How to polish PM Skills ? Founder (B2B SaaS)
I last did a full fledged PM Role 5 years ago at an early stage startup (B2B SaaS). Post that moved on to building my own startup, spent the early years exclusively hands on the product (0-1) but last 28 months or so since my cofounder joined, I let him manage the product strategy and lifecycle since I had to take the lead on Sales and other aspects
My current work with regards to product is more or less product vision and feedback. I feel I need to up my game in building my product skills to a higher level now as the product is getting mature and we are aiming to go global soon. I unfortunately don’t have anyone to mentor at the moment.
How should I go about doing this ? Do you think going back to something like a product school for a 15 week Program could help ? The outcome I hope is set myself on the path to become a good Product Strategy leader with reasonable acumen on processes and systems and at the same time translate the learning to help scale the product better.
Would be happy to take some ideas or places to look at for one. TIA
With all due respect to Product School, I don’t think that will work for your situation especially when you have some experience on the ground. PS is best for beginners.
Moving to the second part, focusing on the next stage of growth, you can explore the following areas -
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NPS mechanism - In B2B SaaS, NPS gives you a chance to hear the customer/actual user in a better way. “Buyer” & “User” are two personas which will help you make the product better. Establish an NPS process, you don’t need to buy fancy tools, an excel sheet can be a good starting point.
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Product research & discovery - B2B customers have a very common habit of comparing various options available to them. Make sure you are keeping a close eye on the feature release of competition. Engage with the users to discover how they are using the product, sometimes innovation pops up on customer side itself.
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Product Lifecycle - The next stage will need more predictable outcomes, which can only be ensured when the lifecycle steps (ruthless prioritisation, test cases, UAT, feedback absorption) are clear to everyone across the org.
The above 3 areas aren't the complete set but it can be a good starting point for you to scale in a more efficient manner. Good Luck!
If I may ask.. how long did you work as a PM 5yrs back?
Close to 2.5 Years as a PM.
If you've built a product from scratch you already are better than most course makers. Just believe in yourself and go for it dum dum, who told you you need to go back to school?
Products need users, just talk to users and iterate. Frameworks and product Gyan is bullshit most of the time.
Please check DMs