Ed Biden

What makes this all the more remarkable is that MotorK is not a new startup. It's a legacy company (automotive space) that Johnny has led through an accelerated AI transformation.

Join us to hear what Johnny has done and how you can do the same inside your company.

#vibecoding #ai #product

3/3

> Shipping AI features weekly to remove manual efforts
> Vibe coding new product that goes to customers
> Running an Agent mapping hundreds of external fields to internal ones
> Giving ownership of some internal products to non-developers
> Hiring Senior PMs who have shipped code using AI tools

2/3

AI isn’t coming. It’s already changing how product teams operate.

Hustle Badger is hosting a fireside chat + AMA today with
Johnny Quach, CPO/CMO of MotorK

Building an Agent-First Organisation

🗓 12 February
⏰ 13:00 GMT
📍 Register: luma.com/33ekhxyn

Here’s what’s happening inside MotorK:

1/2

Stop debating the structure.

Choose the least worst option given the company and people on the team, and manage the downsides.

What's your setup, and what would you actually change about it?

6/6
#product #productmanagement

3. 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁?
Someone who owns "did this work?" not "did we ship it?"
That person's title matters far less than whether they actually have the authority to make calls.

5/6

As in, engineering believes product has done the discovery work.
Product believes engineering's estimates are honest.
That trust isn't created by a reporting line.
It's built in the work.

4/6

What actually matters is three things:
1. 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲?
Not a seat where they present roadmaps.
A seat where they shape bets, challenge priorities, and say no.

2. 𝗗𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿?
Not "get along." Trust.

3/6

People get incredibly passionate about this.

But the reporting line rarely determines whether a product team is effective.

Good product teams can sit under CTOs.
Bad ones can report directly to the CEO.
The org chart doesn't make the difference.
The relationships do.

2/6

Everyone has a strong opinion on where product should report. Almost none of them matter.

I've watched this debate play out in boardrooms, WhatsApp groups, and LinkedIn comments for years.

CPO reports to the CEO.
No, product sits under the CTO.
No, you need a CPTO.

1/6

Avoid common product traps:

– Shipping features not tied to outcomes
– Splitting focus across competing goals
– Falling in love with one solution too early
– Getting stuck with too many ideas

#product #productmanagement

3/3

• Connect delivery + discovery directly to business outcomes
• Prioritize between competing opportunities
• Explore multiple solutions before committing
• Design smarter assumption tests
• Spot flawed logic before it costs you months

2/3

Hustle Badger is hosting a free, interactive Opportunity Solution Tree (OST) Workshop led by Ed Biden.

📅 11 February
⏰ 17:00 GMT
📍 Register here: luma.com/yxa58aoy

In this hands-on session, you’ll build your own OST and learn how to:

1/3

What do product teams do? - Hustle Badger How product teams create value | How to drive significant value and influence company outcomes as a product manager | How PMs manage risk.

Check out Hustle Badger for more practical advice for product leaders and get the support you deserve.

Wiki + Courses + Community + Events: www.hustlebadger.com/what-do-prod...

#product #productmanagement

10/10

What do product teams do? - Hustle Badger How product teams create value | How to drive significant value and influence company outcomes as a product manager | How PMs manage risk.

→ Lightweight reporting. A snapshot, not a novel.

→ Most tactical issues get resolved at tribe level. Org leadership focuses on cross-functional alignment and coaching tribe leads.

9/10

What do product teams do? - Hustle Badger How product teams create value | How to drive significant value and influence company outcomes as a product manager | How PMs manage risk.

→ Smallest possible leadership group. Each major function represented.

→ Leaders allocate teams against the biggest problems and set the execution ceiling for the org.

→ Regular all-hands. Strategy updates, AMAs, demos. This is what keeps 50+ people feeling like one team.

8/10

What do product teams do? - Hustle Badger How product teams create value | How to drive significant value and influence company outcomes as a product manager | How PMs manage risk.

→ Mixed seniority across squads. People need room to grow without leaving the tribe.

