Episode Description
Getting users to sign up is the easy part. Keeping them is where most product-led companies fail.
Melissa Kwan built eWebinar to $2M ARR without a single full-time employee, but not without learning this lesson the hard way.
In this episode, Wes Bush, with Esben Friis-Jensen joining, sits down with Melissa Kwan, cofounder and CEO of eWebinar, to break down what product-led growth actually looks like behind the scenes. They explore why more signups don't solve churn, why customer success is the real growth engine most founders overlook, and how Melissa structured eWebinar around contractors instead of employees to preserve flexibility and focus.
Melissa also opens up about founder burnout that did not look like exhaustion, but like a slow loss of inspiration, and the internal work that helped her reset and regain confidence. Along the way, she shares her playbook for building a high-trust founder community through credibility, generosity, and thoughtful curation.
Key Highlights:
- 02:09 - Just Under $2M ARR and a Contractor First Team Model
- 05:35 - What Changed in the Last 4 to 6 Months, AI Impact and Trials Cut in Half
- 07:01 - The Biggest Lesson: Customer Success and Onboarding Are the Growth Engine
- 09:22 - Why Product-Led Feels Harder Than Sales-Led, Debugging Without Logs
- 16:13 - Lifestyle Design as Strategy, Building for Travel and Freedom
- 26:43 - Burnout Symptoms Founders Miss and Why It Is Not Just Exhaustion
- 29:30 - The Hoffman Process and Unpacking Self-Doubt
- 34:11 - “Progress Is Quiet. Winning Is Loud.” and the Mindset Shift to Sustain Momentum
- 41:16 - Building a Founder Community by Giving First and Curating Quality
- 48:02 - Closing Advice: Retention First, Do Not Neglect Customer Success
Resources:
- 🎯 eWebinar: Automated webinar platform - https://ewebinar.com
- 💼 Connect with Melissa Kwan on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissakwan/
- 💼 Connect with Wes Bush on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wesbush/
- 💼 Connect with Esben Friis-Jensen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/esbenfriisjensen/
- 🧠 Sign up for the ProductLed Newsletter - https://www.productled.com/newsletter