The Product Guy

JANUARY 11, 2018

If you do this exercise successfully, it will not only give you the room to onboard properly, but it will also demonstrate that you are thoughtful and proactive in setting yourself up for success. I would encourage you to have an open conversation with your manager during your first week to go over the timeline of your onboarding.

Customer Experience 274

Customer Experience Data Visualization Startups Reporting Tools 274

Mind the Product

JULY 1, 2019

In this post, I look at the value of asking great questions, cover a few strong sample questions and suggest some exercises to help you generate your own insightful questions. This is not a “one size fits all” exercise. The Cardinal sin: no Questions for Your Interviewers. A Starter List of Solid Questions to Consider.

User Testing 168

User Testing Product Management Product Manager Customer Experience 168

The Product Coalition

APRIL 1, 2020

Most of us in the startup community have embraced the principles of Lean product development and MVPs. Despite this, most startups still flatline or fail after their MVP has been released. Startups are complex, so there’s many factors at play. This is precisely why growth curves for most startups are flat forever.

Startups 86

Startups User Testing Customer Experience Product Research 86

Intercom, Inc.

MAY 16, 2022

Product design workshops are an opportunity for a team to untangle a problem together by going through a series of group exercises designed to get to a specific outcome. Warm-up exercise. Exercises (30 min). Warm-up exercise (3-5 min). What are product design workshops? Where will the workshop be held? Goal of workshop.

Workshop 245

Workshop Feedback Software Research Software Reporting Tools 245

Mixpanel

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

It’s been a long-held notion in startup circles that lack of product-market fit will doom even the scrappiest of teams to fail. And beyond the anecdotal, an often-cited 2019 study CB Insights found that “no market need” was the leading reason most startups don’t succeed. ” Credit: The Lean Startup Playbook. In short, yes.

User Testing 130

User Testing Onboarding KPIs Product Research Startups 130

The Product Guy

AUGUST 1, 2017

We started by defining the objectives I wanted to achieve over the course of my 6 months in the product mentor program, an important exercise at the beginning of any mentor partnership. This is a relative quick exercise and the matrix can be adjusted over time. Draft procedures to get commitment.

Leadership 247

Leadership Product Management Product Manager Product Research 247

Product Innovation Educators

APRIL 17, 2023

Paul acquired the breadth of experience through his leadership roles at San Francisco Bay Area startups and high-growth companies. He helps rapidly scaling early-stage startups craft their Product Strategy and everything related to it. Any VC-backed startup has a deck they need to show on a quarterly basis to the board members.

Customer Experience 257

Customer Experience Leadership Startups Engineering 257

Mind the Product

OCTOBER 7, 2019

Experience Mapping is a strategic exercise of identifying, capturing, and communicating the interactions of multiple brand touchpoints over space and time. It is a strategic exercise for getting omnichannel alignment. Types of Experience Maps. The type of experience map chosen will depend on the goal.

Customer Experience 151

Customer Experience Advertising Consulting Framework 151

UX Planet

FEBRUARY 29, 2024

From design-team-of-thirty to design-team-of-one Over the past two years, I have been a design-team-of-one at a fast-growing startup, and the experience has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. In a startup environment, where resources are often limited, collaboration becomes not just a preference but a necessity.

Startups 91

Startups Product Research Feedback Software User Testing 91

Mind the Product

APRIL 11, 2019

Last year I started my product management career full time, with a startup called Split Software. Seeing a problem from a different perspective is an incredibly worthwhile exercise for a product manager. Working as a product manager in a fast-moving startup can feel overwhelming. Using the Hours in the day Effectively.

Product Management 167

Product Management Product Manager Customer Experience User Friction 167

Lenny Rachitsky

MAY 20, 2025

Along the way, he helped Square scale from a late-stage pre-IPO startup to $3.6 Prior to Square, Saumil was a startup founder for LocBox, a marketing automation company that was acquired by Square in 2015. Running through this exercise has two key caveats. skip reports) with the next principle.

Weak Development Team 108

Weak Development Team Data Visualization Technical Review Reporting Tools 108

The Product Coalition

JANUARY 26, 2021

Despite discovering useful techniques and exercises and experimenting with workshop formats, templates and canvases, we weren’t finding a process that ticked all our must-haves whilst also taking into consideration the constraints on the product leader? During the workshop, the group will complete: Vision Primer exercise ? Tangible?—?

