Aakash Gupta

The Product Growth Newsletter 🚀 | Helping PMs, product leaders, and aspiring PMs succeed

Aakash Gupta, a seasoned professional with a background in product management, has transitioned from being a VP of Product at a Unicorn company to writing a newsletter dedicated to product managers, product leaders, and aspiring product managers.

His newsletter focuses on providing actionable and in-depth tips for career improvement, with a special emphasis on product growth and product-led growth (PLG) strategies in the SaaS B2B space.

Apart from growth strategies, Aakash delves into topics such as technology, product management, product leadership, and offers insights on securing a PM job, making his newsletter a valuable resource for personal and professional development.

Having studied Business Analytics and Entrepreneurship & Innovation for his MBA at The Wharton School and Economics and Psychology for his BS at the University of Michigan, Aakash brings a strong educational foundation to his writing and insights.

With a rich professional experience that includes roles like Chief Product Officer at Product Growth, VP of Product at Apollo.io, Head of Product Growth at Affirm, and various other key positions in renowned organizations like Epic Games and thredUP, Aakash Gupta offers a wealth of practical knowledge and expertise in the product management domain.

His unique blend of academic qualifications, vast industry experience, and a passion for sharing knowledge through his newsletter make him a sought-after resource for product professionals at all career levels.

Highlights

Yesterday · twitter

“Most B2B products are over-engineered, and it’s stunting their growth.”

“Don't focus on retention."

Those are just two of the hot takes in today's masterclass on how to drive B2B growth with 2x VP of Product (Snyk, CloudBees) Ben Williams.

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We cover:

→ What companies shouldn’t pursue PLG → Product-Led Sales 101 → Why you shouldn’t focus directly on retention → How to build effective growth models → How to land the right role the right way

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𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘄:

Spotify: https://t.co/yFCKfCOjnC

YouTube: https://t.co/4COO8cILOv

Apple: https://t.co/bK679mrXvy

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𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀:

Enterpret: Transform customer feedback into product growth with custom AI - https://t.co/KYPuxYdkTz

WorkOS: Your App, Enterprise Ready - https://t.co/pgdLE4R6HG

Dovetail: The Fastest Way to Understand Your Customer - https://t.co/4CmZNnkgha

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𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:

Drive Engagement States to Drive Retention

Focusing on retention directly is ineffective because it is a lagging indicator. Instead, teams should prioritize leading indicators like activation and engagement, which have a direct, measurable impact on retention.

To understand and influence engagement, user behavior must be seen on a spectrum, not as a binary state. Users move through key engagement states:

→ Dormant (inactive users) → Lightly engaged (occasional interaction) and → Deeply engaged (consistent, active usage).

At Snyk, accounts in the lowest engagement state had only a 5-7% chance of being retained after 12 months, while accounts moved into higher engagement states showed an 80% likelihood of retention.

This insight highlights the critical role of identifying the actions that push users toward deeper engagement and recognizing early signals of churn.

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Product-Led Growth (PLG) Is Inevitable

PLG is no longer optional; every company must adopt product-led principles to thrive. And it’s not just about self-serve motions or freemium trials. It works across acquisition, retention, and monetization to drive sustainable growth.

Product-Led Acquisition (PLA) attracts users by solving meaningful problems through the product itself. However, PLA only works if there’s a clear bridge connecting these tools to the core product’s value.

Once users engage, Product-Led Sales (PLS) steps in, using product usage data to identify high-value accounts and drive expansion through value-driven conversations.

Unlike traditional sales, zero-commission models align incentives around customer success, not quick wins.

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If you want to improve your product growth strategy, the full >2 hour episode is for you.