Nick Hobbs

I recently wrote a PRD with AI and it worked out surprisingly well. Tomorrow, I'm sharing a new post with: - My personal PRD template - My AI prompt to fill in the template with real customer feedback - My favorite PRD examples and AI tools 📌 Sign up to get my PRD template, AI prompt, and examples in your inbox: https://creatoreconomy.so/

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Kyle Poyar and Lenny Rachitsky just dropped one of the most tactical "how to build products with embedded AI" guides I've seen. We have the sample size now of successful AI features to learn what separates useful from gimmicky. Really cool to see the width of advice here. Including my and Elad Gil's extremely-easy-to-apply tactic 😇 I also extremely vibe with: - Claire Vo's point about incrementalism. Sprinkling AI fairy dust around your product in small-but-cumulatively-meanignfully ways is the new tactic to make your product feel luxurious and modern. - Rahul Vohra's point about speed. We see this in our data too. Lots of user drop-off when the model is too slow to respond (which has made us loath to use slow models except for really tricky questions) - Cameron Adams's point about onboarding. ChatGPT has onboarded hundreds of millions of users to prompt engineering, but that doesn't mean they will just figure out the nuance of your AI feature. Full post here: https://lnkd.in/gkfkQubh

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I remember chatting with Steve Jobs when he would come to our office at IDEO with his most intractable design problems. He was so much more than the co-founder of Apple. He was the man who truly merged technology and design. The man who raised consumer expectations for thoughtfully made products. The man who gave users not what they asked for, but what upon seeing it, is what they wanted all along. His influence still looms large more than a dozen years after his passing. Even the staunchest critics of Apple can’t deny he helped shape the modern design and business world. We often ask: “What does it take to make the next Steve Jobs?” I interviewed dozens of designers, design scholars, entrepreneurs, and CEOs on the role of design in Silicon Valley. My research led me to identify five traits (what I call ‘Jobsian’ traits) that could shape the next great design-tech leader. If you want to be the next great leader in design-tech, this is *all* you need.

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🚀 Strategy and Profitability: Insights from Lenny’s Podcast with Ami Vora I recently listened to a fantastic episode of Lenny Rachitsky podcast with Ami, where they delved into the critical aspects of governance and profitability in product leadership. Their insights were incredibly resonant and thought-provoking, particularly for anyone navigating the complex intersection of innovation and business sustainability. Highlights: Detangling User Needs: • They emphasized the importance of understanding user needs while setting up strategic frameworks. Clear guidelines help product teams innovate without getting bogged down by bureaucracy. GMV and Surface Separation: • Ami made a compelling point about Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) and the need to separate it by surface. This approach helps product leaders see which platforms or channels are driving the most value, enabling targeted improvements and strategic investments. Building User Engagement for GMV: • Ami discussed how different user engagements contribute to GMV. By segmenting GMV per surface, companies can tailor strategies to enhance user experiences across various touchpoints, driving higher overall GMV. Profitability with Purpose: • Integrating profitability into the product development process from the start is crucial. Ami shared strategies for ensuring every product initiative drives financial success without compromising on user value. Data-Driven Decisions: • They underscored the power of data in strategic planning. Leveraging analytics allows product leaders to make informed decisions that balance short-term gains with long-term growth. Building Accountability: • A strong theme was fostering a culture of accountability. Transparency and regular reviews are key to maintaining high standards and achieving sustainable growth. Reflection: This podcast was a powerful reminder that effective strategy and profitability are not mutually exclusive. It’s about setting the right frameworks to foster innovation and ensure our products are financially viable. I highly recommend this episode to fellow product managers and leaders. It’s packed with actionable insights on balancing governance and profitability. How do you integrate governance frameworks without stifling innovation in your teams? #ProductManagement #Governance #Profitability #Innovation #Leadership #DataDriven #SustainableGrowth

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Always be asking: Do our team members have extreme clarity? Or will our stock soon be 30% off? 🗞 Following weeks of headlines about autonomous driving and executive compensation Tesla is again making news with more sweeping layoffs. Above all of these distractions I see a most pressing concern: Its astonishing how quickly Tesla went from having a crystal clear mission and strategy to having neither. For a growing number employees, investors, and customers Tesla is now adrift. S&P 500 is up 6% YTD. TSLA is down 26% YTD. This change in sentiment happened within just a couple quarters and it could happen to anyone who takes their eyes off the ball. The lesson here is to always and constantly be asking: Do our team members know the mission we are on, the strategy to achieve it, and our top priorities? Do they have extreme clarity? 🙏 Give your employees the remarkable gift of getting to YES. #strategy #execution #transformation #okrs #outcomes #outcomesobsessed #extremeclarity #collaboration #productvity

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Reader feedback for my latest post about how to use AI and my PRD template to never have to write a PRD from scratch again. Read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/eJjVXJUJ

