How One Founder Netted +10% Multiple with Product DD
A mid-market workflow-automation startup planned to sell without any deep dive into product usage. Their pitch deck showed a laundry list of integrations and features—but nothing on what customers actually needed.
Product DD Discovery
- Feature-Adoption Analysis: We pulled usage data and discovered one missing API integration was responsible for 60% of customer churn.
- NPS & Feedback Loops: Customer surveys exposed repeated requests for a “Slack-first” onboarding flow.
- Roadmap Feasibility: The planned Q4 release of that onboarding feature lacked clear resource commitments and risk-mitigation plans.
The Turnaround
- Rapid Fix & Prototype (2 weeks): The team built a basic Slack-first onboarding MVP.
- Usage Validation (1 week): Early adopters saw a 25% reduction in time-to-first-value.
- Buyer Dossier Update: The sell-side deck now led with adoption metrics and a vetted roadmap.
Negotiation Impact
Buyers shifted from skepticism to enthusiasm—citing reduced churn risk and clear next-step value. The result: the multiple jumped from 12× to 13.2× (a +10% uplift) and the deal closed two weeks ahead of schedule.
Key Lessons
- Surface High-Impact Insights First: Lead with data that lines up with buyer KPIs (retention, activation, upsell).
- Prototype Before You Pitch: Even a lightweight MVP can turn “maybe later” into “must-have.”
- Quantify Everything: Translate feature improvements into revenue or cost savings for buyers.
Your Take away
Product DD isn’t just about plugging gaps—it’s an active value-creation lever. By uncovering and validating your product’s secret growth engine, you command stronger deals and faster closes.
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