GDG Cloud Southlake #40: Brandon Stokes: How to Build a Great Product

How to Build a Great Product

Being a tech entrepreneur is about providing a remarkable product or service that serves the needs of its customers better, faster, and cheaper than anything else. The goal is to "make something people want" which we call, product market fit.

But how do we get there? We'll explore the process of taking an idea to product market fit (PMF), how you know you have true PMF, and how your product strategies differ pre-PMF from post-PMF.

Brandon is a 3x founder, 1x exit, ex-banker & corporate strategist, car dealership owner, and alumnus of Techstars & Y Combinator. He enjoys building products and services that impact people for the better.

Brandon has had 3 different careers (banking, corporate finance & strategy, technology) in 7 different industries; Investment Banking, CPG, Media & Entertainment, Telecommunications, Consumer application, Automotive, & Fintech/Insuretech.

He's an idea to revenue leader and entrepreneur that helps organizations build products and processes, hire talent, test & iterate quickly, collect feedback, and grow in unregulated and heavily regulated industries.

1. How to Build a Great
Product
"Make something people want" - YC

2. About Me
Background in capital
markets, finance, and
corporate strategy.
x founder, exit, as a
former venture
backed CEO and head
of product.
A passion for building
products that solve
real problems.
I love building products that impact peoples lives for the better.

3. What Defines a Great
Product?
1
It's Remarkable
Users love the product enough to recommend it.
2
Overwhelming Demand
Demand isn't driven by sales and marketing alone.
3
Grows In Spite of Company Flaws
The product grows even with poor company management.
4
Users Can't Live Without It
Users would be very disappointed if it disappeared.

4. Building a Great Product
1
Identify Market Need
2
Engage with Customers
3
Understand Unique Value

5. Understand Market Risk
User Needs
Do people need what you are building?
Market Size
How many potential users exist? Is the
market growing?
ROI
Can you charge enough to justify the
return on investment?

6. Spend Time with
Customers
User Insight
Customers and users can be different .
Develope Unique Insights
Feedback is a gift; listen actively to gather insights.
Ask Questions
Ask the right questions to elicit meaningful responses.
Observe Product Use
Watch people use your product and use your product.

7. Customers vs. Users
Customer (Manager / executive) and
user (worker / employee) can be
different.
Always true in BBC and common
in Enterprise software.
Balance customer and user needs to
create success.
Customers must love the product. Users must like the product.

8. Understand Unique Value Proposition
4
Simple
Your value must be simple and easy to
understand.
4
North Star
Don't optimize for the wrong things.
4
Stay Focused
Remember why people love your
product.

9. Outcome-Driven
Approach
Build Prototypes
Ship Fast
Iterate More, Optimize Less
Be outcome and not process oriented.

10. Avoid Feature Creep
Less is More Simplify Prioritize
If you're not removing features, you're not simplifying enough. Kill puppies often.

11. Feature Prioritization
Gamechanger
People will want to buy your
product because of this feature.
Showstopper
People won't buy your product if
you're missing this feature, but
adding it won't generate
demand.
Distraction
Not must have, doesn't move
the needle.
source: https://www.defmacro.org/ / / /products.h

12. Decision Framework
High Impact, Low Cost Prioritize these actions
immediately.
High Impact, High Cost Evaluate carefully, plan
resources.
Low Impact, Low Cost Consider if time allows, delegate
if possible.
Low Impact, High Cost Avoid, not worth the investment.

13. Business Risks
1
Product Risk
Innovative or useful enough?
Focus on feedback and
shipping quickly.
2
Technical Risk
New technology might not
work? Process and controls
matter.
3
Execution Risk
Team lacking skills? Growth and leadership are crucial.

14. Build a Product-Centered Team
1
2
3
Empower
Trust
Support

15. Hire the Right Archetypes
Pre-PMF
Innovative PM: Focus on
speed and empathy.
PMF
Core PM: Empathy is a key
attribute.
Growth
Growth PM: Focus on
process improvement.
Scale
Platform PM: Prioritize
efficiency.
source:https://www.fishmanafnewsletter.com/p/identify-product-manager-archetypes-and-skills

16. High Agency, Low Ego
Hire high agency, low ego people, and get out of the way.

17. Data, Intuition, Taste
1 Data
2 Intuition
3 Taste
Data makes a Good PM. Intuition makes a Great PM. Taste makes an Exceptional PM.

18. Strengths by Category
Deep Tech, Dev Tools
Focus on Data-driven insights.
B2C Software
Leverage Intuition.
Consumer Apps
Emphasize Taste.

19. Key Takeaways
1
Build Products People Love
People can't live without it.
2
Simple Value
Ensure your value is simple and easy to grasp.
3
Develop Strong Intuition
Spend time with users consistently.
4
Team Dynamics
Build low ego, high agency teams.
5
Ship and Cut Often
Prioritize outcome over rigid processes and remove features often.

20. Thank you!
Let's build product people love.