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Claire Butler was Figma\u2019s first GTM hire and their 10th employee. She led Figma\u2019s early GTM strategy from stealth through monetization. She also helped the team through the journey to find product-market fit and built the team that drove Figma\u2019s unique bottom-up growth motion. Eight years later, as Senior Director of Marketing, she continues to lead Figma\u2019s bottom-up growth motion, along with community, events, social, advocacy, and Figma for education. In this episode, we discuss:

\u2022 An in-depth look at Figma\u2019s bottom-up GTM motion

\u2022 Why you need to start with individual contributors (ICs) loving your product

\u2022 How to spread adoption within the organization

\u2022 How \u201cdesigner advocates\u201d have played a critical role in Figma\u2019s growth

\u2022 The freemium strategy that drove massive growth for Figma

\u2022 How to leverage product champions

\u2022 When to leave stealth

\u2022 Early-stage metrics, and why they are often unreliable

\u2022 Advice for people looking to join a startup

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/an-inside-look-at-figmas-unique-bottom

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Where to find Claire Butler:

\u2022 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/clairetbutler

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairetbutler/

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Where to find Lenny:

\u2022 Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

\u2022 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Claire\u2019s background

(03:47) The huge branding decision that Claire made on day one at Figma

(07:45) The most stressful memory of early days at Figma

(09:55) Advice for people looking to join a startup

(12:55) What a bottom-up go-to-market\xa0motion is

(17:12) Figma\u2019s unique approach to bottom-up GTM

(18:52) Figma\u2019s launch out of stealth\xa0

(23:01) Signals vs. hard metrics in the early days\xa0

(24:50) How Figma won over Microsoft

(30:08) How to win over ICs

(32:00) How to establish credibility

(37:38) Customer obsession in action

(41:11) Why getting users to love your product is so vital

(44:01) How Figma used Twitter as its primary channel in the early days

(49:06) Transparency and authenticity

(49:52) GTM tactics at scale

(52:09) \u201cLittle big updates\u201d at Figma

(54:16) Figma\u2019s acquisition, and why it was one of the hardest days of Claire\u2019s career

(57:10) Figma\u2019s core values

(58:06) The Config conference

(1:00:21) Spreading your product within the organization

(1:02:09) The pricing tiers at Figma

(1:07:35) The role of designer advocates

(1:10:57) Design systems

(1:16:12) Leveraging internal champions

(1:17:53) Accelerating spread at scale

(1:19:14) What types of companies are a good fit for bottom-up GTM

(1:24:16) A summary of the bottom-up GTM model

(1:25:27) Lightning round

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Referenced:

\u2022 Dylan Field on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanfield/

\u2022 John Lilly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnlilly/

\u2022 Ivan Zhao on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanhzhao/

\u2022 Xamarin: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/apps/xamarin

\u2022 Josef M\xfcller-Brockmann: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_M%C3%BCller-Brockmann

\u2022 Datadog: https://www.datadoghq.com/

\u2022 Coda: https://coda.io/

\u2022 Oren\u2019s Hummus on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/orenshummus/

\u2022 Intercom: https://www.intercom.com/

\u2022 How Coda builds product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-coda-builds-product

\u2022 Dylan Field on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zoink

\u2022 Dylan\u2019s tweet: https://twitter.com/zoink/status/1566566649712431105

\u2022 Little Big Updates: https://www.figma.com/blog/little-big-updates-august-2022/

\u2022 Sho Kuwamoto on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skuwamoto

\u2022 Kris Rasmussen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kris_rasmussen

\u2022 Config: https://config.figma.com/

\u2022 Tom Lowry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomaslowry

\u2022 Atomic Design: https://atomicdesign.bradfrost.com/

\u2022 Figjam: https://www.figma.com/figjam/

\u2022 Dev Mode: https://www.figma.com/dev-mode/

\u2022 Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity: https://www.amazon.com/Radical-Candor-Revised-Kick-Ass-Humanity/dp/1250235375

\u2022 Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts: https://www.amazon.com/Dare-Lead-Brave-Conversations-Hearts/dp/0399592520

\u2022 100 Foot Wave on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/100-foot-wave

\u2022 Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-James-Clear-audiobook/dp/B07RFSSYBH

\u2022 Noah Weiss on Lenny\u2019s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-10-traits-of-great-pms-how-ai-will-impact-your-product-and-slacks-product-development-process/

\u2022 How to create an exceptional coverage plan for your parental leave (Tamara Hinckley): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-create-an-exceptional-coverage

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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.