Today, we’re talking with Jake Hookom, EVP of Product at Perforce. In this episode, we’ll explore:
How Jake’s focus on "category carving" at Four51 helped them soar above the sea of headless commerce tools and into a successful exit
Why most PMs are wrong to measure success on features shipped - it’s about solving user problems throughout the entire customer journey
And, how Sitecore’s enormous practitioner community provided market awareness and a means to drive product adoption beyond anything they could do alone
Furthermore, most product teams measure success by features shipped. Jake says that’s exactly where they go wrong. Here are some of the big lessons he dropped.
Category carving wins markets
When Jake joined Four51 (which became OrderCloud at Sitecore), they were in a sea of headless commerce competitors. His team focused not just on building features but creating mental real estate by defining the category and getting clear about how they were different.
That strategy didn’t just help them compete. It helped them exit.
Features ≠ customer outcomes
Too many PMs think success = shipping features.
Jake disagrees: “It’s not about features shipped. It’s about solving problems through the customer journey.”
That means understanding customer pain across pre-sales, onboarding, adoption, and retention.
The best PMs look beyond delivery velocity and measure value creation.
Your community is your market amplifier
At Sitecore, Jake leaned into the power of their practitioner community (hundreds of partners, agencies, and solution architects).
That community didn’t just support users. It multiplied market awareness and helped Sitecore expand without outspending competitors on direct sales.
Links
Jake’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobhookom/
Perforce: https://www.perforce.com/
Resources
Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers, and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets by Al Ramadan, Dave Peterson, Christopher Lochhead, Kevin Maney: https://www.harperacademic.com/book/9780062407610/play-bigger/
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:17 Joining 451 During COVID
02:24 First 90 Days Strategy
04:21 Defining a New Category
08:07 Focusing on B2B Market
10:16 Product as a Spectrum
15:59 Importance of Compliance
19:37 Success and Acquisition
20:17 Joining the Java Champions Community
21:22 The Acquisition by Sitecore
22:29 Focusing on B2B Product Sales
24:16 Building a Practitioner Community at Sitecore
25:40 Leveraging Community Feedback
30:00 The Role of Product in Solving Problems
33:52 Engaging and Growing the Community
39:27 Outro
Follow on Socials
➡️ Jeff Wharton, Host: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreywharton/
➡️ Emily Kochanek, Producer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/em-kochanek-11582750/
➡️ LogRocket: https://www.linkedin.com/company/logrocket/
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