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.

Typeform

Manage a team of 10 including paid, site, lifecycle, partner marketing and campaigns. Report to CRO.

Director of Growth Marketing

Appcues

Series B B2B SaaS startup that empowers non-technical users to design and serve personalized, on-brand product experiences to their end users. As leader in the product-led growth category, Appcues helps web and mobile apps improve free-to-paid conversion, activation, retention and more.

•	Own strategy and manage execution of quality inbound lead volume. Increased SQLs by 331% with only a 29% increase in spend from Q2 to Q3. Dropped spend by 46% from Q4 to Q1 with a 5% increase in SQLs.
•	Lead experimentation strategy and execution within the marketing department including 99% lift in conversion rate to trial or demo from homepage traffic
•	Plan and manage event sponsorships including SaaStr 2022 resulting 154% increase in lead volume and 100% increase in demos booked year over year (plus a product launch party planned in 3 weeks resulting in max capacity at the venue)
•     Manage business development function supporting both new business and expansion pipeline
•     Lead cross-functional teams to improve acquisition funnel from trial optimization to sales outreach

Director, Growth Marketing

Discount Lots 

Real estate start-up buying and selling vacant land online with discounted cash prices and in-house financing. Discount Lots was founded in 2019 with $3.5MM in sales in the first year. Took company from $9MM in sales in 2020 to $22MM in sales in 2021 through digital marketing campaigns, lead nurturing and conversion optimization on the forward-facing brand website as well as landing page properties.

•	Developed overall marketing and go-to-market strategy for the brand including defining customer segments and managing internal operations team and external virtual assistant group.
•	Worked closely with sales to redefine the customer lifecycle by modernizing the typical industry methods and evolve to high-touch lead generation system.
•	Led team of 4 responsible for brand awareness, lead generation and low touch e-commerce purchases.

VP Marketing and Automation

Brand Distillers

Boutique marketing agency with specialties in higher education, real estate, B2C, financial services and consulting. Offers full-service marketing including traditional and digital as well as consulting on marketing, sales and business growth. 

•	Led team responsible for social media and paid advertising campaigns for home improvement brand resulting in a 800% ROAS and over $60MM in revenue to the client in first year. 
•	Design and build websites for clients with focus on increased organic lead generation, shopping cart optimization, and project management of internal and external vendors.
•	Develop lead generation-focused landing pages for clients with on page conversion rates 40% or more over industry average (9% for higher education and 7% for home improvement clients compared to industry average of 5.8% and 3.8% respectively).

AVP Marketing

abeedle.com

Digital marketing agency with focus on higher education and non-profit. Specific areas of expertise in for-profit, non-profit colleges and graduate programs. Provided comprehensive digital marketing services including social media advertising, SEM, display marketing, SEO, website development and marketing consulting.
•	Headed social media management and strategy development for clients including managing internal staff as well as external designers and content creators.
•	Developed Facebook and Adwords lead generation and multi-touch marketing strategies for for-profit schools including cosmetology, health sciences, and trades.
•	Provided marketing budgets and forecasting for traditional four year colleges to support the entire enrollment and recruiting process including visit, application and deposit stages.

Digital Marketing Specialist

Welcome To My Wedding

Luxury branding, gifts and welcome bags for high-end weddings and events. Started the business while in college and working for a wedding planning company to fill a gap in the D.C. market.

•	Develop branding and packaging designs to personalize the guest experience for wedding and event clients or as a marketing opportunity for event vendors including favors and welcome gifts.

Owner/Founder

Engaging Affairs

Premier D.C. area wedding planning company for luxury weddings. Small team of planners and assistants who planned and ran a variety of wedding types.

•	Plan and organize day-of events for clients as needed by coordinating vendors, managing event timeline and assisting in décor and design plans as needed.

Wedding Planner

Georgetown University

Fitness Instructor

Growth marketing strategist and leader with expertise in B2B SaaS (sales-led and product-led motions) and high-value B2C (education, real estate, home improvement). All about teams that move fast and know how to be scrappy.

Specialties: marketing strategy and consulting, digital/online marketing education, lead generation and conversion, effective campaign design and execution, higher education marketing, marketing for-profit colleges, pay-per-click advertising (PPC), social media advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), social media management.

