Product Management in a startup vs a mature organization with Nicholas Hinrichsen & Chris Coleman, former Directors of Product at Carvana and Co-Founders of WithClutch
On today's episode, I sat down with Nicholas Hinrichsen & Chris Coleman, former Directors of Product at Carvana and Co-Founders of WithClutch.
Here's what we discussed:
- Who the product manager is in a startup versus a mature company
- What differs in product priority at these different stages
- How communication goes from informal to more formal the more your company matures
- Why innovation seems to slow down as companies grow
- One of the reasons breaking into product management is so difficult
- When product managers are the mini-CEO and when they're not
- The mindset shift when going from a PM in a startup to a mature organization and vice versa
- A very interesting interview question to find where you best fit as an aspiring product manager
- Why you have to know what company and industry you're in before you try to "move fast and break things"
- How to take on risk without risking the brand of an established organization
- Why there's always risk, but defining it helps you make better decisions on what level of risk you're willing to take on
- How to balance shipping fast and risking embarrassment in an established product or org
- Why in Blue Ocean markets, value trumps design but why things change in competitive markets
- And what is true about product management, regardless whether you work in a startup or an established org