Do you know that over 90% of startups fail, and a good portion of failures stem from poor product-market match? Many firms make investments closely in constructing merchandise with out validating demand, resulting in wasted assets and misplaced alternatives. For product managers engaged on zero-to-one (0→1) merchandise, the problem is navigating uncertainty, working experiments, and proving {that a} new thought has market potential, fairly than simply transport options.
In a current Productside Tales podcast, Scott Jones, VP of Product at Realeyes, shared invaluable insights from his profession in advert tech, martech, IoT, and AI. He’s led a number of zero-to-one initiatives, serving to firms validate new alternatives, align enterprise and product objectives, and scale from early concepts to market success.
On this put up, we’ll discover:
- How Scott transitioned into product administration
- The position of experimentation and validation in zero-to-one merchandise
- Why storytelling and cross-functional alignment are key to product success
- The mindset wanted to thrive in ambiguous environments
For those who’re a product supervisor trying to break into zero-to-one product growth or refine your strategy to early-stage merchandise, this put up gives you actionable takeaways.
Scott’s Journey: From Analyst to Product Chief
Scott didn’t begin his profession in product administration. With a background in economics and movie, he started as a information analyst, engaged on search engine advertising and marketing for a serious web Yellow Pages firm.
Sooner or later, management anointed him a product supervisor, trusting him to personal a $150M advert product with 55,000 small enterprise prospects.
With no formal product coaching, he needed to rapidly discover ways to:
- Optimize a efficiency promoting mannequin
- Work cross-functionally with information science, engineering, and gross sales
- Translate enterprise objectives into scalable product methods
Key Lesson: Many nice product managers don’t begin in PM roles—they show themselves by fixing actual enterprise issues.
Not like conventional product administration, zero-to-one (0→1) work entails creating one thing from nothing. It requires a singular mix of entrepreneurship, experimentation, and resilience.
Scott describes his strategy as “founder mode”—although he’s not a startup founder, his position calls for the identical expertise:
- Discovering product-market match by partaking deeply with prospects
- Securing inside buy-in and rallying assets with out formal authority
- Balancing long-term imaginative and prescient with short-term execution
“I’m residing an echo of the founder movement—sporting a number of hats, listening to prospects, and determining tips on how to make issues work with restricted assets.”
For a lot of PMs, this stage of ambiguity may be overwhelming. However Scott thrives in it, continually validating assumptions and iterating on insights.
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The Confidence Meter: When Do You Know You’re on the Proper Monitor?
Scott follows a progressive validation strategy, growing confidence step-by-step earlier than absolutely committing to a product course.
1. Preliminary Sign Gathering (Confidence Degree: 10-30%)
- Conduct exploratory buyer interviews
- Establish ache factors and present workarounds
- Assess market dimension and demand
Instance: Scott’s workforce at Realeyes found early that manufacturers needed higher insights into advert efficiency, however the actual ache level was advert fraud—an perception that led to a strategic pivot.
2. Prototype & Early Experiments (Confidence Degree: 30-60%)
- Develop low-fidelity wireframes or mockups
- Check preliminary worth propositions
- Conduct usability checks and suggestions loops
Instance: As a substitute of constructing a full-fledged AI-powered verification software, Scott’s workforce began with a light-weight prototype that measured human consideration through webcams.
3. Pilot & Mushy Launch (Confidence Degree: 60-80%)
- Construct a minimal viable product (MVP)
- Run small-scale beta checks
- Collect real-world efficiency information
Instance: Realeyes gained an RFI with a serious enterprise buyer, proving demand for his or her AI-powered identification verification product—earlier than investing closely in full growth.
4. Full Rollout (Confidence Degree: 80-100%)
- Safe long-term buyer commitments
- Scale operations and refine pricing fashions
- Optimize go-to-market technique
Scott’s Recommendation: “You’ll by no means have 100% certainty—give attention to minimizing danger at every step.”
Storytelling as a Superpower in Product Administration
Certainly one of Scott’s greatest strengths is storytelling—a ability he honed from his movie background.
In product administration, storytelling is crucial for:
- Promoting concepts internally to management and engineering groups
- Crafting compelling worth propositions for patrons
- Rallying groups round a shared imaginative and prescient
Scott compares product administration to orchestrating a movie manufacturing:
“You don’t must be the one holding the digicam—you simply have to articulate the imaginative and prescient so others can execute successfully.”
PMs who can inform a compelling story about why a product issues will discover it simpler to realize buy-in and drive momentum.
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Zero-to-One Roles
Even skilled product leaders face imposter syndrome—particularly when engaged on uncharted territory.
Scott admits he struggled with it when first employed into his present VP position, however he leaned into deliberate studying:
- Embracing discomfort as a progress sign
- Asking robust questions to get readability
- Surrounding himself with advisors and consultants
Key Lesson: “Use concern as your information—if one thing scares you, that’s the place you must lean in and develop.”
How Product Managers Can Get Higher at Zero-to-One Work
Scott’s recommendation for PMs who need to concentrate on early-stage product growth:
1. Play Round with New Instruments & Concepts
- Experiment with AI, no-code, and rising tech
- Construct facet initiatives to check concepts in the true world
- Keep inquisitive about new market alternatives
2. Community & Cross-Pollinate Concepts
- Have conversations outdoors your fast workforce
- Join with gross sales, advertising and marketing, and buyer assist
- Find out how completely different enterprise capabilities function
3. Develop a Robust POV on Product Technique
- Don’t wait to be assigned work—proactively pitch concepts
- Learn to outline and measure success metrics
- Turn into comfy with uncertainty and iteration
Closing Thought: Nice zero-to-one PMs don’t simply execute—they problem assumptions, experiment boldly, and craft compelling tales.
Key Takeaways from Scott Jones
- Zero-to-one PMs have to embrace uncertainty and experimentation.
- Confidence grows by means of progressive validation—not immediate certainty.
- Storytelling is a strong software for gaining buy-in and driving affect.
- Imposter syndrome is regular—use it as a sign for progress.
Mastering Zero-to-One Product Administration Begins Right here
Zero-to-one product growth is about constructing your individual, step-by-step. By embracing experimentation, progressive validation, and storytelling, you may flip ambiguity into alternative and produce groundbreaking merchandise to life.
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February 12, 2025
