The Parts Of Product Work I Love (And The Ones I Don’t)
- Harshal
- Jun 29
- 3 min read
One Step In Navigating Path To Product Leadership
Some days at my job feel great. Other days, it’s the opposite. That’s normal in any role. But product management brings a unique mix of emotions—excitement, frustration, recognition, and blame. Product Managers feel both powerful and powerless.
In this post, I share how I’m navigating my career with intention. I hope this helps others considering startup product roles.
I spent 40 minutes writing this. You need 2 minutes to read this.
Related:
My North Star: Becoming A Product Leader
I’ve always been drawn to building things and using technology to help people succeed. Using jargon, that means I want to become a B2B product leader in a tech company.
I’m drawn to entrepreneurship. I’ve run a company before — Spark Creative Technologies — which offered both services and products, though most of the revenue came from services. That experience, along with earlier PM roles, left me wanting more.
I want to lead a product company.
To do that, I need to understand how early-stage startups operate. I want to see how they build, launch, and monetize products—up close and in real time.
What I Love Doing As A PM
These are the parts of product management that energize me:
Talking to customers through user research (UXR) and conversations
Analyzing qualitative insights or data
Writing to bring clarity
These activities help me find flow and make an impact. As I improve at them, I become a stronger product leader. There’s alignment between the skills I enjoy and the outcomes I value.
Contrast this with journalism, as discussed in this PBS article on clickbait reporting. Journalists may master storytelling and engagement, but the pressure to chase clicks often conflicts with depth and integrity. In contrast, good product work creates both business impact and user value.
What I Struggle With (And How I Cope)
I struggle when decision-making expectations are unclear, especially when strong opinions from senior leaders (HIPPOs) override research and user needs. My mitigation is to use the RACI framework to align colleagues, apart from persuasion and influence tactics.
I also struggle to maintain deep focus when reactive tasks disrupt my flow. But staying responsive is part of a Product Manager’s job. My mitigation is to block deep work time and check in with collaborators before and after those focus time blocks.
Why I Joined an AI Startup
I currently work at FlexAI, an early-stage startup focused on AI infrastructure. Looking back at my original blog post and premortem, I joined this startup to:
Experience early-stage execution
Build my go-to-market instincts
Shift from using AI tools to building AI products
What I am Actively learning
Sales and Go-To-Market (GTM)
This is my biggest learning area. I am learning how startups generate revenue—how they sell, price, and position products. I work closely with GTM teams for hands-on experience.
There are many ways to grow. It’s not just about product–market fit (PMF); it’s also about product–go-to-market fit (P–GTM–F).
For example:
A freemium product needs different features, pricing, and positioning, whereas,
A sales-led, enterprise product has different requirements from day one
Each choice shapes what you build and how you sell.
AI Product Development
I am shifting from using AI tools to building AI products. I am also deepening my technical understanding of generative AI.
The AI space has evolved rapidly in the last two years. Many breakthroughs come from open-source communities and independent builders. That’s inspiring—because the nuts and bolts are visible—but also challenging for startups trying to monetize in the same space.
Startup Operating Model
I’m learning how early-stage teams make decisions amid uncertainty. I observe how product, engineering, and leadership collaborate to move fast.
I get excited when a small team aligns, closes a deal, and ships a solution—sometimes within days. That’s the kind of momentum I want to build and be part of.
Reflections
What are you trying to learn in your current role?
What gives you energy?
If you're in—or considering—a PM role at a startup, I hope this gives you something to reflect on.
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