What if your biggest growth opportunity wasn't your product—but your customers?

In this episode of The Breakout CEO Podcast, Jeff Holman sits down with Julie Tylman, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Group Together, to discuss how relentless customer listening shaped every major decision in her company's journey.

Julie shares how a simple idea to simplify group gifts evolved into an international business, why their biggest product breakthroughs came from customer feedback—not founder assumptions—and how one bold decision during COVID accelerated growth and opened the door to the U.S. market.

She also reflects on the leadership lessons she's learned along the way, including why staying close to customers has made her a better CEO.

Whether you're building a startup or leading a scaling company, this conversation is a masterclass in customer obsession, product evolution, and making better founder decisions.

00:00 Introduction

03:15 The idea behind Group Together

09:40 Building the first MVP

17:20 Learning from customer behavior

26:15 Early hiring mistakes

33:40 The COVID pivot

41:20 Product-market fit and explosive growth

49:10 Expanding into the United States

57:45 Customer service and leadership

01:04:30 Final CEO lessons

Connect with Julie Tylman

Website: https://grouptogether.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-tylman-8a160977/