Unlocking Startup Success: The Key Role of a VP of Product with David Sacks Craft Ventures

Name: Unlocking Startup Success: The Key Role of a VP of Product with David Sacks Craft Ventures
Uploaded: 2023-10-26T14:15:03+00:00
Duration: 25 s
Channel: Jason M. Lemkin
Description: In this segment, the speaker explains that at the Series A stage, founders typically manage product directly, but as the company grows the founder‑CEO…

26 Oct 2023 · 0 min

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In this segment, the speaker explains that at the Series A stage, founders typically manage product directly, but as the company grows the founder‑CEO becomes overloaded and must bring in a VP of Product. The crucial criteria for this hire are: (1) a shared product instinct with the founder, ensuring alignment on vision and decision‑making, and (2) strong project‑management skills to keep product initiatives on schedule, essentially acting as the conductor that keeps the “trains” running on time.

Before, even at the Series A stage, the founder CEO is probably running product in a very hands-on way. Now it's a little different. Now they've got too much to do. They're going to need a VP of product. And the most important thing about this head of product is that they see eye to eye with the founder. They have the same product instincts as the founder. And they also have to be good at project management because a lot of what a VP of product does is just make the trains run on time.