Product Habits - Product-driven vs. customer-driven

Product-Driven vs. Customer-Driven

This is one of the best articles I've read about the ever-present business question these days: Should you build a product-driven or customer-driven company? The author says the conversation started because of one person—Steve Jobs. This post covers a lot of ground, but it's worth reading all the way through. It'll help you make sense of how you think about the foundations of your startup. 

The Cryptocurrency Iceberg

The crypto world is complicated and overwhelming to people who don't know where to start. This chart is a helpful breakdown of the layers of complexity, beginning with the most common topics (blockchain, ledger) down to the most complex (sharding, Merkle trees, stateless Ethereum). This thread is so good, and it's worth bookmarking as you navigate the tiers of crypto.

Your Startup's Future Value

This is worth reading multiple times: "Nearly all of the value in technology companies is created in the out-years, long after you start. But you can only capture the values in the long term if you design for durability from day one." If you want to build an enduring tech startup, you have to be prepared for a long journey because most of the value comes after the first decade. This read explains the five main factors that build lasting power for startups.

The Swiss Army Product Management Team

When scaling a company, product managers will work on almost all aspects of the business—from sales to engineering to documentation. One of the best things you can do is build a diverse PM team early on. This is a helpful list of some of the traits and backgrounds you'll find valuable as you look for diverse PMs. Are any of these people already on your team?

Don't Underestimate the Software Administration UX

Virtually no end users will interact with the administration layer of a software platform, so it often gets overlooked. But it matters more than you think, and both software companies and customers should care about it. These are some essential factors to consider when designing your software platform's administration and management layer.

Traditional B2B Sales and Marketing Will Be Obsolete

The B2B sales and marketing world is fundamentally changing. The B2B buying journey relied on sales teams and direct interactions in the past. But today, B2B buyers rely more on digital information across the entire buying journey. These changes have meaningful implications for how B2B companies should think about the structure and priorities of their sales and marketing teams moving forward.
 

TikTok Works for Acquiring SaaS Users

I stumbled upon this post about how TikTok can be a great channel for acquiring B2B and B2C SaaS users. It takes some initial effort to understand the platform and design promotional strategies that make sense, but it's worth considering as a lever in your suite of marketing channels. Check out the case study here.

The Year of Tech Unicorns

This past year marked unparalleled growth for unicorn tech companies, especially India. The country added more than 40 unicorns to its list in 2021 and saw more than 2,250 new tech startups form. It's interesting to think about the global implications of the record-breaking growth in India's startup ecosystem. Check out the full report here. 

Read This if You're Interested in Engineering Management

I love when tech borrows ideas and learns from other industries. This thread makes the comparison between engineering management or running a tech startup and the craft of TV showrunning. The eleven laws of showrunning make for a great unconventional engineering management textbook. You can find it here.