Did Silicon Valley Kill Product Management?

Silicon Valley has long been heralded as the birthplace of technological innovation, a breeding ground for startups that transform the way we live, work, and communicate. However, as the Valley has grown in influence and size, the traditional discipline of Product Management has declined, replaced by a culture that venerates the technical CTO and the hacker founder.

The Rise of the Technical Founder

The narrative of the modern entrepreneur has shifted dramatically over the past few decades. In the early days of tech, startup founders were often technical geniuses, coders and engineers who built products from the ground up. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs became icons of this movement, representing the ideal blend of technical prowess and entrepreneurial spirit.

Fast forward to the 2000s, and this archetype became even more pronounced. The explosion of hackathons, coding bootcamps, and startup accelerators encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to learn to code. The message was clear: if you could build a product yourself, you could launch a company at minimal cost. With free internet, subsidized software, and hosting services from AWS and Microsoft, the barriers to entry for tech startups were lower than ever before.

The explosion of hackathons, coding bootcamps, and startup accelerators encouraged aspiring entrepreneurs to learn to code.

Technical founders began to dominate the startup landscape, raising millions of dollars from investors and achieving public success. Companies like Facebook, Dropbox, and Stripe were built by engineers who lived and breathed code. They became the new icons of Silicon Valley, and the emphasis on technical expertise grew stronger.

The Decline of Product Management

In this new world, Product Management, a discipline focused on understanding customer needs, defining product vision, and aligning cross functional teams, began to lose its luster. Investors were more interested in funding technical innovation than in process driven roles associated with Product. After all, technology offers massive growth potential and scalable solutions, while Product was often seen as bureaucratic and slow.

Another reason Product declined is because it is hard. Documenting use cases, user journeys, tracking and managing thousands of requirements and change requests, validating user requests and market demand, and justifying the economics all take a lot of work. Even when done well, it often simply overwhelms the engineering department. The complexity and effort required for effective Product Management have made it less attractive compared to the immediate excitement of launching an MVP and iterating.

Documenting use cases, user journeys, tracking and managing thousands of requirements and change requests, validating user requests and market demand is a lot of work

Entrepreneurs were encouraged to be Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in their technology rather than in their market. The result? Many product roles today are filled by former engineers and frustrated coders who view Product as a stepping stone back into technical leadership. Instead of driving customer centric solutions, they often end up managing Jira boards and doing glorified project management.

Meanwhile, Product Management as a strategic discipline became subordinate to Technology. The Chief Product Officer (CPO) or VP of Product often reports to the CTO, reinforcing the notion that technology leads, and Product follows.

Read more: CPO or CTO – Which Should Come First?

The Problem with Tech First Thinking

This tech first approach has undoubtedly led to incredible innovation. But it has also created a blind spot. Many companies are launching cool technology without considering whether it solves a real problem for their customers. The focus on technical achievement can overshadow the importance of delivering a complete solution.

This tech first approach has undoubtedly led to incredible innovation.

Take Tesla, for example. While much of the praise for Tesla's success goes to its technological innovations, autonomous driving, over the air updates, and battery advancements, its business model innovations are equally important. Tesla disrupted the traditional car dealership model, focusing on direct to consumer sales and building a robust charging infrastructure. These are product decisions as much as they are technical ones.

Similarly, companies like Uber and Airbnb succeeded not because of cutting edge technology but because they solved real world problems in user friendly ways. They understood their customers' pain points and built products that addressed those needs.

The Pendulum Must Swing Back

The pendulum has swung too far toward a tech first mentality. While it is crucial to maintain the technical gains we have made, it is time to bring Product back into the spotlight. We need to prioritize understanding customer needs, defining clear product strategies, and building solutions that people actually want.

True Product Management is about more than just managing features and backlogs. It is about identifying market opportunities, validating ideas, and ensuring that the entire organization is aligned around delivering value to customers. It is about being the voice of the customer in a room full of engineers and ensuring that technology serves a purpose beyond the cool factor.

A Call for a Product Comeback

We are at an inflection point. As the startup ecosystem matures and the hype around pure technological innovation begins to temper, companies must shift their focus back to Product. This does not mean abandoning technology, far from it. Instead, it means adopting a Product First mindset where technical innovation is driven by customer needs and market insights.

AI offers us a unique opportunity to address some of the legacy challenges with Product Management. Generative AI can make the process less cumbersome by helping amplify requirements, solicit feedback, and translate and summarize requests and updates for relevant stakeholders. By leveraging AI, companies can reduce the administrative burden on Product teams and ensure that the focus remains on delivering value to customers.

The next wave of successful companies will be those that find the right balance between Technology and Product. They will understand that people do not buy technology; they buy solutions. They will invest in true Product Management, not as a glorified project management role but as a critical function that drives business success.

It is time to rethink the way we build companies. Let us bring Product back to the forefront and create solutions that truly resonate with customers. The era of the Product Comeback has begun.