I remember the time I started as a product manager I was overwhelmed. Before that I was an engineering manager and before that a developer. That was simpler, if not easier. Mostly I was told what to do. Usually had a clear definition of what I wanted my team to deliver. I had to figure […]
Yearly Archives: 2021
A better reason to say no
Have you ever said “no” to a customer? Have you ever said “no” to your CEO? And survived to tell the tale? It’s always hard to say “no” to someone who apparently has power over you. However it can be made easier, at least for product manager s. All good product managers use a prioritization […]
Great leaders acknowledge failures
Usually when we talk about leadership, we talk about achievements. Great leaders are the ones who take businesses, movements, countries, science to great heights. However, this view is incomplete. Especially in times like these. To me a great leader not only basks in the glory of success but also takes responsibility of failures. Taking responsibility […]
Why are you charging so low?
The incongruency sometimes baffles me. Maybe it comes from a fear that nobody will buy. Maybe it comes from not understanding the impact and value. Maybe the importance is simply not understood or overlooked. More often than not founders of b2b startups price their products too low. If you ask a founder whether they are […]
Going from “hustle” to “structured growth”
Change is hard. Changing your mindset is harder. This is likely one of the hardest things to do for the founders of startups. Your eventual scale and success may depend on this. It’s going from “hustle” to “structured growth” mode. When you are a startup you’ll do whatever it takes to get the product built. […]
Don’t forget to validate
Everyone knows that most startups fail. Year after year CB Insights survey publishes a survey that does post-mortem analysis on failed startups. For many years in a row now – the top reason is: “No market need.” Bad product, lack of funds, and pricing are in the top 5 but not the top most. This […]
Product managers need to be multilingual
Not too long ago I was talking to one of the best product managers I know. She and I were discussing what it takes to lead cross functional teams. “Product Managers must be multilingual,” she said. It was a “lightbulb” moment. And no, we were not referring to the common meaning of multilingual. Most PMs […]
Are you ready to start a fire?
One of the toughest balancing acts is something many startup founders pull off on a daily basis. You have to deal with multiple issues, make rapid decisions with limited information and also continue to lead the team. When you are short on resources, you have multiple operational fires to deal with. Often one of the […]
“Bees saal pehle ki baat hai”
20 years ago, give or take, I joined a high flying #startup coming out of MIT. Millions were made and lost in a span of few years. All on paper, off course. This was in the late 90s near the peak of the dotcom boom. The company was cool. As a fresh grad in a […]
Leverage your product business from new markets
Last week I was talking to the #founder of a startup that is growing well. He easily acknowledged what many others fail to see. We were taking about scaling after getting to product market fit. “We have product market fit for the domestic market, but not for the US.” When most startups start seeing a […]