The Product Management Gap
The #1 cause of death for startups is a self-inflicted wound
The Product Management Gap is the period of time between having a successful demonstration of a technical innovation (the proof-of-concept) and when a full-time team member is assigned to focus on managing the product(s) that feature it.
Early-stage funded startups commonly have employees focused on engineering, design, marketing and sales, but rarely do they have a team member dedicated to the one thing they need to get right to raise additional capital: product-market fit.
“Getting product right means finding product-market fit. It does not mean launching the product. It means getting to the point where the market accepts your product and wants more of it.” — Fred Wilson, Partner at Union Square Ventures, “Product > Strategy > Business Model”
At a startup, product management is the art of defining a product for a core innovation, and strengthening an understanding of its fit in a market through user acquisition and engagement. This is a need I find most founding teams are aware of and measure, but commonly spread ownership of between team…
