Poker tips for product success with Jeff Ferguson (PipelineDB, Confluent, NextRoll)

Blake Thorne (@blakethorne - https://twitter.com/blakethorne) of LaunchNotes talks with Jeff Ferguson (formerly of Pipeline DB and Confluent) about how he applied lessons from learning poker to build a successful career in SaaS, including working in sales and marketing and becoming a founder.

Links

• Jeff’s previous company, Confluent: https://www.confluent.io/

• The startup accelerator Jeff went through when building Pipeline DB: https://www.ycombinator.com/

• Check out LaunchNotes: https://launchnotes.com

• Join Launch Awesome:  https://www.launchnotes.com/launch-awesome

• Follow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClgMZx0kGDSSBAQG0wkDRyg

• Check out the LaunchNotes Podcast: https://launchnotes-podcast.launchnotes.io/

Show notes

(00:00) - Introductions

(03:43) - How a poker skillset can be applied in business

(08:10) - From poker to sales

(16:29) - Starting his own company

(18:27) - Building a community around an open source product

(28:11) - Getting acquired and taking a product marketing role

(30:55) - The subjective nature of product marketing

(36:49) - Taking a relentless approach to your career path

(39:38) - Jeff's appreciation for Google Search