Product & Tech

Who should drive product direction?

Anyone who has worked in tech knows the challenges of collaboration between product and technical teams. How should these teams work together? Who has the final say? Who owns the roadmap and deadline accountability? These questions often arise in many tech companies, both young and mature. However, they shouldn't concern you in the early years of your entrepreneurial journey. Here's why.

In my view, the CEO of an early-stage venture should undoubtedly lead product definition. As the company's founder, you've cultivated the vision behind it, which is your responsibility to execute as quickly as possible. At this stage, there's no need for a CPO or product managers. If your product's success hinges primarily on digital experience, you should define these elements and prioritize their development —while naturally considering input from designers and developers who will help you bring your product to life.

If your venture is API-first, share product responsibility with your technical co-founder or lead. The product's success in this case depends primarily on the technical capabilities and developer-friendliness of your APIs. Nevertheless, stay as close to the product as possible. This proximity equips you with the knowledge to speak intelligently about it and make crucial decisions whenever needed. It also frees up time for your technical co-founder to focus on secondary but key aspects such as data privacy, security, and system reliability. Needless to say, maintaining a solid relationship with your technical counterpart is essential under this model.

One of my biggest regrets as CEO and founder of flyiin is not paying sufficient attention to our product—both our Air Travel Marketplace in 2016–2017 and our B2B Airline DirectConnect Platform from 2018 onward. The primary reason? As I wrote before, I was afraid to take on this role. I didn't feel I had the necessary skills, nor did I believe I could learn them quickly enough to do the job properly (ever heard of imposter syndrome?). A younger version of myself probably wouldn't have had these doubts.

This fear led me to make two crucial decisions. In 2015, when a contact in Berlin expressed interest in becoming a founder and CPO of flyiin, I saw it as a tremendous asset. I thought this would free me from worrying about developing our Air Travel Marketplace, allowing me to focus on fundraising, sales and marketing. Similarly, when we changed course in 2018, I let my final co-founder and CTO drive the definition of our Airline DirectConnect Platform.

The first decision was simply wrong. In an earlier chapter, I shared my views on why. The second was half-wrong. Our tech team did a great job designing and building a platform and API that I still consider superior to anything else built at the time, even five years later. However, I should have prioritized gaining a deeper understanding of these technologies, and managing the roadmap, and describing requirements or user stories. We didn't need to hire one—let alone two—product managers. I should have taken on these responsibilities myself and saved the salaries to extend our runway. Another lesson learned.

Key Takeaway #25

Lead product definition initially, especially for digital experience-focused products. For API-first products, share responsibility with your technical lead. In both scenarios, strong collaboration is crucial. Maintain product leadership and avoid outsourcing to a CPO or Product Manager too early.