Main takeaways: - Know the difference in roles and responsibilities of a product manager at a large company vs a startup - Learn the skills necessary to succeed in a large company vs a startup, and where the similarities are - Leave with a better understanding of both, and an idea of which environment might be better for you

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How to Break Down PM in Startups vs.
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5. Alvaro Soltero
T O N I G H T ’ S S P E A K E R

6. But first, who is this guy?
● From Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 🇵🇷
● Tufts University ‘09
○ Cognitive & Brain Science
● Product Manager at Fieldlens since 2014
○ Acquired by WeWork in June 2017
● Now Product at WeWork (We), REDTech Dept
○ Real Estate & Development Technology
○ Still working on Fieldlens!
@ajsoltero

7. Main takeaways from today’s talk
1. Know some main differences in product between Startup vs Big Co
2. Know the skills to succeed in both
3. Leave with a better idea of which might be best for you
Disclaimer:
● This is based on my unique experience
● Other companies may differ
@ajsoltero

8. Context: What is Fieldlens?
● Construction Management startup
● First launched in March 2013
● Acquired by WeWork in June 17
● Now used worldwide in 6 languages
● WeWork product for our projects,
but still maintain outside customers
● Great example: same team pre
and post-acquisition
@ajsoltero

9. The differences
@ajsoltero

10. Startup 🚀 Big
Company 📈
● Big fish in small pond
● Right in the middle of the action,
all of your work is mission-critical
● Product strategy is often
company strategy
● Ex: Everyone knows what you
and your team do and are doing
● Small fish in big pond
● One of many product
managers, product teams
● Product strategy within a
greater strategy/opp/initiative
● Ex: No one knows what you and
your team are doing
@ajsoltero

11. Startup 🚀 Big
Company 📈
● Direct effect on company
metrics
● Product is often directly
responsible for company goals,
and in some cases, survival
● Ex: Increasing conversion rate
directly tied to increased sales
● This is pretty straightforward
● Need to identify proxies for
affecting company metrics
● Product has to be good at
identifying the levers for business
impact (and measuring them)
● Ex: Calculating how much you can
save in CapEx, or +revenue/ time
● This can be very difficult
@ajsoltero

12. Startup 🚀 Big
Company 📈
● Direct line to CEO and
executives (and they to you)
● Executives are involved in the
day to day of almost everything,
● Results in co-ownership of
product and lots of opinions
● Ex: Stakeholder management is
an always-on, daily activity
● Your product, your
responsibility
● Executives are keeping tabs on
many teams, rarely involved in your
day to day
● You own the product entirely, and
you own the results too
● Ex: Stakeholder management is
not as frequent, but higher-profile@ajsoltero

13. Startup 🚀 Big
Company 📈
● Need to be self-reliant, fill gaps
● More hats, more tasks, need to
depend on your own skills and
learn new ones on the fly
● More responsibilities mean more
work, but also more liberty
● Ex: PM as UX researcher, QA
tester, or data scientist
● Specialist Departments can help
you
● Need to engage specialist
departments, having rock-solid
analyses is expected
● Less non-PM responsibilities mean
your PM work has to be rock solid
● Ex: PM works with QA, data, or UX
teams @ajsoltero

14. Startup 🚀 Big
Company 📈● Constant bias for action is
necessary
● Quick and dirty gets the job
done
● Trying to grow means
vulnerability, requires faster
reactions and more flexibility
● Some PMs perform best in this
context
● Too much bias for action quickly
leads to mediocrity
● Buttoned-up and presentable
product management is the way
● High scrutiny, need to be able to
defend your decisions
● Balance between flexibility and
execution of your plan
● Some PMs thrive here instead

15. Startup 🚀 Big
Company 📈
● Work with lack of resources
● Constantly understaffed
● You may or may not be able to
afford more team members!
● Always make it work with what
you got
● Recruiting is insanely difficult
without the means or the name
● Fight for more resources
● Usually, can afford more people, or
have to fight for reallocation
● In any case, you are competing
against other teams for resources
● Need to be able to make a strong
case for more headcount (or
headcount to begin with!)

