Sakana Palaniappan’s Post

Your first product will suck. Ship it anyway. Here's the thing about products: they're never perfect on day one. And that's okay. In fact, it's more than okay - it's exactly how it should be. Let me break it down: 👉 Perfect is the enemy of done Building a flawless product from the get-go? It's a pipe dream. You'll spend months (or years) tweaking, polishing, and second-guessing. Meanwhile, your competitors are out there, learning from real users. 👉Users are the best teachers You think you know what people want. But until they're actually using your product, it's all guesswork. Launch fast, and let real people tell you what works and what doesn't. 👉The market moves fast While you're perfecting in isolation, the market's evolving. By the time you launch that "perfect" product, the world might have moved on. 👉Iteration is king Success isn't about getting it right the first time. It's about learning quickly and adapting faster than anyone else. 👉MVPs aren't just for startups Whether you're a two-person team or a Fortune 500 company, the principle holds: Get the core out there, then build based on real feedback. 🔺 Remember Paul Graham's advice: "Launch fast." It's not about being sloppy. It's about being smart. Get your product out there, start the feedback loop, and evolve. 🔻 Your first version might suck. But version 2.0? It'll be based on real user needs. And that's worth its weight in gold. So, what are you waiting for? Ship it. Learn from it. Make it better. The perfect product isn't built in a lab. It's forged in the real world, one iteration at a time. #ProductDevelopment #StartupAdvice #MVP #Innovation #businessideas #businessstrategy #growthhacking #hiring #productmanagement

Dream product on hold? Don't build a monster 👹, craft an MVP first! So you've got a brilliant product idea buzzing in your brain, but before you dive headfirst into development, hold your horses! Building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the most strategic way to validate your concept, gather user feedback, and iterate towards success. But what goes into crafting an MVP that actually works? Here are some key considerations to ponder: 1. Focus on the Core Value Proposition: Don't try to be everything to everyone. Identify the single most valuable problem your product solves and build an MVP that delivers that core functionality effectively. Remember, less is often more at this stage. 2. Prioritize User Needs: It's not about you, it's about them! Conduct user research, understand your target audience's pain points, and design your MVP to address their specific needs and desires. 3. KISS💋(Keep It Simple, Stupid): Complexity kills momentum. Start with a basic yet functional version of your product, focusing on features essential for user testing and feedback. Remember, you can always add bells and whistles later. 4. Data is Your BFF: Integrate analytics tools to track user behavior and gather valuable insights. This data will inform your future development decisions and ensure you're building what your users actually want. 5. Be Ready to Pivot: Remember, an MVP is an experiment. The initial feedback you receive might lead you to adjust your course. Be open to iterating and adapting your product based on what you learn. ♻ P.S Repost with your network if you find this useful ♻ 🛎 Follow along at Janani B. where I love to talk about everything product and product management 🛎 Image credits Product School ❤️ #productmanagement #MVP #productdevelopment #startup #entrepreneurship

