Step into the product lead role
I help non-PM founders become product leaders. Learn the frameworks and best practices from Google, Twitter, Pinterest, and Square—no prior product management experience required.
From Founder to Product Leader
Many successful founders haven't been a FAANG product manager before— and that's perfectly fine. What matters is learning the best practices of these companies, and applying those tactics to your day-to-day.
After MIT and software engineering, I transitioned into product management and took Marty Cagan's SVPG seminar. I fully embrace his philosophy— focusing on building products customers love over building features. I even contributed to his book "Inspired."
As Marty emphasizes in his latest thinking, the heart of product management is product creation—working alongside designers and engineers to solve problems for customers in ways they love, and work for the business. This means taking responsibility for both the value and viability of solutions.
For 20+ years, I've worked with and led innovative teams at Google, Pinterest, Twitter, Square, and Pivotal Labs. I'll teach you the same frameworks these companies use, adapted for founders stepping into product leadership.
Essential Skills for Product Leaders
You don't need 10+ years of traditional product management to excel. You need these four skills:
Deep Empathy
For the end user
Technical Best Practices
For industry-leading execution
Strategic & Creative Mindset
That leans into differentiators
Team Motivation
Ability to inspire and advocate
I help founders develop these core product management skills as they tackle real challenges. You'll learn how to think like a top-tier product leader, making strategic decisions about value and viability, and collaborating effectively and efficiently with your team— not just manage backlogs.
How I Help Founders Lead Product
Turn product challenges into easy wins. I'll help you build products that users love and investors notice— without needing extensive product management experience.
Master the art of product creation alongside engineering and design teams. Learn how to communicate your vision, understand technical trade-offs, and make strategic product decisions with confidence.
We'll establish your product creation foundation with:
- Value and viability assessment frameworks
- Customer problem discovery and validation
- Product creation collaboration with design & engineering
- Strategic product sense development and decision-making
From defining what you need to onboarding your first PM:
- Product creator role definition and evaluation criteria
- Interview process focused on creation skills, not just management
- Onboarding program for product excellence
- Culture cultivation and team optimization
Investment & Next Steps
Investment varies based on your company's stage, goals, and engagement model.
Schedule a strategy call to discuss your specific needs and how we can work together.
Schedule Strategy CallThe Era of the Product Creator
Marty Cagan's latest thinking aligns perfectly with what I teach founders: the future belongs to product creators, not traditional managers.
"The heart of the product manager job is product creation... working alongside the product designer and engineers every day to solve problems for our customers in ways our customers love, yet work for the business."
What This Means for Founders
As Marty emphasizes, the rise of AI tools is empowering a broader set of people to take on the product creator role. This is especially relevant for founders who need to step into product leadership.
You don't need 10+ years of traditional PM experience. You need to understand value, viability, and how to work alongside design and engineering to create solutions customers love.
Beyond Traditional Management
The job is not about being a facilitator, cheerleader, or backlog administrator. It's about being a product creator.
I help founders make this transition—from managing tasks to creating products that solve real problems in ways customers love and that work for business.
What Founders Say
"Cynthia is the triple-threat of logical/fact-based, empathetic, and practical. She helped us develop our product priorities by taking high level business problems and breaking them down into actionable blocks."
"Cynthia helped me tackle growing pains during our rapid growth from pre-seed to Series B. Her suggestions are actionable and straightforward and always cut to the heart of the matter."
"Cynthia was my product coach when I was a first time co-founder and CPO. Our sessions consistently led me to breakthrough 'ah-ha' moments as we were developing our MVP."
Direct, Actionable Guidance
Real guidance means getting in the trenches with you
There are hundreds of product management books and blogs, but translating theory into daily action is hard—especially if you're new to product management.
What works is direct, actionable guidance from someone who's been there. I provide concrete tactics, help you spot challenges with known solutions, and find opportunities to differentiate.
Critical Waypoints for Success
When new teams form, certain decisions make or break success. For example:
- Breaking down a product into incremental components
- Maximizing collaboration and minimizing conflicts between product, engineering, and design, all while hitting mutual goals
- Defining goals that increase the potential of success
- Understanding the type of product manager you need for your product and team
Building Skills for the Future
I'll guide you through these challenges while building your team's confidence for future ones. We'll clear paths through complex problems, plus internalize the tools to succeed independently.
Harness Your Unique Strengths
Success doesn't follow a template—it comes from leveraging your unique strengths. I'll help you lean into what makes you different while applying proven best practices. Together, we'll leapfrog into what a top tier product manager does to turn ideas into reality.
Let's get started
Ready to become a product leader? Let's discuss your challenges.