How to Hire Product Managers in Startups
Over the years, I’ve made my share of good and bad hires. I’ve found remarkable individuals
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How to be effective each week
“Are you proud of your work this week?” This is a useful litmus test. It shows
7-Day Micro-Course (free)
Product Management is different in startups and takes a different mindset to succeed. Get introduced to
Startup Frustration
It’s frustrating when things just aren’t working in a startup. It’s frustrating, because you’re investing so
Pecha Kucha
Pecha Kucha — it was brand new to me. 20 slides. 20 pictures. 20 seconds each.
They’re not product people
Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash Too often, we expect non-product people to act like product
8 Ways “Startup Product Leadership” is Different
Photo by Igal Ness on Unsplash 8 Ways “Startup Product Leadership” is different from “Mainstream Product
4 Ways to Prioritize “Incomparable Projects”
Photo by Efe Kurnaz on Unsplash Jason Cohen founder of WP Engine asked a good question
Why “Growth Breaks Process”
WHY process breaks as your startup grows: // 3 people // “Founder” stageJust the founders. No process
My Favorite Interview Question
Towards the end of every interview, I love to ask this question: “What separates good [insert
How To Get Buy-In On Your Product Vision
I’ve seen this play out several times in multiple companies. Some product leaders succeeded; others never
Everything is Temporary
“Daddy, can I crash it?” My three-year-old was holding a blue lego truck, we’d just built.
How To Work With Startup Founders
“We don’t want you to come in and take over…” “…we have a strong vision and
Startup Superpowers
My response fell flat. “Oh, uhh interesting,” said the hiring manager. “Yeah, we’d test all kinds
The Essence of Startup Product Leadership
Growth & Gravity. Gravity shapes the human experience more than any natural force. Nature relies on
The Courage To Fail
I, like many of you, chose a high-risk career path — a path statistically skewed towards
Hiring Data Science Too Early
Hire a Data Scientist too early… and you’ll both regret it. Hire these roles first: 1.
The 3 Types of Startup Problems
Startups are inundated with problems. The “alarm bells” constantly ring. Before product-market fit, you’re trying to
Can Data Science Work With Agile?
Data Science doesn’t fit neatly into agile/software processes, but many are still valuable. We use:– Daily
Competing with Spreadsheets
Supply Chain tech products (generally)compete against spreadsheets… …not other software products. Buying a tech product often
7 Reasons Users Struggle to Adopt AI/Analytics
User adoption for B2B AI/Analytics can be hard, because users don’t pick their products. Here are
Revenue Isn’t Just Revenue
As a young founder, We had a storied angel investor out in Arizona. He made some
Don’t Waste a Perfectly Good Crisis
Don’t waste a perfectly good crisis. Crisis creates a brief moment of opportunity for early-stage product
Your job isn’t to change minds
“Your job isn’t to change minds, it’s to change behavior.” I can’t remember who made this
4 Unfair Advantages of Predictable Product Delivery
Shipping features on-time gets downplayed in some Product circles. They argue outcomes > outputs. But, predictability
It’s Springtime in Austin.
It’s Springtime in Austin. Winter’s gone. We’re grilling on the patio every few days. I’ve swapped
Arguing about Product-Market Fit
People argue about Product-Market fit. What it is. What it isn’t. When you should claim you
Roadmapping blind to dev capacity
Roadmapping blind to dev capacity… It’s like starting a road trip withoutknowing how much gas is
“I’m riding their bus”
After making NCAA history last night, Duke’s Coach K said: Speaking of their success… “I’m riding
I Perpetuated the “Deep Learning” Myth
11 weeks of iteration. And the data team was killing it. We’d just built the startup’s
“Losing your footing” in a Startup
Those who grew up vacationing at the beach, know the feeling. You are chest deep in
80% of features rarely used
It’s a sad reality, but 80% of product features rarely get used. It’s gross. Like when
Pay Attention to Customer Segments
Pay attention to new customer segments. Startups need to 2x revenue every 12 months. This creates
The Best Leading Indicator of Product Health
Customers pay for products with time and money. Buyers pay in dollars (revenue). Users pay in
Vision Feature vs. Utility Feature
In 2016 I made a major product gamble. Our startup was building a retail analytics product.
Morgan Housel
I started reading Morgan Housel‘s newsletter in March 2019. He’s one of my favorite thinkers and writers.
Series-A Product Roadmaps
When a startup raises a Series A,nearly everything changes. Take product roadmaps for example. For the
3 Simple Metrics to Improve Product Execution
Series A startups — virtually overnight — need predictability in shipping product features. Here are 3
Talking openly about hard truths
Last month, I shared that 80% of product features are rarely or never used. (Don’t believe
Top 3 Priorities of Series-A Product Leaders
Startups typically bring in product leadership after Series A. Their top priorities are: 1. Solidify Product-Market
Austin VOP #110: Startup Product Management
Originally published on Austin Voice of Product run by my friend Reza Shirazi. Josh Tong of
My Mantra: Pilot before Production
Simple things cause AI features to fail. Here’s a real world example and how we solved
My son had RSV
My little guy came down with RSV this week. Nighttimes were the worst. Two year olds
Job titles don’t give us a crystal ball
“If anyone can refute me—show me I’m making a mistake or looking at things from the
Choose AI Projects Carefully (2 Reasons Why)
Choose AI projects carefully. 2 important reasons why 👇 1. Problem Space Understanding Understanding a problem well
Building data products is a lot like golf
Building data products is a lot like golf. In golf… Anyone can swing a club. But
The Most Underrated Data Role
Data Analysts are the most underrated data role right now. They do these 10 amazing things
Prediction: Data Team Structures
My prediction: We’ll see fewer standalone Data Science teams. More data teams will become embedded in
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