In this episode, Melissa Perri is joined by Julia Austin, Author, Lecturer at Harvard Business School, and Founder of Good For Her, to discuss the essentials of building a strong startup foundation. They delve into the importance of understanding your customer and the problem you’re solving, the dynamics of co-founder relationships, and transitioning to outcome-based roadmaps. Julia shares insights on how AI can play a role in product development and gives advice for first-time product managers in startups.

Julia emphasizes the need for founders to focus on financial and legal aspects, often overlooked in the excitement of building a product. The conversation offers valuable advice for product managers and founders aiming to build sustainable and successful startups.

Want to gain insights into building a strong foundation for your startup and the role of product managers? Listen to the full episode for practical tips and strategies from Julia's extensive experience.

You’ll hear us talk about:

• 05:20 - Understanding Foundational Work in Startups

Julia Austin discusses why startups should spend 80% of their time on foundational work and discovery, emphasizing the importance of understanding the problem and target audience before developing solutions.

• 12:45 - Transitioning to Outcome-Based Roadmaps

Melissa Perri explains how product managers can shift from feature-based roadmaps to outcome-based ones, focusing on connecting outputs to outcomes and effectively communicating with stakeholders.

• 24:10 - Advice for First Product Managers in Startups

Julia provides tips for new product managers on building trust with founders by understanding the company's history and aligning with the founders’ vision to help structure the startup's roadmap and priorities.

Episode resources:

Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliaaustin/

After the Idea book: https://www.aftertheideabook.com/

Check our new course: https://productinstitute.com/p/mastering-product-strategy-overview

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

03:08 Dear Melissa

08:34 Understanding Founder Relationships

15:53 Operational Foundations for Startups

26:20 Applying AI Thoughtfully

35:26 Role of PMs in Startups

43:48 Closing Remarks

Join us on this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast as Oji and Ezinne, co-authors of "Building Rocketships: Product Management for High-Growth Companies”, discuss the pivotal role of Product Managers in the AI era. As they share insights from their experiences with innovation and product development, Oji and Ezinne explore how PMs must adapt to the rapidly evolving technological landscape to remain relevant.

In this episode, they delve into the balance between customer focus and business needs, highlighting the significance of people, execution, leadership, and communication. Oji and Ezinne emphasize the need for PMs to lead conversations, advocate for solutions that address customer issues, and stay attuned to industry shifts.

If you're eager to understand how to navigate the challenges and opportunities that AI presents to Product Management, don't miss out on these valuable insights!

You'll hear us talk about:

• 28:55 - Balancing Board Pressure and Long-Term Vision

Oji shares advice on managing the pressure from board members while maintaining the focus on long-term strategy and vision, a perennial challenge for product managers.

• 40:12 - AI at the Core vs. the Edge

Ezinne discusses the difference between companies that integrate AI at their core versus those that only sprinkle AI on top. Learn what it means to truly embed AI in your company's workflow and how to approach it strategically.

• 49:38 - The Evolving Role of Product Managers

Ezinne covers how the role of PMs is changing with AI's capabilities in areas like PRDs and data diagnostics, questioning whether AI will replace product managers or simply change the way they work.

Episode resources:

Oji on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojiudezue/

Ezinne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezinne/

Building Rocketships: https://shop.damngravity.com/products/building-rocketships-udezue?variant=43588962779312

Check our new course: https://productinstitute.com/p/mastering-product-strategy-overview