Adoption Curve: Episode 4

Meet our Guest

Kevin is a leading voice in customer education and community enablement. He’s currently the Head of Customer Education & Community at Airtable, where he’s scaling programs like Airtable Academy and the Airtable Community.

With a legacy of success at HubSpot Academy, Kevin’s insights matter now more than ever — especially as orgs try to scale education programs without dedicated resources, formal buy-in, or clear playbooks. Today he's breaking down how to create education that sticks, even when your product never stops changing.

Customer Education Unlocked

Background context: Kevin has built two of the most respected customer education programs in SaaS — first at HubSpot, and now at Airtable. At both companies, user passion came organically. Kevin’s job? Capture that momentum, formalize it into scalable content, and turn those users into community leaders.

But when your product updates constantly, when new features drop every week, and when your learners span industries and experience levels — how do you build content that stays useful?

For Airtable, the answer lies in balancing repeatable systems, cross-functional collaboration, and smart use of AI. And Kevin’s seen the results: more than 3,000 certifications issued, growing engagement, and scalable content production — all built from scratch in under 12 months.

🎤 "We’re not trying to sell the product — we’re teaching customers how to realize value. That starts with mindset, not just button clicks."- Kevin Dunn

Key Insight #1: Lead with Learning

Many companies jump straight into “how-to” content. But Kevin insists the first thing users need is **orientation** — not instructions.

Airtable, for instance, is a no-code platform. But before someone can build an app, they need to understand **relational databases, ERDs, and workflow swimlanes**. That kind of thinking doesn’t come from Help Center articles.

This insight applies to any product with a learning curve. Frame your education around how to think, before how to click. It builds confidence, not just compliance.

🎤 "If you don’t give them a mental model first, they’ll just look at the UI and go… ‘what am I even looking at?’"– Kevin Dunn

Key Insight #2: Metric Build-Up

Kevin built Airtable’s education program around a 5-category reporting framework:

1. Creator Capacity — Are we shipping enough content to support demand?
2. Learner Sentiment — What’s the CSAT/NPS on what we build?
3. Learner Experience — Are enrollments converting to completions?
4. Credential Growth — Are people earning and sharing certifications?
5. Revenue Impact — Are users more likely to renew, expand, or adopt faster?

By focusing first on leading indicators, Kevin ensures every video or course is part of a larger journey — one that ends in **retention, activation, and expansion**.

🎤 "Lagging indicators matter to execs. But if you don’t track the early wins, you won’t know if the results are repeatable — or just dumb luck." – Kevin Dunn

Key Insight #3: Community Focus

Even the best Academy won’t cover every use case. Kevin sees Airtable’s community as the next layer of support — where users trade vertical-specific insights, hacks, and workflows that Airtable itself couldn’t predict. It’s not just scalable. It’s self-sustaining.

Now Kevin's team is building a flywheel:

Academy → Community → Back to Academy

🎤 "Our users are building things we could never document. That’s why we’re inviting them to help us co-create future courses." – Kevin Dunn

Free Adoption Template: The 5-Metric Customer Education Framework

The Problem: You’re investing in education, but can’t prove its value to your boss.

The Solution: Kevin’s 5-metric framework breaks the journey into measurable stages:
1. Creator Capacity — Track what’s being shipped
2. Learner Sentiment — Measure CSAT and NPS
3. Learner Experience — Watch for engagement drop-offs
4. Credential Growth — Count completions and social shares
5. Revenue Impact — Tie education to renewals, expansion, and activation

Why this works: 🎤 "If feedback drops, fix that before moving on. This system tells us exactly where we’re failing — and how to prioritize content updates." – Kevin Dunn