Web3 product manager guide - Jason

The author of this article Jason Shah, I was in Airbnb Worked for many years , Now he's in Alchemy Responsible for product .Alchemy Is essentially applicable to web3 Of AWS, And has quickly become web3 Start the infrastructure layer in the stack .

He shared the deepest web3 Product management guide .

In this paper , We will explain three core concepts ：

1. web3 PM The unique properties of
2. web3 in PM'ing Advantages and disadvantages
3. How to transition to web3

 

stay web3 Startup time PM'ing What's the difference? ？

Web3 Product managers remain cross functional leaders driving results , but web3 Product management differs in three main ways ：

1. It's more versatile
2. Art is more than science
3. Relatively open

It has a wider range of uses , Because we need to find the fit between the product and the market , Project managers also have incentive mechanisms 、 Partnerships and communities . This requires a more flexible skill set and the ability to learn quickly .

This is more art than science , Because in view of web3 Value and small user base , Very little user data and A/B test . This requires more intuition and the ability to make decisions in a very uncertain environment .

It's more open , Because discussions about decision-making often take place in Discord、Crypto Twitter And the public Snapshot In the proposal . This creates more inclusiveness , But it also requires the prime minister to effectively participate in community activities , Instead of pure analysis and behind closed doors .

 

The product manager is in web3 It's not very common in

Most projects are done without PM To be successful .

Create a DeFi agreement ？ You need a protocol expert . For one NFT The project builds a participatory community ？ Hire someone who owns 5 Anonymous community manager of million cryptocurrency twitter fans , And have a special fondness for the memo . You need to write smart contracts ？Solidity or Rust Developers can help .

web3 The most important thing a team needs is usually not much related to the product manager . Ethereum foundation has 97 Employees , Managing a value 5000 A $billion first tier agreement , Hardly any PM. image " Women's world " Such a leading NFT The project has artists 、 The head of charity and legal counsel , But there is no PM. Creating DeFi Agreement or operation NFT Project time , The team mainly needs only one developer 、 A community manager and a protocol designer （DeFi） Or an artist （NFTs）.

PM There has been a 20 Years to prove the value , And occupy a place in big technology companies , Become a leader in the implementation of the company's vision or function . Not here . When I was there 2021 Year and 20 Multiple web3 When the team discusses roles , Nearly half of the people don't understand PM What is it .

  

The product manager is in web3 0-1 Stage is not so necessary

stay web2 in , Founders or early product managers can be crucial in deciding what to build and how to build , This helps to achieve the Holy Grail of product and market fit . stay web3 in , As opposed to token incentives （Staking and AMMs）、 The deal is right （DEX）、 Artwork （NFTs）、 Network design （L1s/L2s）、 Speed of trading （L1s/L2s）、 Security （L1s/L2s） Or other properties , Product experience , Such as functionality and perceived user experience , In fact, it is not so important to the success of the project . In these areas PM It's secondary , If it matters .

For Ethereum name services , Building complex blockchain infrastructure or building DAO Governance compared to , The website and front-end interface for registering domain names are quite simple for developers .Web3 0-1 More about technology infrastructure , Encryption economy , and / Or online community , To find the product - The meeting point of the market . At this time ,web3 Of PM Usually more suitable for 1-10, instead of web3 0-1, When you go from an idea to the initial product market fit .

 

The product manager is in web3 Different core skills are required in

many PM In large organizations , Even in startups that need to work closely with founders and assemble overworked teams , Cultivate the " communicate " and " influence " Wait for skills . It makes sense , Because persuasion and coordination have always been web2 Of PM The core of the work . These skills are not so important here .Web3 Of PM Focus more on execution and community , For example, sign a large new agreement partner or pass Twitter Get a lot of anonymous users .

stay web2 in , I dare not tweet more , Because there will be professional consequences . Now? , If I don't tweet more , I will become untrustworthy . Making a viral memo is more important than writing a good email . This is because in the crazy online world , Get more positive attention than " alignment " More valuable . Hardly any PM Career ladder or performance evaluation , So the team is purely focused on making the project successful , Not politics .

 

Web3 Under what circumstances do startups typically employ PM？

in summary , There are several situations that can make web3 Startups need a PM.

The efficiency of engineers becomes very low . The engineering team has become too large , Unable to prioritize and self coordinate projects ;PM Can improve efficiency （ for example , Multiple layer 1 protocols and EVM Solution ）.

Product experience is complex or critical to traction . The product suite is large , The user experience is complex / For consumers , As the game （ Such as unrestrained play to earn games Axie Infinity）. Some products were originally cloned （ Such as Sushiswap It's diverging Uniswap） And add tokens to compete , So this requires less product management support , And pay more attention to the changes of technology and encryption economy than games or wallets .

There is a mixed external activity , An expert cannot do , But an all powerful PM Sure . There is marketing 、 growth 、 Business development and community work , Developers don't want to do , There is no need for specialized employees , such , An all powerful PM Can help . as time goes on , There are also professional PM The needs of （ For example Flow In this way L1 Or like NBA Top Shot Such market experience ）, But in the early stages web3 startup , This demand is less .

 

What is? web3 PM？

Yes web3 PM An oversimplified general definition of is .

Web3 PM Responsible for the success of the community , Instead of increasing access 、 Participation or income .

We have seen the past 10 Year of web2 Showing such a scenario ： The interests of the community （ for example , Internet addicted teenagers 、 Underpaid share car drivers 、 Local restaurants trapped by high platform fees ） Deprived of priority , And support the company's priority North Star index . stay web3 in , If the community -- Such as NFT The creator 、 Liquidity providers or software developers -- You don't succeed , You are the one NGMI. Community first .

But how do you make your community successful ？ Do that ,web3 Of PM Must think about protocol design 、tokenomics、 User security 、 Security 、 Growth marketing 、 Community participation , And more web3 Related people in the product 、 Technology and economy . Let's read this further .

 

web3 Ten truths of product management

• 1. You must prioritize execution over vision / strategic
• 2. You have to do user research yourself 、 Business development and marketing
• 3. You have to focus on perfecting the details rather than extending the functions
• 4. You must have no email address 、 Track tools or run A/B Know your users in the case of testing
• 5. You must revolve around a given L1/L2 Blockchain （ Like Ethereum or Solana） To design your product
• 6. You must be very careful what you deploy in smart contracts , This slows down development time
• 7. You can't rely on proprietary code 、 Trade secrets and data moat as your competitive advantage
• 8. You cannot make all product decisions unilaterally , You may not be able to control your roadmap
• 9. You must give priority to user security , Because every transaction involves money
• 10. The regulatory issues are mainly from web2 Transferred to the web3

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