•The Product is Just A Symptom, A Product Management Consultant’s Diary• A casual chat with a friend recently sparked an unexpected insight: many product challenges are actually symptoms of deeper organizational issues. This revelation led me to create a series of articles diving into this very topic. Through real-life stories, we'll explore the hidden roots of product dilemmas and how addressing them can unlock true product potential. Stay tuned for a journey into the core of product management wisdom. ********** **About the ARR That Was Not Showing** In the intricate dance of startup growth, ARR acts as the music that everyone—from investors to team members—wants to keep playing. So, when the music seems to fade, it's a sign that something is amiss. This was exactly the scenario that unfolded when a long-time friend, who also happens to be the CEO and Co-Founder of a budding startup, reached out to me. The concern was as straightforward as it was alarming: their ARR was not showing the growth they had anticipated. This call wasn't just a cry for help; it was a plea for a deep dive into the unseen, into the very fabric of their operations. The company, bursting at the seams with potential, seemed to be hitting a wall, and neither the CEO nor his team could pinpoint why. My task was clear: to unearth the root cause of this stagnation and chart a course for revival. The investigation was thorough, leaving no stone unturned, no process unexamined. The breakthrough came when I noticed a significant, yet overlooked, detail: the co-founders' approach to leadership—or, more precisely, their lack thereof. In their quest to empower their Product Manager, they had taken a step back, so far back that they were essentially out of the picture. This "giving him space" philosophy had led to a situation where the PM was navigating the ship alone, detached from the daily challenges and intricacies that define a startup's journey. The solution wasn't to swing the pendulum entirely in the opposite direction but to foster a more engaged and collaborative leadership style. The co-founders needed to roll up their sleeves and dive back into the day-to-day operations, not to micromanage but to understand, support, and guide. This renewed involvement led to a pivotal decision: the pricing model needed a revamp. It wasn't just about adjusting numbers or offering discounts; it was about aligning the product's value proposition with the market's expectations and realities. This decision, seemingly simple yet profoundly impactful, was the result of a more connected and engaged leadership team. The story of this startup serves as a testament to the fact that sometimes, the path to growth is not through radical changes in product or marketing strategies, but in the way leadership engages with the team and the product. It reminds us that at the heart of every product challenge lies a deeper issue, often rooted in the dynamics of the team and its leaders. #arr #pmf

Why do products fail? It's a question that has intrigued me for a while now. And one of the key answers I've discovered is surprisingly simple - 'No Product Strategy'. Let me share a little story with you. Over the weekend, as I lounged around at home, I found myself mindlessly scrolling through the App Store on my phone. As I swiped through various apps, glancing at their ratings and reviews, it hit me - there's a staggering number of products out there, each one representing countless hours of planning, design, and development, not to mention the financial investments poured into them. But surprisingly, a large percentage do not hit the mark of “success”. As a product designer in today’s cutthroat market, I've seen companies, especially startups, succumb to the pressure of pushing out a product without a roadmap. We dive headfirst into design, development, launch, and start offering services, all without pausing to craft a solid Product Strategy. And guess what? It often backfires. But here’s the thing - product strategy is like our blueprint for success. It provides a clear roadmap of the product's lifespan, think of it as a plan that says where the product is headed, how it's going to get there, and why it's going to do well. Developing a product strategy during the early stages ensures that we align our efforts with market needs and company goals. A well-defined product strategy increasing the chances of product success by ensuring that every step we take is deliberate and informed. It helps us understand our target audience, define key features, and anticipate market trends, ultimately leading to a more impactful product. So, here's the bottom line - investing time and effort into crafting a solid product strategy isn't just important, it's downright crucial. Because at the end of the day, It's not just about building a product; it's about building the right product, and that starts with a well-thought-out strategy. #ProductStrategy #ProductDevelopment #BusinessStrategy #startups

It’s obvious, but I see founders and product managers struggling with this From time to time, you are confused with the next steps, what to build, how deep to build etc. Whenever you are confused, take short, definitive steps (this is not only for PM, but very valid for product building) When you’re confused, don’t force yourself to take the decision. First qn to ask is - how much time do I have to take this decision? In most cases, nobody has a gun to your head that you have to take the decision now. If you can afford 1 week or 1 month, use that first. In that additional time, more info may surface and that’ll help to decide. Note - don’t push decisions out when you have to take them. An example for above is - you have other things going on in dev that you can afford 2 more weeks. If you don’t have time and your design and devs are waiting, then you take a short step. What is the feature or part of the feature you know for sure you need? In other words, for the maths enthusiasts, what is the Lowest Common Denominator (LCF, remember it from school?) You can’t go wrong with this. This is a no regret decision because you know you need this integration or this onboarding wizard or this analytics report, build that now. That will give you 2-4 more weeks to make the bigger step decision. Remember, you will never get 100% clarity. If you get there, you’re months late. But you also shouldn’t be at 20% clarity. Good product building is to get to 60-70% clarity and being unafraid to take the shot. #product #startups #founders #PM #productmanagement

