Scott Williamson, former CPO at GitLab, explains why early-stage startups benefit from formal written strategy documentation as soon as they begin hiring at scale.
“Even if you're more than 10 people, this can be helpful. I would say maybe when you're not all on the same run. When you start adding new people at some clip, Because new people just don't have that context. They don't have the tribal knowledge. And when you add more nodes on, the quicker you can get them wrapped around who we're going after, what we're going to do, what we're not going to do, what matters most, what business outcomes are we trying to drive? You eliminate a lot of extraneous conversations that can otherwise slow the whole place down. So I think it can be useful very early.”
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Insight
Williamson: Founders should not hire product leaders before achieving product-market fit
“And I think if you hand it off before then, it can be very problematic because it's these decisions, which ICP, what are we going to prioritize to build for them? What's the core user experience? These things are so central to a company, especially if it's a P…”
Scott WilliamsonFeb 21, 2024▶ 10:34Scott Williamson: Hiring the Best Product People in Five Steps, Why the Best PMs are Writers | E1118 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
PredictionNot checkable as stated
Williamson: AI will merge PM, design, and engineering into a single role
“I can imagine this triple roll down the line where they're doing PM, design, and engineering with the help of AI.”
Scott WilliamsonFeb 21, 2024▶ 57:17Scott Williamson: Hiring the Best Product People in Five Steps, Why the Best PMs are Writers | E1118 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Williamson: MBAs are unnecessary for PMs unless aiming for executive roles
“If you want to be a badass PM, I don't think you really need it. You can learn the skills that you need to learn through product-focused training, through being in the right situation, through learning from Jedi Masters at your company. If you want to be a CPO…”
Scott WilliamsonFeb 21, 2024▶ 2:46Scott Williamson: Hiring the Best Product People in Five Steps, Why the Best PMs are Writers | E1118 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Williamson: PMs should spend 50% of time with customers, not 5%
“Now, to do that well, you need about half your time to be out of the building. Most PMs spend about 95% of their time facing engineering. And zero to fives talking to customers and being out in the world.”
Scott WilliamsonFeb 21, 2024▶ 8:33Scott Williamson: Hiring the Best Product People in Five Steps, Why the Best PMs are Writers | E1118 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Williamson: Long-form writing is the only effective way to align strategy
“And I think the only way you get to it effectively is through long form writing.”
Scott WilliamsonFeb 21, 2024▶ 18:45Scott Williamson: Hiring the Best Product People in Five Steps, Why the Best PMs are Writers | E1118 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Williamson: Product management ability is domain agnostic; domain experience is secondary
“Mostly what I'm testing for is how you do product and how you think, and that's relatively domain agnostic. I tend not to hire for domain if I don't have to”
Scott WilliamsonFeb 21, 2024▶ 31:25Scott Williamson: Hiring the Best Product People in Five Steps, Why the Best PMs are Writers | E1118 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
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