𝗢𝗥𝗚 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟
This is the top of the product org.
Its job is alignment, resource allocation, and removing obstacles.
Not micromanagement.

7/10

→ Small leadership group. One person from each discipline (product, design, tech). No bigger.

→ 4-6 direct reports per leader. More than that and you can't coach effectively.

→ Leaders own performance. They're empowered to change staffing, process, and strategy to hit their objectives.

6/10

What do product teams do? - Hustle Badger How product teams create value | How to drive significant value and influence company outcomes as a product manager | How PMs manage risk.

It's the layer between individual teams and the whole org.
This is where coordination happens.

→ Conway's Law is real. Your technical architecture will mirror your team structure. So design your tribes deliberately.

5/10

What do product teams do? - Hustle Badger How product teams create value | How to drive significant value and influence company outcomes as a product manager | How PMs manage risk.

→ Autonomous. They can ship without waiting for other teams to unblock them.

→ Low operational load. If more than 25% of time goes to bugs and ad hoc requests, strategic work stalls.

𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟
A tribe is a group of squads working in a related area.

4/10

→ Roles defined. No ambiguity on who does what.

→ Talent matched to complexity. Hard, ambiguous problems need senior PMs and Tech Leads. Don't put juniors on your hardest bets.

→ Deep user and business understanding.

→ Right sized. Used to be 3-8, but with AI this is getting smaller...

3/10

What do product teams do? - Hustle Badger How product teams create value | How to drive significant value and influence company outcomes as a product manager | How PMs manage risk.

𝗦𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗗 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟
Small cross-functional team (PM, engineers, designer) that owns one problem.
This is where actual work happens.
Get these wrong and nothing else matters.

→ One clear goal. Quantified. Inspiring. If the team can't explain what they're trying to move, you've already lost.

2/10

Everyone knows the squads and tribes model.
Few people get the details right.

The structure is simple.
Squads own problems.
Tribes coordinate squads.
The org sets direction.

But at each level there are specific things that make or break whether it actually works.

1/10

All working together on the same customer problems.

SUGGESTED REFRAME

Instead of asking: “Are product teams autonomous?”

Ask:
• What problems are worth solving commercially?
• What product changes will actually move metrics?
• Who needs to be involved for this to work end-to-end?

7/7
#product

THE ACTUAL GOAL

The goal is NOT wild autonomy.

The goal is:
• Strategic thinkers in every function
• Product treated as commercial function, not a delivery team
• Clear links between product bets and commercial outcomes

That means:
• Product + Sales
• Product + Marketing
• Product + CS

6/7

Eventually, leaders notice:
• Commercials aren’t improving
• Teams can’t clearly explain trade-offs
• Roadmaps feel disconnected from reality

So CEOs step back in.

More oversight.
More approvals.
More direction.

And just like that…

You’re back to a feature factory.

5/7

Product ends up doing 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨:
• Discovery
• Prioritisation
• Go-to-market thinking

From scratch.

Alone.

That’s not empowered. It’s inefficient.

THE INEVITABLE ROLLBACK

4/7

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS

• There’s no buy-in from sales, marketing, or CS
• Discovery quality drops (because you ignore the people closest to customers)
• Big customer problems don’t move, because no one is working in lockstep

3/7

They say: “We want to be product-led.”

Product hears:
• Full autonomy
• No need to explain plans
• No need to align on timelines
• No obligation to collaborate

Just: “Judge us on outcomes.”

Sounds progressive.

It isn’t.

2/7

For most companies, going "product-led" is a complete disaster, and they soon revert to a feature factory.

It's a predictable pattern:
• Product teams cheer.
• Leadership steps back.
• Accountability quietly disappears.
• Then… it all blows up.

WHAT COMPANIES THINK THEY ARE DOING

1/7

> Too many solutions or assumption tests
> Mixing solutions and opportunities

Who’s it for:
> Product leaders and product managers at any level.
> Early-stage founders.

#product #productmanagement

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