Unpopular opinion: speed matters over quality! The world today is extremely extremely noisy. This means that understanding your customers, their pain points, what matters to them the most and building a product that solves that need is getting more and more difficult. In such a scenario, I truly believe that the teams that win are the ones who: 1/ Launch the most # of experiments 2/ Have the most # of interactions with customers (while they are using the product) 3/ Generate the most # of insights (optimize learning for the right things) Would I want the quality of experiments to be really good - well hell yes, unfortunately it's a trade off. What I have noticed though is that many teams spend too much time designing experiments based on hypothesized customer insights. Spending more time on designing experiments functions by the law of diminishing returns. Do not fall into that trap. The only way to get closer to the truth is to launch, observe customers, speak with them and iterate as fast as possible. My single piece of advice: Launch as many times as you can. Fail as fast as you can. #startup #agile #product

There are two very different approaches to crafting a product vision in the early stages of the product lifecycle. The first approach, to use a redundant phrase, is followed by visionary founders or product people. They possess a very strong intuition about the shape the product should take, based on early bits and pieces of data, and they bet big on that vision. The second approach involves a more loose approach, where founders build something to leverage the early use cases of customers and then build upon this embryonic product to gradually develop the vision. While the first approach may yield handsome rewards if the founder is correct, it can be disastrous if that vision fails to resonate and the founder proves inflexible or has their ego deeply invested in it. While strong conviction can sometimes aid in securing investors or gaining favor with board members, all things considered, it does little to convince customers to test the product. The latter approach is more closely related to the lean startup methodology of Eric Ries, where founders begin by addressing obvious use cases of early-stage customers and then iterate and build upon that foundation as the needs of the customers become clearer through testing. This approach typically resonates better with customers, as it addresses specific use cases; however, ironically, it can disappoint investors who perceive the product as too modest and unimpressive. As always, in both product development and life, there is no single correct answer. However, being aware of the available options and weighing their pros and cons can greatly assist in making informed decisions.

Looking to develop a minimum viable product (MVP) for your startup? Let me share a game-changing approach: Lean Product Development. Ready to dive in? Let's go! The key to using Lean Product Development is adopting a mindset of efficiency and simplicity. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to make it happen: 1. Identify your target market: You need to find who your potential customer is. Analyze and research their pain points, and their underserved needs. This will help you create a product that truly solves a problem. 2. Define your product's value proposition: Once you know your target market, it's time to create the unique value your product brings to their lives. What sets you apart from competitors? Why should customers choose you? 3. Prioritize feature set: It's all about focusing on the crucial features your product needs to offer and prioritizing them based on customer feedback and value. simplicity is key. 4. Rapid prototyping: Develop a simple prototype that showcases core functionality. The goal is to gather feedback and iterate quickly, don't aim for perfection just yet. 5. Gather feedback and refine: Share your prototype with your target audience. Gather their honest feedback seriously and make improvements to your MVP. Keep iterating until you strike the right chord with your customers. The ultimate goal of Lean Product Development is to build an MVP that perfectly fits the product market. By adopting lean thinking and keeping things simple, you'll save time, resources, and effort in the long run. Ready to embrace the Lean Product Development journey? Start applying these steps today, and watch your startup soar!💪🚀 #LeanProductDevelopment #StartupSuccess #MVP

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁. In fact, 80% of features fail to gain adoption. Here’s why... What most product teams do: Ⅹ Focus on delivering outputs. Ⅹ Prioritize the release throughput (quantity of features over time). Ⅹ Release feature after feature, trying to deliver on a pre-defined roadmap. That’s a feature factory model, not a product model… When you release a new feature you can get 0 value, while: ↳ Increasing maintenance costs. ↳ Complicating future development. What should you do instead? → Transform your Feature Factory into an 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁? ↳ Measure the product team’s success by 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, not outputs. ↳ Drive your product outcome collaboratively in a 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗼 setup (Product, Design, Engineering). ↳ 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 solutions based on customers’ problems, needs, and desires. ↳ 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 to figure out the best way to solve the problems they've discovered. ↳ Address 4 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 (user value, viability, feasibility, usability). Interested in elevating your team’s product game? 🗓️ Book a 20-minute free consultation to learn how we can transform your product development process together! #productmanagement #productmanager #productdiscovery #productstrategy #startups