Figma's Product Journey
10 Lessons for Aspiring Product Managers and Growth Teams
This past week, the product world was abuzz with Adobe's whopping $20 billion acquisition of Figma, a move that sent tech enthusiasts into a frenzy. But what's the story behind Figma's incredible success, and what lessons can aspiring product managers and growth teams take away from it? In this edition of Behind Product Lines, we'll dive into Figma's journey and extract valuable insights for building products that users truly love.
Lesson 1
Dropping Baggage to Gain Focus Figma's journey didn't start as a design tool. Initially, the founders considered building drones. However, they realized the complexities and privacy concerns associated with drones and pivoted to a web-based design tool. But even then, they contemplated covering a broad spectrum of design applications. Eventually, they realized that trying to compete with Adobe on all fronts was overly ambitious. The key lesson here is that you don't need to match a competitor's feature set to disrupt the market. Your unique approach to the problem is what matters most.
Lesson 2
Obsessing about a Clear Value Proposition Figma's vision has always revolved around collaboration. They saw an opportunity to address a lack of collaboration in design and product teams. Figma's product direction was clear from the start - they aimed to make design more inclusive and collaborative. This singular focus made it easier for the team to align, prioritize, and make decisions.
Lesson 3
Dylan's Ego-less Thirst for Seeking the Truth Co-founder Dylan Field demonstrated a rare quality in a product manager - he actively sought feedback and advice from relevant experts, even when they initially declined to invest in Figma. This thirst for mentorship and truth-seeking is a valuable trait for effective product managers. They should welcome critique and not become defensive when feedback contradicts their opinions.
Lesson 4
Creating Demand with a Closed Beta Figma launched a waitlist and a closed beta to test demand and gather early adopters, including product designers, UX professionals, and product managers. This feedback loop allowed them to fine-tune the product before a wider release. Closed betas are excellent for incubating a product and making it more polished.
Lesson 5
Setting up a Highly Collaborative Product Culture Figma's product development thrived on cross-functional collaboration. They used various exercises like "Buy a Feature" and "Alignment Scale" to prioritize and align the team. They also encouraged discussions of professional and personal goals in their meetings, fostering candid and transparent communication. Product development can't happen in a silo; product managers must work with different departments to succeed.
Lesson 6
Leveraging a Spectrum of Network Effects Figma's core driver of growth was collaboration. By serving designs from the cloud, they made it easy for everyone in an organization to access and collaborate on designs. This led to four types of network effects: intra-group, cross-group, inter-group, and inter-company. A product designed to become more valuable with more users on board can grow rapidly.
Lesson 7
Designing a Strong Product-led Growth Motion Figma's freemium tier eliminated user acquisition friction, allowing designers and product managers to experience the product instantly. The self-service and onboarding flows ensured users reached their "aha" moment quickly. Product-led growth is a powerful strategy, but it requires a well-designed user journey.
Lesson 8
Upscaling with Enterprise Sales at the Right Time Figma combined a product-led growth model with a top-down sales-led approach, offering an enterprise tier with corporate features. A lean sales team was set up to pursue users already using the product and upgrade them to enterprise prospects. High-value accounts often require human interaction for high-ticket contracts.
Lesson 9
Fueling Growth with Communities Figma launched the Figma Community, allowing designers to share their designs and collaborate. This community became a cost-efficient acquisition channel and a barrier to exit for designers. Building an active community is a valuable asset for a product.
Lesson 10
Expanding Product Footprint with a Developer Platform Figma made plugins available in the cloud, instantly accessible to users. Engaging the developer community allowed Figma to rapidly expand the product's capabilities. An engaged developer community can help your product evolve quickly.
In conclusion, Figma's journey offers invaluable lessons for product managers and growth teams:
Leverage the collaboration between design and engineering teams.
Embrace self-serve, onboarding, and product-led growth but design tiers that naturally push users to higher brackets.
Connect your users with one another to create a sense of community, which is hard to replicate.
Building a product that becomes an indispensable part of people's lives is the ultimate goal for a product manager. Figma's success story is a testament to what's possible with the right approach and a relentless commitment to delivering value.