Many great products fail—not because the idea was bad, but because the execution was flawed. Often, this happens when there’s no clear Product Manager role guiding the team.

Entrepreneurs often underestimate the importance of the Product Manager (PM) role or don’t fully understand what it involves. Yet, the PM is the backbone of any successful product. They ensure the product meets both business goals and customer needs.

In the early stages, many founders naturally step into the PM role. But without a clear understanding of its responsibilities, this can create gaps that harm the product and productivity of the team. If you don’t have a dedicated PM, it’s essential to learn the basics of this role—it can make or break your product.

Before diving into the PM role, make sure you’re familiar with the Product Development Lifecycle. It will help you understand how all the pieces come together.

The simplest way to understand the Product Development Lifecycle

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As a Product Manager, you are at the center of the Market, Business, and Technology.

As an entrepreneur, you may already excel in handling market and business needs. However, product and tech skills are where many entrepreneurs fall short. Without proper Product Management—or a clear understanding of what the role entails—the product suffers, and the team becomes unproductive.

Simple Breakdown of the PM Role

A Product Manager’s job boils down to answering one critical question: What needs to be built, and why?

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Talking to Customers: Gather feedback to understand their pain points and needs.
• Conducting Market Research: Analyze competitors and market trends to keep your product competitive.
• Defining Priorities: Decide what features to build first and create a clear roadmap for your team.
• Bridging the Gap: Translate business goals and customer insights into tasks for designers and engineers.
• Organizing Resources: Document everything and use PM tools to keep the team aligned.

Execution Pillars: Product, Method and Tools

1. Product

Here are some of the key tasks a Product Manager should handle:

• Collaborate on the Business Model: Ensure the product aligns with the business strategy.
• Data Analytics (Metrics & KPIs): Monitor data, define the North Star Metric (the single most important measure of success), and turn data into actionable insights.
• Customer Interviews & Product Discovery: Conduct interviews and gather feedback to identify customer pain points and needs.
• Market & Competitor Analysis: Analyze trends and competitors to ensure the product stays relevant.
• Define What Needs to Be Done: Prioritize tasks and define a clear roadmap for the team.
• Communicate the Vision and Mission: Ensure the team understands and aligns with the product vision and the company mission.

Taking on the role of Product Manager is both challenging and rewarding. With the right understanding, you can effectively guide your product and team toward success.

2. Method

Great products aren’t built in a day, and the right methodology ensures smooth execution.

• Learn the Basics of Agile and Scrum: These methodologies break the work into manageable sprints, fostering collaboration and iteration.
• Prioritize Iteration Over Perfection: Focus on delivering a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) quickly, then refine based on feedback.
• Document Everything: Keep a clear record of decisions, tasks, and resources to ensure the team stays aligned.

You don’t need to become an expert in these methods, but understanding the basics will make it easier to engage with your team and guide the process effectively.

At MVP Masters, we use Shape Up. A framework for lean product management developed by Basecamp, a software company that makes a project management software.

3. Tools

As a Product Manager, you need to be familiar with tools that streamline every stage of product development.

There’s a tool for everything and you have to be familiar with those:

• Team Communication: Slack, Discord
• Product Management: Linear, Trello, Google Drive
• Software Shipping and Marketing: Product Hunt, Mailchimp, HubSpot (for email campaigns)
• Sales: Pipedrive, HubSpot
• Data Monitoring: Google Analytics, Mixpanel
• Customer Support: Intercom, Zoho (for tickets and knowledge base management)

Get the full tool list we use at MVP Masters, categorized according to the Product Development Lifecycle.

If you’re an entrepreneur planning to build a product, don’t start without understanding the Product Manager role—or hiring one for your team. It’s a key role that directly impacts your product’s success.

For a deeper dive, I recommend reading two articles  by Pawel Huryn: What is Product Management and The PM Competence Map, which outline the essential skills and knowledge required for effective product management.

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