When to separate product and technology for early stage team?
Posted: July 13, 2012 | Author: grantgrant | Filed under: Opinions | Tags: airbnb, commodity, goto market, product, startup, technology, web startup | Leave a comment »Most bigger technology companies separate product team from development team, even lot of product people transitioned into product role after being developer for a long time.
For an early stage technology project, assigning product ownership to one person whose main focus is product design, makes a difference. Among most of web/mobile startups, technology is common denominator and commodity. What really sets winners apart is the product design with unique value proposition, plus effective go-to-market execution.
A product connecting people physically in real world should not only have standalone product people, also separate guy focusing on go-to-market plan. Airbnb is a perfect example. How they executed their successful go-to-market plan creatively was 2nd to none. It’s obviously the result of having someone think about it all the time.
What are your experiences? I’d love to hear it.