As the COO of Greenstone, I’ve learnt that the key to building products that stand the test of time is to relentlessly focus on what our customers want. Too often, I see companies fall into the trap of building features based on internal opinions, executive whims, or industry trends, rather than deeply understanding the real problems their customers are trying to solve. This disconnect between what companies build and what customers actually need is a huge reason why so many products fail to gain traction or have short lifespans.
At Greenstone, we take a fundamentally different approach. From the very beginning, we’ve made customer feedback and user research the cornerstone of our product development process. We don’t believe in building roadmaps based on guesswork or hunches — instead, we start by getting into the trenches with our customers, learning about their daily pain points, their workflows, and the jobs they’re trying to get done.
This customer-centric mindset permeates our entire organisation. Our product teams don’t sit in a vacuum, churning out features in isolation. Instead, they are constantly in touch with our user community, soliciting feedback, observing behaviour, and analysing data to uncover unmet needs. We have detailed surveys, user interviews, and usability testing baked into our regular cadence. And we don’t just gather this feedback — we act on it, using it to relentlessly refine and improve our products.
The results of this approach speak for themselves. By focusing on building solutions that our customers truly love, we’ve been able to create products that engender deep loyalty and brand affinity. Our customers don’t just use our tools — they evangelise them to their peers. They provide us with a constant stream of ideas and insights that help us stay ahead of the curve. And because we’re not wasting time and resources on features no one wants, we can be incredibly nimble and responsive to evolving market demands.
Of course, creating a customer-centric culture doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a fundamental shift in mindset, where the voice of the customer is elevated above all else. It means empowering our teams to be responsive and iterative, and giving them the freedom to experiment and fail fast. And it means constantly reinforcing the message that our customers are the north star that guides every decision we make.
But for us, it’s a price we’re more than willing to pay. Because at the end of the day, building products that customers truly love is the only path to long-term, sustainable success. It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning, and it’s what will continue to power our growth for years to come. By keeping our customers at the heart of everything we do, we’re confident that we can create products that not only solve pressing problems, but that our users come to depend on and truly enjoy using.
Our commitment is always, to remain dedicated to building and scaling world class software products which our users love, help businesses thrive, and have positive externalities on society.
Freddy Hopkins - COO
