Mike McQuade, VP of Engineering + R&D Operations at Thinkific, is a guest contributor to this post. tldr; Even with a legacy codebase, this is a case study on how code output could be doubled (2X), net velocity tripled (3X), and deployment velocity increased by 11X through the adoption of an AI-native SDLC. Framing the... Continue Reading →
Navigating the SaaSpocalypse – AI-native is the Biggest Change for Product & Technology Teams (R&D) since Agile
Introduction AI is fundamentally transforming the size and shape of product and technology (R&D) teams in what is emerging to be the most significant transformation of software development lifecycles (SDLCs) since the advent of agile methodologies and scrum teams approximately 20+ years ago. As teams go AI-native, the previous guidelines and rule books on what... Continue Reading →
Navigating the SaaSpocalypse – Hybrid Pricing (….OR EBITDA) Create the Path for Good Financial Outcomes
Introduction From a public market perspective, the SaaSpocalypse definitely happened in 2026. Publicly traded SaaS companies saw approximately $1 trillion in market value erased during the first half of the year. Private company SaaS valuations have seen similar compression, with the lowest tiers now only trading at Enterprise Valuations at 1-2X revenue. However, all is... Continue Reading →
Navigating the SaaSpocalypse – The Product Portfolio Edition
Introduction The SaaSpocalypse is indeed real. The rise of AI has brought a new competitor - that of a custom vibe-coded solution. Those without the right product are at significant risk of disruption. Hundreds of millions of people now use LLMs on a daily basis around the world and user taste has materially changed -... Continue Reading →
APIs are the New UX (and don’t look like they used to…)
In the pre-AI era, users “used” applications. They had to adapt their workflows around them. Automations and integrations were few and far between – and typically implemented and maintained by IT or consultants. AI makes all of this effectively irrelevant. Now, users can work the way they want to with their own UX. You can... Continue Reading →
Recap: Harder Core Product
This winter and early spring has been a fun writing exercise for me, as I was able to capture some of the most prevalent topics arising whenever I speak with organizations about their respective product endeavours. For those who have read every post, thank you! For those getting started, please find this suggested reading order:... Continue Reading →
“Sometimes the only way to win is not to play.” OR – Don’t Peanut Butter
The aforementioned is one of my absolute favorite quotes from the cult 1983 movie War Games. There are few quotes that I think of that apply more to product leadership, as it is widely agreed that the art of product management is identifying what doesn’t get done… When defining long-term roadmap as outlined in the... Continue Reading →
Understanding How to Realize Your Full Potential; Having a Long-Term Perspective
In my conversations with many companies, two key questions that one would expect product teams to have the answers for, but most do not are: How do you *authoritatively win in your category? If you were given $100 million of incremental investment tomorrow, how would you spend it? *Authoritatively Win is defined as having a... Continue Reading →
Finance and GTM Metrics ARE Product Metrics
Many of the organizations I have spoken to define their product metrics entirely within the realm of user activity and adoption. Yet, at the same time, there is an inherent desire for product leaders to act as General Managers or CEOs of their product lines. In the current market/economy the best path forward is no... Continue Reading →
The Scope of Product Management is Anything that Touches Product
Time and again, one of the largest challenges I see affecting companies with their product teams is having unclear and/or incomplete definitions of what constitutes the product. My rule of thumb is that if it touches the product, it is within the scope of product management. The rationale behind this is simple – if it... Continue Reading →