YOUR PRODUCT STARTUP
NEEDS A
PRODUCT STRATEGIST
A FIVE-MINUTE OVERVIEW
Ken Yarmosh
Really Smart Product Guy
www.technosight.com
www.twitter.com/kenyarmosh

“I’M SMART ENOUGH”
When it comes to thinking, Analysis, and
execution, startups believe these are not tangible assets
like development and design.
Founders often take on these tasks because they see
them as a place where then can save some money and
because they are “smart enough” to perform these
functions.
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com

OOPS...
Unfortunately, this mindset leads to --
‣ Unintelligent ideas getting built (founder’s fault)
‣ Uninformed product design (designer’s fault)
‣ Unrealistic development schedules (dev’s fault)
‣ Unmeasured success (everyone’s fault)
...flush those dollars down the drain.
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com

ENTER THE PRODUCT STRATEGIST
A person focused and experienced with
product thinking, Analysis, and
execution.
The product strategist makes your product stronger
and increases efficiency.
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com

PRODUCT STRATEGIST VS. PRODUCT MANAGER
Don’t you just mean, “product manager?” The difference
between a “product strategist” and a “product manager” is
subtle --
‣ Strategist is focused on more than execution
‣ Has grasp of marketplace and user needs
‣ Often originates and refines concepts and features
The product strategist does more than
“keep the trains running on time.”
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com

HOW?
Good product strategists uniquely combine business
and technology skills in the areas of --
‣ Competitive and Market Intelligence
‣ Project Management
‣ User Experience and Design
‣ Development and Architecture
‣ Customer Support
‣ Analysis and Measurement
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com

SPECIFICS, PLEASE
The product strategist should --
‣ Vet ideas + bring new ones to the table
• From marketplace analysis, customer interaction, and personal
experiences
‣ Write product spec’s + requirements
• Includes product features, differentiators, and system flow
‣ Create initial user experiences
• Using wireframes, screenshots, or by working with designer
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com

MORE SPECIFICS, PLEASE
The product strategist should --
‣ Interact with designers and developers
• Starting with requirements and initial UX but then via ongoing
collaboration to ensure they “get it” and build on product
‣ Support customers
• Writing help, answering questions, and collecting their feedback
‣ Own the product roadmap
• Drive accountability, set realistic development cycles, and prioritize
features
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com

...MORE SPECIFICS, PLEASE
The product strategist should --
‣ Help define and measure success
• Work with internal and external stakeholders to define success
metrics and measure through hard (e.g., analytics or revenue) and
soft (e.g., tweets or customer emails) data points
Ultimately, the product strategist
should make life easier...for everyone.
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com

WHAT ELSE?
To get into the science of product strategy --
‣ http://www.slideshare.net/dan_o
‣ http://www.slideshare.net/dmc500hats
‣ http://www.slideshare.net/startuplessonslearned
‣ http://www.slideshare.net/venturehacks
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com

ARE YOU “SMART ENOUGH?”
This has been a five-minute, scratching-the-surface
overview of the thinking, Analysis, and execution
-- the product strategy -- startups need in building
products.
To learn more...
Ken Yarmosh
Really Smart Product Guy
www.twitter.com/kenyarmosh
www.technosight.com
www.TECHNOSIGHT.com