Who This Helps
This is for Product Managers who feel stuck in endless meetings debating features. You know the drill: "Will users like this?" "Should we build that?" It’s all guesswork. The Founder Finance Basics Mission Pack gives you a framework to replace those questions with clear, measurable choices. You’ll move from talking to doing.
Mini Case
Your team is debating whether to add a new onboarding tutorial. The engineering lead thinks it’s a 3-week project. The designer wants more user research first. Sound familiar? Instead, you frame it as a test: "Let's track if a simplified 5-step tutorial for 100 new users increases their 'first action' completion rate from 40% to 60% in 7 days." Now you're not arguing about opinions; you're deciding on a measurable experiment.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Find the hidden question. Listen in your next meeting. What's the real worry? Is it "Will this work?" or "Is this worth our time?"
- Attach a number to it. Turn "work" into a specific metric. Turn "worth it" into a target (e.g., reduce support tickets by 15%).
- Frame the decision. Present it as: "To answer if [Feature X] is valuable, we propose measuring [Metric Y] moving from [Current State] to [Target] over [Timeframe]."
- Define the smallest test. What's the fastest, cheapest way to get that signal? A prototype? A fake door test? A simple A/B test for 50 users? Keep it lean.
- Get the green light. Present this framed decision to your stakeholder. You're not asking for a big commitment, just permission to learn.
Avoid These Traps
- The Perfection Trap: Don't wait for perfect data. A directional signal from a small test is better than no data from a big, unmade plan.
- The Jargon Trap: Stakeholders don't care about your 'p-values' or 'confidence intervals.' Talk in business outcomes: revenue, retention, satisfaction.
- The Solo Trap: Don't analyze in a cave. Share your framing early with one trusted teammate to pressure-test it before the big meeting.
- The Feature Factory Trap: You're not just shipping features. You're running experiments to learn what drives value. Remind your team of this mission.
- The Vanity Metric Trap: Measuring 'page views' on a new feature feels good but doesn't tell you if it's useful. Always link your metric to a core user action or business goal.
- The Silent Nod Trap: If everyone agrees too quickly, they probably didn't understand. Ask someone to repeat the decision back in their own words. It’s a simple trick that saves weeks.
- The Infinite Scope Trap: A test to "improve user engagement" is doomed. A test to "increase weekly active users from cohort A by 10%" is clear and bounded.
- The Post-Launch Amnesia Trap: The decision isn't over when you launch. Schedule the review meeting *now* to look at the results and decide: double down, iterate, or kill it.
Your Win by Friday
Pick one product question floating around this week. Maybe it's about a button color, a pricing tier, or a new notification. Your mission: before Friday, reframe it into one measurable decision statement. Write it down. Share it with one person. That’s it. You’ve just turned a vague debate into a path forward. Feels lighter already, doesn’t it?