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🎙️ I recently listened to a "fascinating 😉" podcast interview between Ami Vora and Lenny Rachitsky. Here are some key takeaways that stood out to me/I found particularly insightful: Some great metaphors: "dinosaur brain" and "hill climb". • 🧠💡 Executive communication: The "dinosaur brain" metaphor refers to the idea that executives have a limited capacity for processing information. When presenting information to executives, it's important to focus on distilling complex information into concise, actionable recommendations. This allows executives to make informed decisions without being overwhelmed by too much data. • 🏔️💪 Take risks to reach new heights: The "hill climb" metaphor refers to the idea that in order to achieve a global optimum, one must be willing to take risks and make sacrifices. It involves giving up something that is working well in the present in order to pursue a potentially better outcome in the future. It's important to remember what the summit feels like in order to push through the difficult times and keep climbing. • 💼🚀 Execution trumps strategy: Strategy provides direction and goals, but execution is what drives success. Without strong execution, even the best strategies can't succeed. • 🤝📊 "my manager owns context, I own the recommendation", highlights the complementary roles of managers and team members. Managers are responsible for providing context and guidance, while team members are responsible for making recommendations based on that context. This division of responsibilities allows for more effective decision-making and collaboration. • 🔍🤔 Embrace curiosity: When having a disagreement, embrace curiosity, and collaborate to broaden your perspective and information set. While everyone loves being right, delivering the best outcome is what truly matters. YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gUHanrPy #LeadershipInsights #EffectiveCommunication #RiskTaking #CuriosityMindset #PodcastTakeaways

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What's going to happen to NVIDIA now that they've reached 3tn market cap? For the current employees and long timers... I've read stories of mid-level engineers who reportedly earned more than $60M via stock appreciation. Imagine the numbers for the more senior folks. How will NVIDIA keep folks around who are post-economic? And for all the new folks... The value proposition is complex. The company is the most valuable (by market cap) in the world. If they are heavily compensated via RSUs, the assumption is that there is significant remaining upside to be gained. It's incredibly difficult to continue orders of magnitude stock appreciation after reaching the absolute zenith... NVIDIA is an obvious tech darling - it looks and feels like a version of Google in the mid to late 2000's - but I'm really interested to see if the immense financial success of the stock will end up driving out the core talent group (eg, the long timers who are now mega rich) while also limiting access to new upstart talent who don't see a path to outsize financial success. Curious what others think!!

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I had such a great time chatting with Lenny Rachitsky in this week's podcast! We talked about some of the lessons I've learned over my career, like getting my hands deep into execution, using storytelling and metaphors to build stronger products, and leading with curiosity so I can constantly learn from everyone (and, as a side benefit, stay focused in meetings 😀 !). So many of these tactics I've learned from the brilliant and generous people I've been surrounded by throughout my career -- thank you all! And of course, you can find more about these lessons in my "Hard Parts of Growth" series about product, leadership, and scaling, at amivora.substack.com.

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Lying to customers is not a good strategy. Focusing on building a better product is.

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Senior engineers lose money and responsibility at Meta partly because of an unwritten rule. Candidates are expected to not follow their interviewer's instructions to SUCCEED. Yes, you read that right. That blew my mind. There are other common reasons for downleveling as well. Some of these are expected but others are surprising. Kevin Landucci + Kashish Singhal, loved the simple practical takeaway for candidates. And the full episode rocked! Subscribe to ApplyPass to get more tips in your feed 🛎

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🌟 Just had an amazing chat with Elliott Poppel on Product Coffee! We chatted about his journey from starting in #productmanagement at #startup, to becoming the CEO just six months later. From hopping between startups to Facebook where he worked on a 0 to 1 product, to his latest venture, General Collaboration - a tool for busy makers. A must-listen for any #makers in #product or #entrepreneurship. 🎧☕️

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I created this Reforge guide on 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜, because I’ve actually never written a spec this way (!). Instead, while building AI products, I’ve written fragments of problem / root cause / solution, chatbot conversation examples, logic flowcharts, QA docs filled with screenshots, all while thinking there must be a better way to do this. I’ve also been asked many questions by PMs who are figuring out how to build AI features. How do you figure out what an LLM can do? Does it have to be a chatbot? What’s the same as or different from building a non-AI feature? Writing this guide helped me crystallize a few learnings: ✨ If you’ve been given a hammer and need to look for nails, go find good nails. ✨ LLMs are non-deterministic, which means you need to articulate a range of behaviors and mitigate risks. ✨ Thoughtful UX can make all the difference in whether your users get value out of AI. This guide represents how I’d like to approach my next AI feature. I hope you’ll find it useful. Many thanks to Wendy Lei Akshita Ganesh Mahesh Ram John Beckmann Madison Holbrook Helen Lee Kupp for their invaluable input! https://lnkd.in/gim6fHdd

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Figma is worth watching as a case study on the evolution of software business models with embedded AI. The company announced last week that they’re “gonna eat the cost for 2024, because we don't know how people are going to use the features yet … we don't know how many of you will care, we don't know how good they get”. This will be fascinating from both a revenue and COGS perspective and again raises the question of usage based or hybrid models in the future. Lots to learn here. #ai #software https://lnkd.in/eM7hVZWU

