Latest Essays
Over the last 15 years, a whole generation of app-focused PMs has emerged
Find underserved segment in the market → achieve product/market fit → but no product/channel fit → no growth → dead end
The first version of a product doesn’t have to be perfect
There is no such thing as “organic” users
Dating apps have more in common with nightclubs than with other tech products
“To build a product you need to start with a problem, then come up with a solution”
Is this the new “WeCrashed” or am I missing something?
Designing activation in reverse: value first, acquisition channels last
We are launching a brand-new Product Growth Simulator!
How product habits are formed and what dopamine has to do with it
The downsides of a data-driven culture
Product manager interview: real questions plus guide for employers and candidates
CJM: from first encounter to the “aha moment”
Moving from a startup to an enterprise as a product manager
Correlation and causation: how to tell the difference and why it matters for products
Session analysis: an important tool for designing activation
Using data to understand competitive and market dynamics
When and why to add people to the user activation process
Data-driven, data-informed, and data-inspired product decisions. What are the differences and when should you use each one?
Product-level building blocks for designing activation
Other content series
that you might find useful
Product management fundamentals
How to create products that people need
- Addressing user pain points vs solving user problems better
- Product manager skills: evolution of a PM role and its transformation
- Product metrics, growth metrics, and added value metrics
User activation
The path to understanding the product value
- When user activation matters and you should focus on it
- User activation is one of the key levers for product growth
- The dos and don’ts of measuring user activation
Product success stories
What makes great products great?
- The values and principles of Wise. Key ideas from the Breakout Growth Podcast by Sean Ellis
- How Revolut Trading was built. The importance of industry expertise and the balance of conservative and new approaches
- How the “Slack vs Microsoft Teams” race evolves as the world switches to remote work
Unit economics
Calculating unit economics, LTV, ROI, ARPU, and other crucial metrics the right way
- How to calculate customer Lifetime Value. The do’s and don’ts of LTV calculation
- Guide to ARPU: formula, calculation example, LTV vs ARPU
- How to calculate unit economics for your business
Product analytics: tools and hints
How data and analytics help product managers make the right decisions
- Analyzing qualitative research results effectively
- Qualitative research in product management: the guide
- Avoid this pitfall when comparing your product’s metrics with your competitor’s
Interviews with expert PMs
Product professionals share their expertise
- Typical tasks of junior product managers (at Meta, LTK, and Sonos)
- How important are math skills for product managers?
- Which AI tools do PMs actually use?
Professions and skills
Essential skills and knowledge for product managers and analysts
- How top-performing PMs turn mistakes into opportunities
- How important are math skills for product managers?
- What did top-performing PMs learn in 2023?
Product testing and experiments
How to use A/B test and experiments to benefit the product
- Experiments where you make your product worse—the most underrated product manager tool
- Why your A/B tests take longer than they should
- Peeking problem—the fatal mistake in A/B testing and experimentation