Main takeaways: - Focus on product-market fit & unique value creation - Simplicity & customer focus - Scale is not everything

1. www.productschool.com
Element Technology Partners PM Dir.
on Product in Startups

2. FREE INVITE
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10. Gaurav Saraf
TONIGHT’S SPEAKER

11. Insights into product management
at Startups versus at large
corporations
Based on my experiences
Gaurav Saraf, PhD, MBA
Founder/CEO, Olynk Inc.
Strategy Advisor, Tri-Cura Inc.
Member/Investor, Wharton Angels
Product & Strategy Director, ETP

12. My Journey
Engineer/Technologist Product Manager Entrepreneur

13. What is the PM’s job?
Ideation/Introduction Growth DeclineMaturity
Product lifecycle management

14. So what does a PM actually do?
Build & enable
- Business case
- Product roadmap
- Documents (PRDs/MRDs)
Management
- Customer relations
- Analyst relations
Liaison
- Design teams
- Engineering teams
- Manufacturing teams
Collaboration
- Marketing
- Sales
Analyze
- Competition
- Markets
- Build vs Buy
Responsible
- P&L
- Product launch
PM

15. What are the key attributes of a good PM?
PM
Vision PassionEmpathy
Honesty Leadership
Efficiency Communication
Humility

16. What are the knowledge requirements?
Logic
&
Creativity
Business
&
Organizational
Domain
&
Industry

17. The difference in PM’s focus at Startup vs Large corp?
Customer
Retention
Prioritization
&
KPIs
Customer
Discovery
Agility
Product
Market
Fit
Product
Differentiation
&
Competition
Startups Large Corps

18. PM’s focus at Startups - Product-Market Fit
Aspirin or a
Vitamin?
Target customer/
market
Market need/
Unique value
MVP/prototype
Market tests

19. PM’s focus at Startups - Customer Customer Customer
Who is the customer?
What does the customer need? And why?
Where is the customer?
Why would the customer buy
my product?
Do I have sufficient customers?
What value am I creating for my customers?
How can I get more customers?
How can I reach the customer?
Is this really a customer?

20. PM’s focus at Startups - Agility not Scale
❖ Focus on important problems only
❖ Build small incremental features quickly
❖ Test features, get feedback & iterate
❖ Fail quickly
❖ Pivot and change immediately
❖ Focus on economies of scale
❖ Focus on KPIs
❖ Workflow prioritization & cost reduction
❖ Pulse on market, customers & competitors
❖ Market expansion

21. How to succeed as a PM?
Be objective in views & opinions - unbiased & complete
Have clear & correct intentions
Communicate clearly & effectively
Solve problems, do not create or raise one
Be attentive & mindful - learn at every opportunity

22. www.productschool.com
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