What is the secret to building successful products? In this podcast hosted by Barbara Bermes, Workleap Co-founder & CEO Simon de Baene will share his insights on the power of simplicity in product development. Learn how he and his team built products like ShareGate by embracing a minimalist approach, and discover how to balance data-driven decisions with instinct and passion when developing innovative software.
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Show Notes
- Simplicity is a core value that has driven Workleap’s product success.
- Embracing a minimalist approach, even when customers request more features, is crucial.
- Rebuilding products from scratch to focus on core functionality can lead to major improvements.
- Balancing data-driven decisions with instinct and passion is essential for innovation.
- Surrounding yourself with experienced people early on can provide valuable guidance.
- Naivety and a willingness to try unconventional approaches can sometimes lead to success.
- Creating space for experimentation and new product ideas is important for long-term growth.
- Practical validation, like having your mother test a product, can provide valuable insights.
- Avoiding the trap of over-relying on research and using it to justify decisions.
- The challenges of building new products are often as difficult as the initial success.
- Importance of humility and accepting that not all ideas will succeed.
- Empowering team members to take initiative and drive projects forward.
- Value of having a diverse board with experienced members to provide guidance.
- Continuous learning through reading industry-leading books and thought leadership.
- Passion for building products and the drive to constantly improve them.
- Recognizing the life cycle of products and preparing for the next big success.
- Importance of customer support and the overall customer experience.
- Transitioning from a services-based business to a product-focused company.
- Leveraging transparency, trial access, and simple pricing as competitive advantages.
- Perseverance and a willingness to iterate, even when facing initial challenges.
About the speaker
Simon De Baene Co-founder & CEO Workleap Simon De Baene is the visionary Co-founder and CEO of Workleap, a leading software company that makes work simpler for more than 20,000 companies in over 100 countries. Under his leadership, Workleap has grown from a 3-person startup in 2006 to a global software company with over $100 million annual revenue and nearly 500 employees. Bootstrapped and profitable since its foundation 18 years ago, Workleap recently announced a $125M investment from CDPQ, marking an important milestone for the company. The motivation that led Simon to start Workleap in a small Montreal apartment with two of his friends continues to drive him today: building great products to help companies achieve their ambitions. Today, Workleap is focused on building simple employee experience software that enables people to work at their best. And with the fast-paced evolution of the world of work, the opportunities for Workleap have never been greater. Outside of Workleap, Simon supports emerging leaders and the entrepreneurial community through his involvement with Centech and by sitting on the advisory boards of many young startups. He’s also an avid gardener, snowboarder and (now retired) skateboarder.
About the host
Barbara Bermes is an extremely passionate data-driven product leader, a previous International conference speaker, and a book author, with a comprehensive technical background and deep experience in B2B SaaS products at growth-stage companies. Motivated and driven by customer happiness, she is a decisive leader and executive with a proven track record of leading high-performing product teams with empathy, evangelizing product strategy and delivering world-class customer solutions. She frequently writes about product under https://bbinto.medium.com/