From Designer to CEO: Building Design-led and Journey-centric Business (Jochem van der Veer, CEO at TheyDo)

Welcome to Growthmates with Kate Syuma — Growth advisor, previously Head of Growth Design at Miro. I’m building Growthmates as a place to connect with inspiring leaders to help you grow yourself and your product. Here you can learn how companies like Dropbox, Adobe, Canva, Loom, and many more are building excellent products and growth culture. Get all episodes and a free playbook for Growth teams on our brand-new website — growthamtes.club, and press follow to support us on your favorite platforms. 

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In this episode, I chat with Jochem Van Der Veer, co-founder and CEO of TheyDo, about his journey from UX design to leading a successful B2B SaaS company. We dive into the triple diamond framework, customer obsession, and key strategies for scaling a product. By the end, you’ll gain actionable insights on how to align business goals with customer outcomes and effectively grow your company.

By the end of this episode, you'll learn about the triple diamond framework for design thinking, the importance of customer obsession, and practical strategies for scaling a B2B SaaS company 💪

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Key highlights from this episode 👇

1: Triple Diamond Framework: Learn how to apply the triple diamond approach to design thinking, from problem discovery to solution delivery, and how it can be used to design not just products, but entire organizations.

2: Customer Obsession: Discover the importance of aligning your business with customer journeys and how customer obsession can drive significant impact and transformation in your organization.

3: Opportunity Prioritization: Understand how to identify and prioritize opportunities within customer journeys to maximize business impact and improve customer experiences.

4: Enterprise Growth Strategies: Gain insights into scaling a B2B SaaS company, from targeting enterprise clients early on to leveraging product-led growth strategies that drive long-term success.

Listen now and subscribe on your favorite platforms — Apple, Spotify, or watch on YouTube (new!).

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Where to find Kate Syuma, Growth Advisor (ex-Miro):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ekaterina-syuma/

• Newsletter: katesyuma.substack.com

Where to find our guest — Jochem:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochemvanderveer/

• TheyDo: https://www.theydo.com/

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What we’ve covered in this episode:

[00:00] Introduction

[00:39] From UX Design to CEO: Jochem’s Career Journey

[01:45] The Transition from Design to Founding TheyDo

[03:28] Building a Customer-Obsessed Organization

[07:15] The Triple Diamond Framework Explained

[12:02] Prioritizing Opportunities in Customer Journeys

[18:34] Strategies for Scaling a B2B SaaS Company

[26:11] Overcoming Challenges in Enterprise Sales

[37:50] Maintaining a Customer-Centric Culture in a Growing Company

[50:18] Practical Advice for Founders and Design Leaders

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📕 Resources Referenced

• Triple Diamond Framework: Learn more about the triple diamond approach and how it can be applied in various contexts to drive better design and business outcomes: https://www.launchnotes.com/blog/the-triple-diamond-design-process-a-comprehensive-guide

• Demand-Side Sales by Bob Moesta - Explore the decision-making journeys of customers and how to leverage this understanding for better product development and marketing: https://www.amazon.com/Demand-Side-Sales-101-Customers-Progress/dp/1544509987

• TheyDo: Discover more about TheyDo's journey management platform and how it can help your organization align around customer journeys effectively:

  https://www.theydo.com/

• Airbnb Customer Journey announcement by Brian Chesky: https://x.com/bchesky/status/1654137863007612930?s=46&t=klJygKLXesDml2L3gDokgg

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