OpenView, the firm that coined the phrase Product Led Growth (PLG), is the third top ten SaaS VC to come out with something about the ecosystem-led future in the last week.
Their latest PLG report starts right in with a focus on indirect distribution and integrations:
PLG is no longer just an end-user focused growth model. In fact, with the rise of automation, AI, and APIs, the users of a product are increasingly other products rather than people.
Under principle #2, check out this language about the struggles of the old GTM approach:
Software used to be marketed and sold. There’s a cottage industry of SDRs whose sole responsibility is to inundate potential buyers until they finally agree to a meeting. While this model worked for a long time, and is still working now, we’re feeling bombarded by the constant barrage of emails, InMails, and voicemails and desperately want to opt out.
Now products are bought, not sold. And they’re discovered, not presented. Ordinary folks seek out solutions to their everyday problems whether through Google, friends, or their chosen communities.
Other principles include build to meet users where they work, and, build for openness.
It's clear that the best minds in tech are seeing the shift away from direct sales and marketing and towards collaboration, integration, community, and ecosystem.
The time is now.
