This is the first post on ‘Product vision’ under the Product Leadership series.
Product Leaders & PMs write product vision statements for a variety of reasons – to inspire teams, to provide a sense of direction, and to ease decision-making at all levels.
But what does a product vision mean for a very early-stage startup? The market opportunity is still a hypothesis, there aren’t large teams where you need to document & communicate and there isn’t a complex decision-making mechanism either.
In this scenario, the important impacts of a good product vision are to attract the right talent and to raise capital.
Let us take an example of a startup that I am helping with.
The Idea: Platform for political fans
When the founders started working on the idea of building a platform, they realized the importance of having a strong vision for the company and the product. They questioned themselves why they are building this product (beyond the obvious reason of becoming successful). They transformed the answer to the following vision statements.
Company Vision: An empowered society with transparent and accountable governance.
Product Vision: Digitization of Indian Political ecosystem
The vision attracted individuals who had a strong interest in politics and who believed in empowering citizens. As a result, the startup was able to close 10 positions (5 of them in engineering!) in a span of 2 months without having to splurge money.
That’s the power of creating and articulating a strong vision.
