We recently worked with Ramana Jampala, CEO at Avlino. Here we discuss choosing customer love before short-term profitability.

Many $1M to $5M CEOs wrestle with this tradeoff. A product customers love but struggles to monetize versus a profitable product that customers tolerate. Ramana’s perspective is refreshingly clear. If customers do not genuinely love the product, sustainable profit is unlikely to follow.

Chasing margins too early often means lowering the bar on features, usability, or outcomes. That creates short-term EBITDA at the cost of long-term trust. As Ramana explains, a product that delivers real efficacy earns the right to improve margins over time.

This mirrors what I see repeatedly with scaleups. When teams argue about pricing, positioning, or features, the real issue is usually misalignment with customer reality. The fastest path forward is not internal debate. It is listening directly to customers, exposing product teams to unfiltered feedback, and resetting the roadmap around real adoption blockers.

Love from customers is not a nice-to-have. It is the foundation that makes monetization durable.

I dive deeper into this concept of customer-led product decisions driving long-term profitability on page 162 of my bestselling business book Wisdom From Wizards. Check it out at:

https://WisdomFromWizards.com/s

If you know someone who wants to write a bestselling business book (the gold standard of thought leadership!) with my done-for-you service (only pay per week that your book achieves Amazon bestseller status) message me!

Listen to Wisdom From Wizards on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, iHeart, or your favorite podcast app.

#CEO #Scaleups #ProductStrategy #CustomerCentricity #SaaS #B2B #Growth #WisdomFromWizards