Meg Gowell

Everyone loves to borrow credibility.
“Employee #10 at a unicorn.”
“Head of X at a big-name company.”
“A resume with more logos than a Formula 1 driver’s suit.”

It all sounds impressive until you realize the truth:
None of those things automatically make someone smart.
Or strategic.
Or even good.

Some of the worst advice I’ve ever heard came from the best-looking resumes.

Judge people by how they think and what they build today.
Not the bumper stickers they collected yesterday.

Head of Marketing @ Elly.ai | ex Typeform, Appcues

Early in my career, I marketed a lot of crappy products.

> Tier three colleges that cost way more than they were worth.
> Career colleges that were on the edge of shutting down at any moment.
> Vacant land that sometimes the owners double sold 🤦‍♀️

Then I started to realize what an uphill battle it was and decided I only want to sell products that people actually love.

So I sold good products with strong brands.

Now I’m realizing even that isn’t enough anymore.
Every category is crowded.
Good isn’t enough. Brand isn’t enough.

You need something else.
You need a product with point of view.

Marketing can’t fake it (as much as I’ve tried in the past).
The whole company and the product have to live it.

But the companies that figure it out? They’re the ones people remember.

I used to have a Chief People Officer who always talked about how valuable it was that our recruiting team sourced their own candidates, not just evaluated inbound applications.

At first, I didn’t get the big deal.

Honestly, I kind of assumed most hires came from people who applied or were already in your network.

After my first search, I changed my mind.

Having a mix of inbound and sourced candidates totally changed how I approached hiring.

It was the difference between wondering if there was someone better out there… and knowing you had a full view of the talent pool.

I’ve had candidates who were looking but hadn’t seen our posting.
I’ve had candidates who weren’t sure about making a move, but were curious.
And I’ve had candidates who didn’t think the role was right for them until it turned out to be a perfect fit.

All people I would’ve missed if recruiting hadn’t taken the time to source.

And that’s why I’m so excited about our new AI Sourcer.

Now, anyone can start a sourcing search in seconds.
It’s like asking ChatGPT for the perfect candidate.

You can type in what you’re looking for.
Or upload or paste in a JD.
Or even attach a kickoff call you ran with Elly.

Recruiters will still be better at it than I am. 😅 
But it makes sourcing feel a little less like work, and a little more like magic.

The biggest leg up for a PLG motion?

It’s not an amazing growth team.
It’s not the perfect onboarding experience.
It’s not rock-solid data collection.

It’s a product you can actually see the full value of in seconds.
With no risk.

And that’s harder to find than it sounds.

You can do all the work in the world to make a product easier to use. But if it takes time or risk to experience real value in the wild, self-serve revenue is much harder to achieve.

At Elly, our team has done a great job creating a free experience since day one.
We’ve had lots of customers self-serve our Notetaker product.
But we still hand-hold many of the sales.

Why? Because there’s risk.

You can’t see Notetaker’s full value instantly. You have to use it in a real-world situation (on a call with a candidate).

When we launched our AI Sourcer this week, it was a different story.

You can literally run a sourcing search with actual candidate results in seconds.

No complex onboarding. No help docs. No in-app tooltips. No hand-holding.

We even sold an annual deal self-serve the first day the product was live (before the actual launch).

Price didn’t matter (it’s higher than Notetaker).
Onboarding didn’t matter (there wasn’t any).
Metrics didn’t matter (we weren’t even tracking time-to-value).

All that mattered: the customer could test it fast, risk-free, and see full value immediately.

And that’s just not possible for every product.
No matter how much we want it to be.

They always say to use your audience’s own words.
A recruiter customer just called recruiters “butterflies on crack.”

brb rewriting the homepage

PSA: We don’t need an AI prompt bar for every single action in SaaS.

I know these tools.
I know the menus.
I know where everything lives.

So please don’t make me negotiate with an AI bot just to add a field on a contact record. I can do it faster (and better) than whatever the assistant guesses.

For some reason, we decided to toss out years of good product and UX work in the rush to make everything more like Lovable.

Not every tool is as hard to use as coding an app for the first time.
Stop pretending yours is.

Not everything needs a prompt.

taplio

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The Battle

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