Vision 187

Vision Product Research User Testing Workshop 187

Product Talk

JANUARY 10, 2018

Many teams use design studio exercises to quickly answer this question. Lean startups use landing page tests to assess the desirability of their services before they commit to building them. Thanks to the rise in popularity of The Lean Startup and design thinking , we have countless examples of prototyping to answer specific questions.

User Testing 258

User Testing Feedback Software Research Software Product Research 258

Mind the Product

AUGUST 9, 2019

In the startup context, thinking big should be unconstrained and boundless. Practise this exercise during crucial conversations in one-on-ones, with management, and during staff meetings. Key Operating Principles. This stage is the “yes, and…” stage – it is where brainstorming, whiteboards, Post-It notes, and stickies live.

Product Research 180

Product Research Product Management Product Manager Feedback Software 180

Product Talk

JULY 6, 2022

I can still run through a hypothetical exercise. There will be some people, particularly in startups, who are going to want to see you take it a step further. Even though I don’t work for a streaming entertainment company, I can still interview people about their experience with it. I can still map out the opportunity space.

Customer Experience 274

Customer Experience Product Research Entertainment Data Visualization 274

Intercom, Inc.

NOVEMBER 24, 2021

Speed is every startup’s biggest competitive advantage. These broad information-gathering exercises are typically an inefficient, cumbersome, and unnecessary step. Your decision-making process is slowing you down. . They consciously try to exclude their own expertise, intuition, and objectives from the process.

User Testing 257

User Testing Data Visualization Feedback Loop Weak Development Team 257

Intercom, Inc.

FEBRUARY 21, 2018

Despite common belief, arming your sales team with live chat doesn’t have to be a costly exercise; it just requires a more efficient way of working and some prep work ahead of time. At Intercom, our sales team (the SDR team, to be precise) uses live chat to capture and convert these high-intent website visitors.

Product launches 199

Product launches Customer Experience Messaging Startups 199

The Product Coalition

MARCH 10, 2021

It’s a common element of a team startup or launch, and strong teams often revisit their team norms. c) Think like your user : An empathy exercise can help the whole team clarify their customers’ and users’ pain points. Even a short empathy exercise can help align the team on the user’s pain points and needs.

Research Software 158

Research Software Webinar Product Research Customer Experience 158

The Product Coalition

APRIL 19, 2018

The Big 3 ‘Lean Startup’ Mistakes Companies Still Make Are you spending a ridiculous amount of time working on a product, and getting nowhere? If this sounds like you, you’re probably stuck in the lean startup trap. The idea The problem in lean startup originates right at the first step. And you’re not the only one.

Startups 68

Startups Customer Experience User Testing Feedback Software 68

Intercom, Inc.

APRIL 11, 2019

Startup marketing is tough. But today, marketing is the primary driver of revenue at your typical, fast growing B2B startup. This is episode five of Scale , a brand new podcast series on moving from startup to scale up. Every meeting can feel like an exercise in firefighting. billion dollar valuation.

Marketing 162

Marketing Weak Development Team Startups Advertising 162

Product Talk

AUGUST 8, 2018

After exploring the distinct perspectives on your team, use the exercise described in this video to create a shared map. This is one of the most powerful exercises I’ve come across for quickly getting to a shared understanding. We all see the world differently and we want to leverage our unique experiences when creating together.

Product Research 277

Product Research Feedback Software User Testing Research Software 277

Intercom, Inc.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2019

It’s a timely conversation for us, coming hot on the heels of the release of our book Intercom on Sales last month and Steli’s own book The 2020 Startup Sales Playbook this week. A lot has changed since Close started teaching people and startups how to sell. We’re not really a startup anymore. to Close.com.

Weak Development Team 184

Weak Development Team Customer Experience Startups Reporting Tools 184

Intercom, Inc.

JUNE 14, 2018

Rather than suggesting a model startup, advisor and author Laura Klein is likely to point you toward her favorite heist film. Now the Vice President of Product at Business Talent Group , she has honed her expertise into a set of best practices and published them in two books: UX for Lean Startups and Build Better Products.

Weak Development Team 190

Weak Development Team Onboarding KPIs CTO Coach Fractional CTO 190

The Product Coalition

OCTOBER 8, 2018

So the product management is the only one function that is offering business startups the significant advantages such as in setting up business objectives, targeting markets to deliver measurable products and services, and prioritizing the goals of startups. Still confused about the concept of product management?

Startups 60

Startups User Testing Customer Feedback Product Management 60

Intercom, Inc.

