Alex Rodrigues

Shipping as much customer value as possible is always the goal, but it can create a challenge when you’re trying to craft a consistent narrative throughout the year. The key is thoughtful planning and knowing when—and how—to amplify each launch moment. It starts with the calendar. I prioritize planning for the biggest moments first. Tentpole or Tier 1 launches get dedicated time, often an entire week, and I avoid scheduling other launches immediately after so we can keep reinforcing that moment. Tier 2 and 3 launches are scattered throughout the quarter, timed for when they’re ready but positioned to avoid overlap. Shipping and announcing don’t always need to happen at the same time. Where needed (and possible), we separate the two. If the product or feature is intuitive enough that customers can use it without a tutorial, we let the product team ship it as soon as it’s ready and meets our quality bar. If customers discover it organically, great! However, if a change impacts customer behavior or requires explanation, we have to launch and announce it together. Another strategy is to make a big deal out of small improvements. Figma’s “Little Big Updates” are a perfect example—they bundled a series of quality-of-life enhancements and treated it like a major event. At Superhuman, we call these moments “pebbles.” You don’t always ship big rocks, but those smaller updates can add up and garner tons of customer love. The trick is to find a cohesive theme among them and bundle them into a unified narrative, creating a launch that feels substantial and aligned with your broader story.

We focus on three main areas to ensure every launch is better than the last: 1. Reporting cadence We gather data and feedback at set intervals to track impact and learnings: * 2-3 days post-launch: Initial reactions from customers and the market. What channels are showing promise and an overall confidence of if we’ll hit the goals. * 2 weeks post-launch: A deeper dive into numerical goals and primary drivers—this is where most insights emerge based on the success or failure of the launch. * 3-4 weeks post-launch: Final reflections and a summary of all learnings, including our retro (more below). 2. Launch retros Every GTM moment gets a retro, even if it’s just the directly responsible individual (DRI) running it async. Ideally, these are collaborative sessions with cross-functional teams. Allocate at least 15 minutes during an existing sync if you can’t schedule dedicated time to do it. Use voting — we have folks add their fav emoji of the day — to filter the most valuable/important lessons and ensure all voices are heard. 3. Evolving the GTM template We continuously refine our launch template by adding or removing sections, updating processes, or improving how we share it out. Documenting these updates ensures that lessons are easy to reference. With this approach, when we revisit a decision or suggestion, we can point to past launches to justify why something worked—or didn’t. This reduces redundancy and keeps us moving forward.

Aligning on a product launch process internally avoids last-minute surprises and ensures launches have the most impact. Here's the framework I’ve found most effective: 1. Establish shared goals and outcomes Start by ensuring all stakeholders understand not just the what of the launch but the why. What’s the desired impact? Whether it’s driving revenue, adoption, or a major perception shift, having a unified goal clarifies priorities. 2. Use a tiering framework We classify launches into clear tiers to dictate outcomes and the required level of effort: * Tier 0 (Tentpole): Massive moments, no more than once per quarter. These launches are about making a statement—shifting perception, driving outsized growth, and achieving ambitious adoption goals. * Tier 1: Large launches aimed at both driving revenue and increasing usage. * Tier 2 & 3: Smaller launches that show product velocity and that you're listening to customers. These deepen engagement and increase adoption without being focused on new revenue. This tiering also informs the level of involvement. Tier 0 moments demand significant executive and stakeholder attention, while Tier 2 or 3 launches can be lighter lifts. 3. Set a criteria for launch readiness Early in the process, we define what’s needed for the feature to launch—alpha/beta testing, time in market for validation, and ensuring it delivers measurable customer value. These criteria ensure that everything we ship meets our and our customers' quality bar and is having the intended impact. 4. Prioritize early alignment on foundational GTM elements The first launch review does not contain any content. Here's what we start with: * Goals: What success looks like. * Target audience: Who is the product/feature built for. * Beta feedback: What are customers saying from the beta. * Naming: What are we going to call the feature. * Positioning: The message that differentiates and resonates. * Channel strategy: The best ways to engage the audience. We don’t move into execution until all stakeholders, including execs, are aligned on these points. This upfront investment saves time (and headaches) later, as it prevents big, last-minute changes that slow the team down or risk the impact we intend to drive.

It all comes down to customer feedback—both the qualitative stories and the quantitative summaries that show the scope and importance of the responses. While larger trends about what works (and what doesn’t) are valuable, they’re only meaningful if we root them in what customers are actively telling us. Every month, we summarize customer feedback. This includes emails to support (Delight), survey responses, sales call recordings, interviews with product, design, or marketing teams, insights from our community efforts, and even chatter on social. On launch days, we take this a step further with a fun and collaborative activity: we create Slack threads in the project channel where the team can post customer feedback as it comes in. These threads are open to everyone, so the whole team can get involved. We categorize the feedback into: * Praise: What excited customers are saying about the launch. * Feature requests: What’s missing that customers are eager to see next. * Issues/bugs: Any problems or friction points that need immediate attention. In addition to qualitative feedback, we share metrics that directly impact roadmap decisions—primarily revenue and adoption data. These numbers show how much excitement a feature is generating among customers and prospects, offering a clear signal of where to double down.