#19 Product-driven Culture - (Founders Fund) Leigh Marie Braswell | Slush 2022

Learn how a product-driven culture prioritizes product market fit, scalability, and efficiency, with insights from Leigh Marie Braswell, founder at Founders Fund.

Key takeaways
  • A product-driven culture means the company focuses on product market fit, scalability, and efficiency.
  • CEOs are good at thinking short-term, but product managers are needed for medium-term planning.
  • Trade-offs are necessary when deciding whether to hire a full-time or contractor product manager.
  • Evaluating product managers includes considering their ability to handle uncertainty, agency, and feasibility.
  • Communication is key in the early stages of a startup; processes should be lightweight and evolve as the company grows.
  • Customer involvement is essential, but not all requests can be fulfilled, and product managers must define the product vision.
  • Product managers must balance the needs of different stakeholders and prioritize goals.
  • Stripe and Scale are examples of companies that have successfully fostered product-driven cultures.
  • Org design is crucial, and process should be revisited regularly to ensure productivity and success.
  • Hiring product managers requires considering their technical and design skills, as well as their ability to communicate with customers and teams.
  • Companies should bias towards building quickly, but also have metrics to ensure progress towards a North Star.
  • The role of engineering is crucial in product-driven cultures, and engineers often have a lot of say in the product roadmap.
  • Product managers should prioritize learning from customers, defining product vision, and unifying teams behind a shared goal.
  • Fostering a product-driven culture requires a combination of leadership, vision, and execution.
  • When hiring product managers, consider their ability to spike in key areas, such as customer development, product discovery, and team leadership.
  • Culture values such as running through walls and having a bias to action are essential in product-driven companies.