# A YC Founder’s Guide to Product Management  ## Metadata - Author: [[kraftful.com]] - Full Title: A YC Founder’s Guide to Product Management - Category: #articles - Summary: The article provides a concise guide to product management for founders. The role of a product manager involves setting a vision for the product, communicating it to the team, and building an actionable plan to improve the product. The article also discusses the difference between a product manager and a product leader. The latter is responsible for translating the company vision into product vision and goals, and establishing processes and communication for effective execution. - URL: https://www.kraftful.com/blogs/pm-guide-for-founders ## Highlights - At a high level, the job of a product manager is to set a vision for the product, communicate the vision to the team, and then work to build and execute on an actionable plan that will incrementally improve the product until it meets the vision. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0emv2214jea6kn78jj4sm)) - A PM first researches their market, customer, and the customer’s problem. They synthesize all this info to come up with a vision for their product that makes sense given their company vision. This requires empathy, creativity, and great product thinking. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0fj178n4gvwdhnb6rbfdh)) - The product leader then articulates the product vision and product strategy (see below). The PM instead focuses more on defining the product based on the vision, the market, and the customer needs and works with the development team and stakeholders on execution. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0g9a4hy95709zwdgtveea)) - PMs need to be inspirational, great communicators, and have the humility to understand that when the team doesn't get the vision it’s because it wasn’t communicated clearly or frequently enough (rather than folks not paying attention). ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0h03v4dmz91rz84c7vphh)) - For each product iteration that gets shipped, PMs spend time listening to customers to see if the product solved their needs and what additional gaps need to be filled. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0j8ypshcpp642f98p24jx)) - Unlike PMs, product leaders have direct authority over some people, i.e. the members of the product team. The actual title of the product leader can vary depending on the company, but common ones include Chief Product Officer, VP of Product, and Head of Product. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0kbhd9y323deg4w9mbhs8)) - Great product leaders usually measure their success in terms of product impact (or ability to deliver on the company vision), rather than their number of headcount. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0kscc6ryr8tyr1a7nxcw4)) - Broadly speaking, product leaders are tasked with the product strategy. Driving the product strategy includes translating the company vision into product execution, hiring and training PMs and other members of the product team, and establishing appropriate processes and communication for effective execution. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0megrh7trdme2g47z3vb9)) - But once a startup is mature enough to bring onboard a separate product leader, the product leader is responsible for translating the company vision into product vision(s) and establishing product goals. Those goals ultimately guide PM’s research, product roadmaps, and execution. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0rkdwgdgrg6n3bygqp7pb)) - I like structuring product teams around goals, where each PM is responsible for a goal rather than a product so that they can think broadly about how to best achieve the goals rather than just optimizing a product or feature. This and other details of how product leaders develop their strategy and goals depends on the company, its products, and the setup of the product team. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0sjstmqdjcgdtejhkr55n)) - If you’re ready to start hiring a Head of Product, I recommend checking out the Hiring Product Leadership chapter in [Product Leadership](https://www.amazon.com/Product-Leadership-Managers-Products-Successful/dp/1491960604). You can also check out [Product Roadmaps Relaunched](https://www.amazon.com/Product-Roadmaps-Relaunched-Direction-Uncertainty/dp/149197172X/ref=pd_bxgy_sccl_2/139-3529412-8490054?pd_rd_w=KDc9V&content-id=amzn1.sym.7f0cf323-50c6-49e3-b3f9-63546bb79c92&pf_rd_p=7f0cf323-50c6-49e3-b3f9-63546bb79c92&pf_rd_r=1WMWMSFA02TMRATQHYSJ&pd_rd_wg=OXroe&pd_rd_r=d2532494-f8e6-4b8b-875d-23c64134e179&pd_rd_i=149197172X&psc=1) to get a sense of what to expect from the roadmaps that your PMs/product leader craft. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01hqs0vghvnemkkcfq1xdwzqrv))