Oji Udezue was most recently Chief Product Officer at Typeform, where he led product strategy across the company’s growing suite of tools. Previously, he was CPO at Calendly, where he helped scale one of the most beloved PLG tools in the market. Before that, he was Head of Product for Creation and Conversation at Twitter, leading core features like Tweets, DMs, and Spaces. At Atlassian, he led all communication products, including the launch of Atlassian’s first post-IPO product.

Oji also spent years at Microsoft, building foundational experiences across Windows, Outlook, Hotmail, and Internet Explorer.

In addition to his product leadership, Oji is the founder of Kernel Fund, an early-stage fund supporting startups across Africa. He writes about product, growth, and leadership at his newsletter Product Mind and is the author of the upcoming book Building Rocketships—a guide for high-growth product teams.

Discussed in this Episode:

• When to hire your first PM (and what to look for).
• Why great product teams include marketing from day one.
• A framework for picking winning startup ideas.
• How AI is changing how we build (not just what we build).
• What product leaders can learn from Microsoft’s Longhorn failure.
• Why 3x better isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s a must.
  
  

Highlights:

04:52 – Why marketing is essential to product leadership.

12:02 – How AI is transforming the process of building products.

17:07 – Common product mistakes founders make early on.

24:16 – Building Rocket Ships: Why Oji wrote the book.

31:08 – Framework: Where to fish for unicorns.

33:17 – The “3x better” rule for product value.

37:07 – The challenge of true product differentiation.

39:22 – What Microsoft’s Longhorn failure taught Oji.

44:51 – When (and how) to hire your first PM.

48:31 – The importance of fast, early customer feedback.

54:46 – How AI is changing go-to-market strategy.

57:32 – Why marketers must master signal in a noisy world.

Guest Speaker Links (Oji Udezue):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojiudezue/
• Kernel Fund: https://www.kernelfund.com/
• Product Mind: https://www.productmind.co/
• Building Rocketships (Book): https://a.co/d/0HGjf18
• SubStack: https://ojiudezue.substack.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: https://gtmnow.com/
• LinkedIn: https:

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

Harmony Anderson is an entrepreneurial marketing leader with deep expertise in building global GTM strategies at growth startups. She is currently the VP of Growth and Marketing at Superhuman, the most productive email app ever made for teams. She has also led high-performing teams at Armada, Engine, Outreach, and ThousandEyes.

She is deeply passionate about creating world-class marketing campaigns, leveraging data-driven strategies to accelerate customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. She also drives extreme rigor around operational excellence and efficiency, ensuring GTM teams execute with precision using repeatable and predictable playbooks.

Discussed in this Episode:

• How to develop unique positioning and messaging for an AI company
• Why UGC matters for your brand and how to get users to create content about your product
• The impact of lightning marketing campaigns and follow-on 'thunder' campaigns
• Three core channels for launching a new B2B marketing program

Highlights:

05:12 – The #1 mistake in AI messaging: sounding like everyone else.
07:24 – Use outcomes and data to differentiate your AI product.
11:06 – Why nailing 3-5 core use cases beats going broad or too niche.
12:38 – Turning website visitors into believers with demos and interactive content.
14:01 – How to keep up with a market that changes every week (hello, agentic AI).
15:08 – Building campaigns that fuel your narrative across every channel.
17:16 – Behind Superhuman’s most successful campaign ever: “New Year, New Inbox.”
20:04 – Unlocking 60% growth through user-generated content and affiliate advocacy.
21:38 – Why webinars and virtual events still drive real results (and feedback).
23:12 – How to keep your messaging fresh while staying focused.
25:11 – The difference between brand umbrella, campaign, and program — and why it matters.
27:02 – Harmony’s lean, high-impact program playbook for early-stage teams.
31:06 – Building a hype train: how to activate champions at launch.
33:01 – Hot take: marketing shouldn’t be measured by pipeline alone.
35:12 – Why NRR (not just pipeline) should be a marketing KPI.

Guest Speaker Links (Harmony Anderson):

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/harmony-hickman-anderson
• Superhuman: superhuman.com

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi
• Newsletter: gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

• Website: gtmnow.com
• LinkedIn: GTMnow
• X/Twitter: @GTMnow_
• YouTube:

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

Udi Ledergor served as CMO during Gong’s rise from new SaaS startup to industry dominance. By building a playful, human-centric brand with a lighthearted tone, he captured buyers’ attention and dollars and turned them into raving fans. He helped Gong go from zero to hundreds of millions in revenue, while achieving a multi-billion-dollar valuation. His book Courageous Marketing is officially out and you can buy it below in the show notes.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Why Marketing 'Best Practices' are broken for Brands that want to stand out.
• Marketers need to consider the long game and remember the 95/5 rule.
• When you should hire for experience versus potential.
• How to foster a culture of healthy risk-taking with your team.

Highlights:

04:09 Udi's inspiration for writing his new book, Courageous Marketing.

06:02 The four most common reasons why marketing fails.

09:22 What marketers should be looking for when selecting a company to join.

13:55 The Problem with 'playing it safe' in B2B marketing.

23:07 How to market to both the 5% and the 95% of your buyers.

38:13 The Three Team Operating Principles for leading a bold and effective marketing team.

Guest Speaker Links (Udi Ledergor):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/udiledergor/
• Gong: https://www.gong.io/
• Udi's Book, Courageous Marketing: https://mybook.to/courageousmarketing

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
• Newsletter: https://gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

1. Website: https://gtmnow.com/
2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
3. Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
4. YouTube: / @gtm_now
5. The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

Sponsor: ZoomInfo’s GTM25 Virtual Conference—a free, half-day event on h

The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.