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Some context from the #Founder perspective. As liberal as Seattle is as a city with policy and politics, it's incredibly conservative from an investment standpoint. One of the reasons you may not hear big "home-run" type pitches or pitches with sizzle, is simply because investors in Seattle don't like those types of pitches and Founders have been ingrained to not present in that manner. They may say they do, but ask any Founder and they'll tell you how they have been told to size down their pitch or talk about MVPs, first customer, first revenue, etc. or how what matters more is what you can do first couple years rather than the home run. Those early metrics are important by the way, but different from the big home run. Do you know who is receptive to homerun pitches? Investors in the Bay, NYC, Miami, Hong Kong. Seattle is not great for early-stage Founders with many prioritizing raising outside the city. We will be raising capital in the fall and as of now, have no plans of reaching out to Seattle-based VCs. I should also add that our company has a blockchain component and sadly Seattle VCs have not embraced crypto or blockchain. Welcome to #Seattle, Kyle Lui! Hopefully, you can help change the narrative! GeekWire

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There’s central thread of strategy, product, and mission/vision to everything Elon Musk does. Tesla started with an engineering-focused mission: "Let's build a cool electric car!" Under Musk, that focus shifted to "Let's change the world. These are the choices we're going to make through electric vehicles to contribute to that vision." And I think he's continued that approach with everything – payments, space travel, solar panels, brain implants, etc.. It's one thing to have success in one area through luck. It's another thing entirely to lead with a strategy and product focus, as Elon Musk has to understand how the right mindsets & underlying principles can be applied to win consistently across multiple areas.

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After 10+ years working with early-stage startups it’s fair to say I’ve seen I’ve seen some things (& some things I will never unsee), learned some things, earned some stripes, some scars, and some measure of expertise (one hopes) helping more than a dozen startups find product-market fit. While I’ve enjoyed year-long runways at well-funded startups that were eventually acquired, or went public, or very publicly imploded—what really taught me the real meaning of Lean startup was working with self-funded founders who had ten compelling concepts but resources to build one. When you don’t have a year to be wrong; you learn to get it right very fast. If you are a founder facing your own set of high stakes decisions & tradeoffs; we can help. For free. You can book a 1 hour chat with us to talk through all the things racing through your head. We know what’s involved in getting something tested, validated, and built; this is what we do every day all day. We might not have all the answers but there is a good chance we can give you some clarity, some calm, some options. Call us at 1.844.4FLAGRANT or DM me. And if you want to get a sense of what we are like as hoomans- check out our Delightful Reveal series. It’s all the things we have been reading, watching, listening to, & enjoying. https://lnkd.in/gfrz9tQS #startups #entrepreneurship #socialentrepreneurs #innovation

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Writing LinkedIn posts is not exactly my strength, but I’m going to get through this without GenAI! TL;DR - We have lots of job openings. Fullstack, iOS, Android, data, and machine learning soon. You can see all of them here: https://lnkd.in/eZsGv48Q My colleague Keith Regier started the site here about five years ago, and we’ve grown steadily and thoughtfully since, focussing on maintaining a great culture. Our engineers are a fun and exceptional bunch of people, working on difficult challenges, but ones with great rewards too. More recently, we’ve started to accelerate our growth, and my team is going to double in size by the end of the year (that’s where you come in). Ideally you’ll love a mix of product and platform work, and enjoy seeing your work in our apps. While we are growing quickly, you can still join and make a real impact. The roles are among the best engineering opportunities you’ll find in Ireland. My teams build things like: - In-app “experiences” like educating users about new features, and a lot more. - Data pipelines and ML models to figure out how to reach the right user at the right time - we only ever want to maximise engagement. Looking for machine learning engineers (coming soon). - Surveys to understand our users better and help them find what inspires them. - Pinterest’s Localization platform, infrastructure and tooling. It makes Pinterest available in 40+ languages, mixing human, machine, and GenAI translation. If that sounds interesting then check out the roles, and hopefully we’ll chat soon. My colleagues are looking for people in the data engineering domain, so check those out too. Fullstack (experiences) https://lnkd.in/e4VjyScB Fullstack (surveys) https://lnkd.in/eGMevn_D Android: https://lnkd.in/e6ZPBVnG iOS: https://lnkd.in/ebxTMU8H

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Marques Brownlee -aka MKBHD's 41-second review and the fall of a $230M AI startup. It took less than a minute for MKBHD to share his skepticism about the Humane AI Pin, a new entry in the wearable tech market with a price tag of $700 and a $24 monthly subscription. Towards his review, he couldn't find any added value to the product. The aftermath is rapid: - Social media bad buzz - Absolutely not recommended for purchase Conclusion: 1/ The hype of startups 🦄: Especially in tech, they operate under immense pressure. With investors pouring millions into what they hope will be the next big thing, the stakes are incredibly high. 2/ The creator economy and its influence 🤳🏽: This is a prime example of the creator economy’s impact on traditional business models, especially in technology. Influencers and content creators like MKBHD have an enormous power. Their opinions can validate or condemn products overnight, influencing not only consumer behavior but also investor confidence and market dynamics. 🫸🏽 Don't build before you talk to people. Attached is the video of Humane gravestone 🪦.

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