Summary: When do you need to bring product management and product marketing into a new start-up? According to April Dunford, understanding customers and building products to meet the needs of the market are key from the very beginning of a company’s existence. These skills are as important for entrepreneurs as getting funding and knowing how to sell. In this episode, Michael and April discuss product marketing topics for start-ups, including: how to take products to market from the beginning (when you have no products and do not understand the market); the role of product management in a startup; what go-to-market strategies are necessary to grow revenue and take your product into the broader market. April talks about the three phases of a start-up (from a product marketer’s perspective): You have an idea — You need to understand the market before you write any code. You are starting a dialog with the market about the problem. You have ‘some code’ and a few early adopters – test solutions and find out how to scale. You are fine-tuning what you will need to scale the business. You have a product people love – it’s time to scale the business. You now need to maximize the money you are pouring into the company. April and Michael conclude the podcast with a discussion on the effects of social media on product marketing and product management. April shares insight relevant to start-ups and big businesses alike. You can read more about product marketing and contact April on her blog at Rocket Watcher.
