Pamela Valdés, Beek | Why Product Market Fit Isn't Enough, and How to Plug Into Silicon Valley [Ep. 53]

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There are stories of startups that reached millions of users, but that eventually stalled. They could not monetize their customer base or find profitable acquisition channels, so, in some cases, it is not enough to reach a good level of Product Market Fit. Today’s guest, Pamela Valdés, CEO and Cofounder of Beek, explains that in addition to Product Market Fit, it is necessary to reach Product Channel and Product Business Model Fit, two very important concepts that are rarely talked about.

Beek is the leading Spanish-language audio platform in Latin America, which has more than 250 thousand pieces of content, including audiobooks, series, exclusive content, and more. Beek has raised capital from some of the best Venture Capital funds, such as Greylock Partners and Accel.

We also talked about the challenges and strategies for implementing a subscription business model effectively in Latin America, and about the mindset and tips that have allowed Pamela to successfully connect with Silicon Valley and land advisors and investors from companies such as Netflix and Eventbrite.

Thanks to Guillermo Sequeira, cofounder of Beek, for the question suggestions.

What You Can Learn Today

  • Metrics for measuring Product Market Fit
  • The importance of Product Channel Fit and Revenue Model Fit
  • How to connect with Silicon Valley

If you like the podcast, the easiest way to help us is by leaving a review with ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It takes less than 1 minute and helps us convince the hardest guests to land, such as David Vélez, CEO and founder of Nubank, whom we would love to interview.

Youtube Timestamps*

About Pamela and Beek

  • [1:27] - How did Pamela get into the world of startups?
    • She always wanted to be an entrepreneur
    • Inspiration from her father
    • She took part in a contest at university
  • [2:58] - What is Beek?
    • Leading Spanish-language audio content platform
    • More than 250 thousand audiobooks
    • Original and exclusive audio content
    • A fast and accessible format for learning

Product Market Fit in Consumer

  • [4:45] - Beek’s validation stage
    • Definition and levels of Product Market Fit
    • Key question: How disappointed would you be if Beek disappeared?
    • Segmentation and identification of market niches
    • Beek sells empowerment, more than entertainment
  • [11:09] - Path toward Product Market Fit
    • Beek started as a community of readers
    • Listening is the new reading
    • Recurring validation with customers
    • Subscription instead of individual purchase
    • Obsession with understanding the user
  • [18:18] - Metrics that define Beek’s PMF
    • Frequency of product use
    • User retention over time
    • Daily active users vs. monthly

Subscription as Beek’s Business Model

  • [24:36] - Product Market Fit is not enough
    • Definition and examples of Product Channel Fit
    • Revenue Model Fit concept
    • Referral systems
    • Paid channels as an accelerator
    • Retention with Beek’s subscription model
  • [33:26] - Challenges and opportunities of offering a subscription model in LatAm
    • High involuntary cancellation rate
    • Building a recurring payments system
    • Effective revenue forecasting
    • An increasingly educated market

How to Connect with Silicon Valley

  • [39:48] - The power of Pamela’s relationship-building
    • Growth mindset
    • “The important thing is not winning, it is the only thing”
    • Working at 200%
    • Telling your vision to the four winds
    • Story of her participation in the Thiel Fellowship
    • Being top of mind for people and the importance of reciprocity
  • [49:00] - Tips for finding expert investors
    • Looking for someone with time available
    • Giving context when asking for help
    • Returning the support and staying in touch
  • [52:21] - How do you evaluate and prioritize investors?
    • Valuing the investor’s expertise as much as the investment
    • Analyzing the context and the situation
    • Taking the funds’ reputation into account

Tweet Round

  • [57:45] -
    • Recommended book: Haz lo que Importa, by Oso Trava
    • Changes in the Latin American startup ecosystem: people valuing equity more (a company’s shares)
    • Founders to interview: Alfonso de los Ríos, of Nowports

Episode Mentions

You can find Eduardo on LinkedIn and Twitter

Recommended book: Haz lo que Importa, by Oso Trava

Founders to interview: Alfonso de los Ríos, of Nowports (Listen to the episode with Alfonso here)

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