Main takeaways: - Similarities between a PM and a Founder - Key questions to answer before starting a company - The first document needed to start a venture

1. Is a PM Equipped to Become a
Founder by Zalando Head of
Product
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6. Is a PM equipped to be a Tech Founder?
- Ravi Shankar Mishra
1

7. Let’s start with an introduction
● Started my 1st venture at the age of 26
● Built 20-member team for the 2nd
venture; exited after 4 years
● Built world’s most engaged healthcare
content web & app in 2016
● Learn Product Management at
Amazon as a Senior PM in 2012
● Took 300+ interviews at Amazon
● Currently lead a team of Principal
and Senior PMs
Entrepreneur (Founder) Product Manager (PM)
2

8. Journey of a Founder
● Should I build a website or a mobile
app?
● Should I quit my job to start a
company?
● How shall I raise funds for my
company?
● Who is the target customer (who will
pay) for my startup idea?
● What is the customer problem that I
want to solve?
● How do I know that the customer
has this problem?
Common Questions Not So Common Questions
3

9. Journey of a PM
● I have a great feature idea, shall I
launch this product?
● How many engineers will I need to
develop the product?
● What should be the Go-to-market plan
for this product?
● Who is the target customer for my
product idea?
● What is the customer problem that I
want to solve?
● How do I know that the customer
has this problem?
Common Questions Not So Common Questions
4

10. Similarity between a PM and a Tech Founder
● Focus on the target customers and their problems
● Validation of the problem before building the solution
● Solving real customer problems using technology for scale-up
5

11. Recommended Pitch Deck for a Founder: PR/FAQ
● Writing Press Release + Frequently Asked Questions (PR/FAQ) for your startup idea
● Clear definition of the target customers, their problems, solutions, and impact
● Higher chance of success of the start-up idea / tech product
● Drives other aspects of the startup flywheel like getting co-founders, investors, etc
6

12. Example of Press Release as a Founder
7

13. Example of Press Release as a PM
8

14. “Good intentions never work, you need good
mechanisms to make anything happen.”
- Jeff Bezos
9

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