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Hey,

I'm thrilled to welcome you to the intro issue of our newsletter series, where we'll journey through the ins and outs of building a product from scratch.

Whether you're a founder, engineer, aspiring or experienced PM, or just someone curious, this is for you.

Situation. What’s happening?

A few weeks ago, I surveyed the community on X. The goal was to understand how many people have launched a product from A to Z.

The answers I got ranged from launching products, podcasts, courses and workshops.

Anything can be considered a product.

While working on my book, I was thinking about my product journey. How did I start? What was the spark at the origin of my career? When did I learn the most?

From Consultant to Product Maker

Years ago, I faced a critical decision: remain a consultant or venture into the world of startups. That's when I plunged into a "lean startup weekend" that changed everything.

The lesson?

If you can't find and talk to your potential users, how can you expect to sell to them? This event kicked off my journey into the world of product development.

The Challenge

As we continue evolving our product management approaches, getting lost in the jargon and templates is easy.

But at the end of the day, do we talk the walk and walk the talk?

The core aspects of product building have not changed: understanding your audience, identifying a problem, and solving it effectively.

Sometimes, unfortunately, we romanticise the process. We fall in love with what we are doing and forget that what matters is that we deliver.

We will not know if it works until we have launched it. Until we have seen it in the ends of the customer.

You can read more about my reflection and the origin of this series by following this link:

Going back to basics

What's coming next?

Over the next few weeks, I'll guide you through articles under "Building a Product from A to Z."

• Week 1: Starting something: Who is it for? Why doing it?
• Week 2: Define the Problem
• Week 3: Research and Exploration ...and many more to follow!

Each instalment will tackle different stages of product development, from defining the problem to launching, measuring, prototyping and beyond.

Your Task for This Week

1. Read: Harness the Power of Self-Awareness​
2. Reflect: Why do you want to build something?
3. Act: Write a commitment contract outlining what you aim to achieve in your product journey.

There's so much more I'm eager to share with you. Stick around; you won't want to miss what's coming!

Want a quest topic covered? Reply and let me know what challenges you’re facing that you’d like to see transformed into a future quest.

Stay tuned.

Phil