JUNE 29, 2018

I experiment a lot with retrospectives, usually mixing different exercises that share the same goal but differ in structure. If you can’t answer these questions, the whole exercise is biased and almost doomed to failure. Experimenting with your retrospectives. What do team members expect from the team?

Framework 217

Framework Technical Review Construction Engineering 217

Mind the Product

JUNE 26, 2017

Here’s an example from a project Convivio ran with a recruitment startup with a business model based on user referrals. At the end of the exercise, you should have a complete set of steps your prototype will need to cover and have an insight into customer thoughts and feelings throughout the journey. Now Start Sketching.

User Testing 189

User Testing Customer Feedback Customer Experience Research Software 189

The Product Coalition

DECEMBER 5, 2021

Last month, for example, I met a startup, which had a good indication from the market that their initial product direction was viable. That’s especially true if you need to go all-in with this single direction (which you should, it’s called focus and it’s critical for startup success ) and leave all other options aside.

Vision 178

Vision User Testing Startups Consulting 178

The Product Coalition

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

After attending a web development boot camp and working as a web developer at a small startup, she got the opportunity to become a product manager. Through this event, she found a three-month internship as a Web Developer at a startup that was developing an online insurance marketplace.

Technical Advisors 153

Technical Advisors Reporting Tools Product Management Product Manager 153

The Product Coalition

FEBRUARY 23, 2024

The stakes are exceptionally high for startups, where a misfit in the product team can have significant repercussions. I am not in favor of assigning home exercises. This discrepancy necessitates a rigorous interview process to identify candidates who embody the essence of product management.

Analytic Tools 148

Analytic Tools Data Visualization Research Software Feedback Software 148

Product Innovation Educators

JANUARY 7, 2019

After I graduated college, I went to work at a startup called Feedburner, which was later acquired by Google. We suggest ways that people can approach diet and exercise with this relationship in mind. After I graduated college, I went to work at a startup called Feedburner, which was later acquired by Google.

Framework 159

Framework Books Technology Naming 159

Intercom, Inc.

JANUARY 24, 2019

Mike has been in and around startups for the better part of three decades: as a consultant, as a co-founder and now as the Managing Director of Salesforce Incubator, which propels new startups into the marketplace. He joined me for a chat that ranged from the role of AI to how they choose startups to incubate. Short on time?

Analytic Tools 151

Analytic Tools Data Visualization User Testing Artificial Inteligence 151

Intercom, Inc.

OCTOBER 16, 2019

The classic example sees a company move from niche startup to mainstream scale-up, but it can also see companies hone their product-market fit by focusing on a more specialized, and yet more lucrative, user base. Of course, the content burden is significant and thus is more appropriate for well-funded startups.

Strategy 195

Strategy Customer Experience Inbound User Testing 195

Lenny Rachitsky

JUNE 15, 2025

” exercise. With extensive experience tackling challenging problems in regulated industries and high-stakes environments, Hilary emphasizes the importance of building resilience and adaptability within teams. Help them earn their seat through valuable contributions. Ask yourself: “In what world does this make sense?”

Leadership 62

Leadership Vision B2B Customer Experience 62

Intercom, Inc.

JANUARY 5, 2022

Suddenly, the team got to know SOC 2 Reports all too well and realized just how burdensome and unscalable it could become, especially for high-growth startups. Drata recently raised $100 million in venture capital funding, which I believe makes it San Diego’s latest startup unicorn with an evaluation of $1 billion.

Reporting Tools 211

Reporting Tools Data Visualization Software Review Technical Review 211

Mind the Product

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Many graduates are keen to work in a startup or technology company, but are not aware of the existence of the Product Manager role, and that it is ideally suited to them. For a startup keeping a tight rein on its burn rate, well mentored graduates can be a very cost-effective way of building a highly effective product team.

Technical Advisors 145

Technical Advisors Software Engineering Technology Positioning 145

BrainMates

JUNE 17, 2025

But too often, we see the signs of “OKR theatre”: Objectives so broad they could belong to any company Key Results focused on activity, not impact Teams forgetting their OKRs by week three Quarterly reviews that feel like report cards, not course corrections Instead of driving clarity and momentum, OKRs become a tick-box exercise.

Systems Review 52

Systems Review Reporting Tools Feedback Software User Testing 52

Intercom, Inc.

FEBRUARY 2, 2018

No, this isn’t some theoretical mental exercise. That’s right, would you offer yourself a job at your company? It’s a question every interviewer should ask themselves. It’s actually a powerful question to ask yourself when you’re looking to expand your team but find yourself paralyzed with options.

Technology 192

Technology Books Management Management 192