Thanks for raising this Courtney - I completely agree. Unfortunately, I didn't commission this artwork myself and had to use the most diverse avatars I could find. Will keep this in mind for future posts here.
Good call, Courtney. This is a prime example of institutional racism and I’m glad you pointed it out. When the day comes for you to write a post as insightful as this, I know I can count on you to make sure everyone is represented; don’t forget people with disabilities!
Thanks for this Paul, you're right. The spirit of this post is to be inclusive of the various people and experiences who create products. I mentioned above but perhaps in the future, I'll commission my own artwork to be more inclusive. Do you have any suggestions of good folks to work with?
Sorry Will, I was actually being a bit of a troll here. I felt it was an unnecessary social justice warrior moment. Feel free to delete my comment.
I think you did a great job on this post. The artwork is tough. If you’re like me, you’re not a good drawer and also don’t want to pay for simple icons in your post.
Even if you’re a bad drawer, you could get away with it. Ben Thompson has a great tech blog at stratechery.com. Most of his art looks done in MS Paint. It’s low effort and works.
Ah! I feel Courtney's point is valid but appreciate you being sympathetic to the challenges of artwork (I'm an awful artist). I normally just use Keynote to do diagrams when needed.
Yup, Ben and folks like Tim Urban have made me appreciate the simple, MS Paint style artwork. It just needs to get across the concept -- nothing too fancy!
Definitely. It’s hard to find art out there that matches the content of your post and is stylistically congruent with each other. Adding on the diversity requirement is tough to accommodate too given you didn’t draw these. I don’t think you did anything wrong.
Its good to be sensitive and I think if Courtney were to comment back, we’d agree this is nitpicked advice on what is otherwise a well written piece. I’ll end my rant on this topic here.
Thanks for reminding me that Tim exists. He is great!
Some other tech roles that’s not listed but worth considering - Solutions Architect, Account Executives, Technical Account Managers. All roles that help the pre and post sale process.
Great post Will. What I'd love to know is what you think the engagement process ideally looks like across these 3 teams, in particular for the professional group. For example when should legal be engaged in the process? How early is too early? Also what about having a dedicated product lawyer as part of the core team? Have you seen good examples of this?
Such an excellent question, Natalie, thanks for asking. As a PM, I’ve learned that it’s best to engage professionals early and often. This is especially true if they’re expertise is necessary for launch (ex. If it’s an algorithm improvement, privacy managers should be involved through the whole process).
I’ve seen dedicated professionals as part of the core team before but this is only necessary if it’s a very large program. I don’t think dedicated professionals makes sense for all core teams, though.
This is pretty awesome! Came here through Christen's link on TikTok and subscribed to the newsletter. Read about the three roles I'm most interested which is PM, PMM and Partnerships! Will definitely read through all the others too! Thanks for putting this together!
Hey Will! Great post. Have you considered adding “finance manager” to the list of professionals? They’re critical in making an investment come to life. Also hi from a fellow FB employee!
This is a great post! One note: I would love to see more diversity in the images as representation is important!
Thanks for raising this Courtney - I completely agree. Unfortunately, I didn't commission this artwork myself and had to use the most diverse avatars I could find. Will keep this in mind for future posts here.
Good call, Courtney. This is a prime example of institutional racism and I’m glad you pointed it out. When the day comes for you to write a post as insightful as this, I know I can count on you to make sure everyone is represented; don’t forget people with disabilities!
Thanks for this Paul, you're right. The spirit of this post is to be inclusive of the various people and experiences who create products. I mentioned above but perhaps in the future, I'll commission my own artwork to be more inclusive. Do you have any suggestions of good folks to work with?
Sorry Will, I was actually being a bit of a troll here. I felt it was an unnecessary social justice warrior moment. Feel free to delete my comment.
I think you did a great job on this post. The artwork is tough. If you’re like me, you’re not a good drawer and also don’t want to pay for simple icons in your post.
Even if you’re a bad drawer, you could get away with it. Ben Thompson has a great tech blog at stratechery.com. Most of his art looks done in MS Paint. It’s low effort and works.
Ah! I feel Courtney's point is valid but appreciate you being sympathetic to the challenges of artwork (I'm an awful artist). I normally just use Keynote to do diagrams when needed.
Yup, Ben and folks like Tim Urban have made me appreciate the simple, MS Paint style artwork. It just needs to get across the concept -- nothing too fancy!
Definitely. It’s hard to find art out there that matches the content of your post and is stylistically congruent with each other. Adding on the diversity requirement is tough to accommodate too given you didn’t draw these. I don’t think you did anything wrong.
Its good to be sensitive and I think if Courtney were to comment back, we’d agree this is nitpicked advice on what is otherwise a well written piece. I’ll end my rant on this topic here.
Thanks for reminding me that Tim exists. He is great!
All of these roles exist in start-ups, its just that the positions are all held by the same person!
😂 you’re right!
Some other tech roles that’s not listed but worth considering - Solutions Architect, Account Executives, Technical Account Managers. All roles that help the pre and post sale process.
Great post Will. What I'd love to know is what you think the engagement process ideally looks like across these 3 teams, in particular for the professional group. For example when should legal be engaged in the process? How early is too early? Also what about having a dedicated product lawyer as part of the core team? Have you seen good examples of this?
Such an excellent question, Natalie, thanks for asking. As a PM, I’ve learned that it’s best to engage professionals early and often. This is especially true if they’re expertise is necessary for launch (ex. If it’s an algorithm improvement, privacy managers should be involved through the whole process).
I’ve seen dedicated professionals as part of the core team before but this is only necessary if it’s a very large program. I don’t think dedicated professionals makes sense for all core teams, though.
This is a great resource - thanks for taking the time to put this together, Will
Love how the post goes in-depth on each role... Would be a good share for students and those just starting out in tech.
This is pretty awesome! Came here through Christen's link on TikTok and subscribed to the newsletter. Read about the three roles I'm most interested which is PM, PMM and Partnerships! Will definitely read through all the others too! Thanks for putting this together!
Whaaaat this on TikTok?? Can you share the link? Hahaha
There you go! https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJwb25t4/
Hey Will! Great post. Have you considered adding “finance manager” to the list of professionals? They’re critical in making an investment come to life. Also hi from a fellow FB employee!
Hey Megan! What does a finance manager do generally? I haven’t got a chance to work with one yet but would love to learn.
This is a excellent post Will!
Glad it’s useful, Karthik.