Field Notes
Practical writing for product leaders and boutique advisors – on deciding what to build, answering the hard questions, and running a sharper practice.
When Editorial Started Hiring Its Own Agencies, That Was Product's Real Status Report
When your internal customers start building around you, product has already lost the room. AI is making that easier, and harder to see.
We Tripled Output and Stopped Working Weekends in the Same 90 Days
AI startups are bringing back the 72-hour week. At CoinDesk, the fix that tripled output also ended weekend work. The research agrees.
Software Teams Don't Have a Gate. I Spent Two Days With People Who Do.
At a summit built for physical products, I saw what most software teams lack: a point where a bad project can actually be stopped.
The Most Common Root Cause in a Stuck Product Team Is Someone Avoiding a Conversation
When a product team is stuck and the systems cause won't show itself, look for the conversation someone has been avoiding. It's usually there.
If Your Best Customer and Your Worst Prospect Give the Same Answer, the Question Tested Nothing
A validation question earns its place only if your best customer and your worst-fit prospect would answer it differently. Most don't.
31% of Expert-Network Experts Say They've Taken Calls They Weren't Qualified For
A survey of 1,368 network experts found 31% took calls they weren't qualified for. If your name is on the recommendation, the call isn't the evidence.
Every Language We Launched Grew 70–120% a Week. The Demand Was Visible Before We Built Anything.
The best market validation is often demand you can already see in what people do. Here's how we found it at CoinDesk before building anything.
Five Months Late, They Expanded the Offshore Team to 60 Engineers. It Got Later.
A late team kept adding people and kept getting slower. Brooks's law explains part of it. What it leaves out is what late teams actually lack.
The Best Product Validation I Ever Got Was a $6.5 Million Quote
A client could afford a $6.5 million training quote and still refused it. That refusal was the best product validation I've ever had.