Weekly Product Hits: What the Board Wants to Hear, Blowing Up Timelines, Seed Valuations
Product Hits: February 24, 2025Every week, I share three great product resources from a variety of perspectives. Let's dive in! What the Board Wants to Hear in a Product Presentation by Noa Ganot Noa Ganot, founder of Infinify, advises product leaders to align their board presentations with business priorities, not just product features. Ganot recommends structuring updates to show an understanding of company goals, outline strategic challenges, and explain how progress will be measured. How to Blow Up a Timeline by Eugene Wei Eugene Wei, Head of Video at Oculus, examines how social media products risk alienating users by over-prioritizing algorithms over community interaction. Using Twitter as a case study, Wei highlights how an imbalance between algorithmic feeds and organic social dynamics can erode user engagement and community trust. Seed Valuations Aren’t Valuations by Nnamdi Iregbulem Nnamdi Iregbulem, Partner at Lightspeed Venture, reframes seed valuations for product startups as reflections of human capital and founder potential. Iregbulem explains that, unlike later-stage valuations tied to cash flows or market conditions, seed pricing reflects the cost of hiring exceptional product talent. Behind the ScenesHey there, it’s Clement! Let’s talk about a counterintuitive challenge I’ve seen PMs face: when customers rave about a product that you know is fundamentally flawed. A PM I once worked with was in this exact situation. Users said they were delighted with their data export feature, but the reality? It was a clunky, manual process requiring hours of cleanup in spreadsheets. The enthusiasm wasn’t because the feature was great… it was because it met a critical need that nothing else addressed. The PM knew that the situation could be better. After all, they were the ones who had built the product in a 12-hour hackathon with a couple of engineers. Yet, they felt that they weren’t able to get the internal traction to invest further in the data roadmap, because customers were all sending lots of love their way and couldn’t imagine a different workflow. Here’s how we tackled this difficult situation: #1 - Uncover the Root Cause: First, we mapped out why users relied so heavily on the feature. Through user interviews, we found that the data export wasn’t the real goal. Instead, users needed this data to present insights to their teams. The manual export was simply a painful workaround. #2 - Redefine Success: Instead of doubling down on the current feature, we reframed success. How could we empower users to generate and share insights directly in the product, eliminating the need for exports altogether? This shifted our focus from iterating on a flawed solution to creating something transformative. #3 - Test with Transitional Solutions: To ease the transition, we launched small improvements to the export feature while simultaneously testing new ways to deliver insights, such as customizable dashboards and automated reporting. This gave users immediate relief while paving the way for a long-term solution. #4 - Communicate Early and Often: Throughout, we stayed transparent with users. We shared our plans, explained the limitations of the current feature, and invited feedback on prototypes. This kept users engaged and turned early adopters into advocates for the improved solution. The result? By addressing the underlying need rather than iterating endlessly on a flawed feature, the PM’s team not only delighted users but also reduced support requests and saved engineering resources. The lesson here: when customers say that they “love” a flawed product, don’t take it at face value! Dig deeper, redefine success, and guide your customers toward better outcomes. With love, Let's do more together!
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Product Teacher
In-depth essays and thought-provoking reads for product managers.
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