million in its first year and drives tens of millions in revenue for associated measurement and activation products.
- Managed products from engineering to go-to-market, including leading closed betas with 3 top clients (over $1M/year ACV)
- Reported to VP Product, Identity Resolution. Started managing two engineering teams and took on additional third engineering team and a data operations team. I managed the work of nearly 20 engineers and data analysts.
- Outside of core responsibilities, I collaborated on a cross functional leadership team with LiveRamp's now CPO to establish cross division Product Operations Processes, improving strategic alignment, tracking, and communication. I personally integrated Jira to Productboard to ensure automated alignment of engineering statuses to product roadmaps that rolled up to the executive levels.

Head of Product - Distributed Identity

Kinesso

Partnered with Director and VP of Engineering from Axciom to license 3rd party identity data to build an in house Identity Resolution Graph to power the former IPG Cadreon/Mediabrands Audience Management Platform.

Director of Product Management

Signal ™

Managed a team that established and executed roadmaps to build business partnerships and deliver complex audience data integrations with top players: Adobe, Salesforce, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Pandora, Spotify, Verizon Media and others.

These integrations provided the basis for new product offerings from Signal.

Product Management and Business Development

Conversant, Inc.

Sr. Product Manager for the creation of Conversant Access - a customer facing reporting portal:
http://blog.conversantmedia.com/2015/10/08/are-you-in-the-drivers-seat-of-your-data/

Led the creation of Conversant Access, a client facing website providing reporting, ad previewing/approval, and self-serve campaign management for direct to brand and agency clients, including Williams Sonoma, Cabela’s, and Victoria’s Secret.

Sr. Product Manager, Platform

Outerwall

Outerwall is the parent company of Redbox.

I served as Head of Technology, New Ventures for Star Studio. I managed all hardware and software for Star Studio, an interactive photo booth kiosk found in 65 malls across Southern California, Texas and the Northeast.

Prepared detailed financial forecasts for costs and revenues to scale from 65 to 350 kiosks. Plans included hardware costs, software costs (staffing), and other capital and operating expenses to support use of investment funds.

Senior Manager, New Ventures

Discovery Communications

The Strategy and Emerging Businesses team identified, evaluated and developed innovative digital business initiatives. Operating with an entrepreneurial focus, the team sought growth opportunities for Discovery Digital Media to build internally or create through partnerships.

Contributed to presentation that secured internal funding for Curiosity.com which was later spun out into a standalone business.

Director of Product, Emerging Businesses

Product Leader in AdTech and Influencer Marketing | Ex: LiveRamp, Redbox, Discovery, VC | Kellogg MBA

15+ years of product leadership in AdTech, both B2B and B2C.

- Launched data products for audience capture (LiveRamp) and built audience integrations to top social networks and DSPs such as Meta, Google, The Trade Desk and many others.

- Built 0-to-1 campaign management tools for reporting, ad creative approval, and audience creation. Added product led growth go-to-market capabilities to a B2B SaaS influencer marketing platform

- Worked in two public company innovation centers taking products from 0-to-1 and scaling from $xM to $xxM.

David Speigel 🔮

I’ve worked with hundreds of Product Managers looking for their next role. The ones who land offers the fastest all share one specific trait.

They don't just apply. They investigate.

As a PM, your superpower is empathy 
You know how to talk to stakeholders (Sales, Support, Customers) 
You figure out what they actually need

Yet, when job seeking, most PMs overlook this skillset entirely 
They click "Apply" and then sit back and wait

Here is a better strategy:
Treat the company as your user and yourself as the product

Submit the Application
(This is just the baseline)

Reach out to the Hiring Manager
Ask about the team's goals

Connect with multi functional peers at the company 
Ask what they love (and hate) about the product

The ROI of this approach is massive

Curiosity wins: 
It shows you are proactive

Insider info: 
Learn the team's actual needs, not just what's on the JD

Interview Prep: 
Tailor your answers to their specific problems

Referrals: 
Good conversations often lead to instant interviews

Don't wait to be picked. Go do the discovery work.

Product & GTM Advisor🪄Networking Coach✨

taplio

The Battle

Ramli "RJ" John

David Speigel 🔮

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreRamli "RJ" John's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDavid Speigel 🔮's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Ramli "RJ" John

David Speigel 🔮

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Ramli "RJ" John's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDavid Speigel 🔮's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreRamli "RJ" John's LinkedIn Performance