Dear SaaStr: How Do I Launch a Second Product? And Who Should Launch It?
Launching a second product is a huge move, and it can either accelerate your growth or become a massive distraction.
Here’s how to do it right and who should lead the charge:
How to Launch a Second Product
1. Validate with Customers First
Before you even think about launching, spend time with your customers—*you*, the founder, not just your VP of Product or Sales. Talk to at least 100 customers to understand the white space and gaps in your current offering. They’ll tell you what they need and whether your second product solves a real problem for them.
2. Ensure It Can Be Bigger Than Your First Product
Your second product needs to have the potential to be as big—or bigger—than your first. If it’s just a feature or a small add-on, it won’t move the needle. Look at HubSpot’s CRM—it started as a secondary product but grew to rival their original marketing platform in revenue and growth rate. That’s the kind of potential you need.
3. Build a Dedicated Team
Don’t try to stretch your existing team too thin. You’ll need a separate, focused team to build, market, and sell the second product. This includes engineering, product, marketing, and sales. If you try to share resources, both products will suffer [1][6].
4. Test Co-Selling Early
If your sales team can sell both products to the same customers, that’s a huge advantage. But be careful—sales teams often want to throw in the second product for free to close deals. You’ll need to set clear pricing and incentives to avoid this. You’ll almost certainly need a dedicated team to sell a second product right. But your existing team can help you test it quickly.
5. Launch with a Clear Go-to-Market Strategy
Just having a second product isn’t enough. Treat the second product like a startup within your company. Build a launch machine that drives awareness, adoption, and growth. Experiment with different approaches—big launches, incremental rollouts, etc.—to find what works best for your audience.
6. Don’t Wait Too Long
So many B2B leaders from Eric Yuan at Zoom to Drew Houston at Zoom have stated they wished they’d gone multiproduct earlier. If you’re already at $10M+ ARR, you should be working on your second product now. Waiting too long can slow your growth and make it harder to build momentum. The earlier you start, the better.
A great deep dive with Samsara’s CPO and co-founder on why you should start by $10m ARR here:
Who Should Launch It?
1. The Founder Should Lead the Charge Initially
As the founder, you need to be deeply involved in the early stages. You’re the one who understands the vision, the market, and the customers better than anyone else. You’ll also need to rally the team and ensure the second product gets the resources and focus it needs.
2. Hire a Strong GM or VP to Own It Once You Have a Handful of Customers, and Some Signs It Will Work
Once the product is validated and the initial direction is set, you’ll need a dedicated leader to take over. This could be a General Manager (GM) or a VP of Product who can build and scale the team around the second product. They should have experience launching and scaling products and be able to operate with a startup mindset.
Rippling and many others seek out ex-founders to get new products off the ground. This can be a great strategy.
3. Involve Cross-Functional Leaders
While the GM or VP will own the product, you’ll need buy-in and collaboration from other leaders—Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success. Everyone needs to be aligned on how the second product fits into the broader company strategy.
Launching a second product is like starting a new company inside your existing one.
It’s a big lift, but if done right, it can double or triple your TAM and unlock massive growth. And done wrong, you’ll see growth slow … just as it all starts to get good.
More here:
