Case study • 2022 — 2024 · Head of Product · Acquired by Perplexity
Finding the cohorts that compound
A browser built for work, with strong potential and no rhythm. Narrowing the product to its four strongest cohorts lifted activation and retention, quadrupled monthly revenue and opened a self-serve B2B line. Sidekick was later acquired by Perplexity.
- Dec 2022 — Aug 2024
- 20+ person cross-functional org
- Consumer + self-serve B2B
to ~$700K
from ~60%
from ~40%
in 3 months
Starting point
In the CEO’s words, the product “had strong potential but lacked the structure and rhythm needed to scale effectively.” Progress was sporadic.
The product was trying to serve more than ten user segments at once. Activation sat around 60%, D30 retention around 40%, and there was no B2B business.
My role
Head of Product, leading a 20+ person cross-functional organization.
Owned the consumer product strategy, the roadmap and the growth funnel.
What I did
- Narrowed the product to four cohorts
Took more than ten user segments down to the four strongest cohorts and rebuilt the funnel around them. Activation rose to 77%, D30 retention to about 65%, and DAU tripled.
- Installed a weekly shipping rhythm
Introduced a weekly, hypothesis-driven experiment cadence: hypotheses were tested systematically, experiments were tied to measurable outcomes, and time-to-market dropped by about 50%.
- Ran the monetization experiments
Pricing, paywall and messaging A/B tests grew monthly revenue 4× to about $700K.
- Built self-serve B2B from zero
Launched a product-led, self-serve paid B2B offer and went from 0 to 200+ paying teams in three months.
What changed
Activation rose from roughly 60% to 77%, D30 retention from about 40% to 65%, and DAU tripled. Monthly revenue grew 4× to approximately $700K, and 200+ paying B2B teams signed on in three months. Sidekick was later acquired by Perplexity.
Acquired by Perplexity
Summary
Focus did the compounding: four cohorts instead of ten, a weekly rhythm instead of sporadic launches, and pricing and B2B built for the people who already valued the product.
“Nikita introduced a disciplined product process where hypotheses were systematically tested, experiments were translated into measurable outcomes, and the team began shipping with consistent weekly cadence.”
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