16. The skills you need to succeed
in both
@ajsoltero

17. Be self-less, facilitate and empower others
● This is not about you
● You do not have the solutions
● You are not the user
● You do not have all of the answers
● A good PM points the team in the right direction, and
facilitates and empowers the team towards getting there
together
@ajsoltero

18. Listen, cultivate empathy towards your users
● Listen carefully
● Take interest in them and they will take interest in helping you
● Unearth the context of each opinion
● Understand their point of view and purpose
● Admit when you are wrong, seek more details about why
● See past the words and the actions, find the intent
@ajsoltero

19. Lead with purpose, intent, and motivation
● Product is The Leadership Position
● Make sure things are worth doing before committing your team
● Then share the story, share the meaning, give the context
● Purpose starts with you
● Everyone should know why, what, and for whom
● Helping others feels good, let your team understand why their
work helps others so they can take joy in delivering it
@ajsoltero

20. Data-driven, data-centric, data everything
● Numbers do not lie, Data is Truth
● Anecdotal info has many confounding variables by definition
● Arguments backed up with real data are irrefutable
● Moving numbers motivates everyone
● Data goals are your proof-of-good-product
● Any product manager worth their salt knows SQL 🔥
● The value of being a data-focused product manager is a right
reserved only for those who have achieved it @ajsoltero

21. Measure everything, do not fly blind
● The basics: measure by usage data, surface-level user actions, page
views and user tracking
● But not everything is easy to measure – guerrilla methods may be
necessary
● Surveys, manual counts, ad-hoc user testing, etc. count
● Know where the product is today, the goals, and your progress
● There is no success without measuring, how would you know?
@ajsoltero

22. Run an open-book operation
● Absolutely no secrets
● Transparency cultivates trust, trust is necessary for good teams
● Write everything down: meetings, user interviews, decisions,
retrospectives, requirements, brainstormings, roadmaps, data too
● Documentation leads to accountability, from you and from others
● Anyone should be able to know what, why, and your progress
● Don’t hold it all in your head, no one can access it there and yes,
you will forget
@ajsoltero

23. Negotiate towards delivery
● Always push for commitments
● We can never get everything that we want, so find the middle
ground
● Use tactics: split projects into versions, feature flags, use beta
programs, controlled roll-outs, etc
● Product work isn’t worth anything until it’s in the hands of
users, focus on delivering your work
@ajsoltero

24. Bring the donuts, and don’t forget to share them
● Celebrating wins is important, and easy to forget (esp in Startups)
● High-performing teams are like Formula 1 race cars, they require lots
of maintenance and fine-tuning
● Individual human performance is not constant, we are not machines
● Burnout is a real thing, keep a close eye on it
● Share the successes with your team, but own failures yourself
● Pause and celebrate your wins, and reset for the next challenge
@ajsoltero

25. Commit to the craft or GTFO
● Product is hard
● Approach product as your craft – like a blacksmith or architect would
● Focus on learning new technologies, product approaches, etc
● Introspection is key, seek out your weaknesses and work on them
● Maintain your strong opinions with an open mind to new information
● Keep at it, and you will get over the product identity crisis
● Being good at product takes practice, as Greg LeMond said...
@ajsoltero

26. @ajsoltero

27. Which one is right for you?
@ajsoltero

28. Startup PM 🚀 Big
Company PM 📈
● Comfortable with lots of
uncertainty
● Can make good decisions with
limited information
● Good intuition (cannot be
taught)
● “I will figure it out” mentality
● Like short-game in golf
● Likes to play “the game” (big-
league politics)
● Is able to influence other teams
● Comfortable with large
commitments and delivering
● Is able to delegate effectively
and get results from others
● Like long-game in golf
@ajsoltero

29. Ultimately, it depends on how you learn
● Learn lessons the hard way? → Startup
● Want a path laid out for you? → Bigger company
● Travel analogy: When you go on vacation, if you...
○ Figure out your hotel when you get there → Startup
○ Have a meticulous plan created beforehand → Bigger company
@ajsoltero

30. Thank you
● Questions?
I talk about Product (and bike racing) at @ajsoltero
You can also reach out to me at alvaro.soltero@wework.com

31. www.productschool.com
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