Shuki Aharonovich | Takhles: How Is Product Management Different at an Early-Stage Company?
Host: Eyal David · Guest: Shuki Aharonovich · About the host
According to Shuki Aharonovich, the first product manager at Cinch, the first thing that sets early-stage product management apart is that you're there to build a company, not just a product. On the defensive side, a sales organization that promises customers everything creates debt that turns the product into 700 modules and the company into a services company. On the offensive side, bringing a product lens to the sales process grows the product manager's value and autonomy.
In this episode
- At early stage you come to build a company, not just a product: a product manager who doesn't think that way misses out and creates difficulties for themselves later.
- A sales organization that doesn't think product-wise and promises customers everything creates debt: a confused product with 700 ultra-customizable modules, and a company that turns into a services company.
- The offensive side: bringing a product lens to the sales process is an opportunity to have influence and grow your value and autonomy as a product manager.
- Product managers' frustrations are similar at a small startup, a mid-size company and a corporate: friction with the CEO, the VP Sales, R&D or the team lead. Only the titles change.
Listen to this episode
Episode Description
A short clip from the full conversation with Shuki Aharonovich. At a meetup for early-stage product managers organized by Symbol and led by Matan Gottlieb, Shuki noticed that product managers' frustrations are the same at every company stage, just with different titles: friction with the CEO, the VP Sales and R&D. That led him to distill three bullets for the right early-stage mindset, and this clip focuses on the first: you're here to build a company, not to build a product. On the defensive side, a sales organization that promises everything creates debt that lands on you later; on the offensive side, it's an opportunity to have influence and bring product thinking to the sales process.
Chapters
Full transcript with speakers and timestamps
Selected quotes
“The first bullet is about: you're here to build a company and not to build a product.”
“The conversations or the frustrations are the same conversations and frustrations.”
“On the offensive side of it, you're missing the opportunity here to have influence, to have influence, yes, to increase your value and your autonomy.”
Questions & answers
What's different about product management at an early-stage company?
According to Shuki Aharonovich, the first of three bullets is that you're here to build a company, not just a product. Your responsibility as a product manager goes beyond the product itself and touches the organization, for example the sales process.
Why should an early-stage PM get involved in sales?
Because a sales organization that doesn't think product-wise and promises customers every single thing creates debt: a confused product with 700 modules for each customer, and the company becomes a services company. On the other hand, a product lens on the sales process grows the product manager's influence, value and autonomy.
Are product managers' struggles different at a startup and at a corporate?
From what Shuki heard at a meetup for early-stage product managers, the conversations and frustrations are almost identical at every stage: friction with the CEO, the VP Sales, R&D or the team lead. What changes is the titles, so the interesting question is what the right mindset is for each stage.
People & resources mentioned
People
- Shuki Aharonovich
- Matan Gottlieb
Companies & orgs
- Cinch
- Symbol — VC that invests in Cinch
Related Episodes
From Zero to $2 Billion in Two Years, in a Saturated Market | Coffee with Eyal
00:08:21 · October 22, 2026
In the second episode of "Coffee with Eyal", Eyal David breaks down the story of David, a consumer company that jumped to a valuation of over 2 billio...
Why I Talk Less About Product Now | Coffee with Eyal
00:06:55 · October 7, 2026
"Coffee with Eyal" is a short, informal series in which Eyal David opens the mic over a cup of coffee and shares insights, things he is building and w...
What Does a Venture Capital Investor Really Look For? | Yael Schiff (Bessemer Venture Partners)
00:58:30 · October 4, 2026
Yael Schiff is an investor at Bessemer Venture Partners, mostly at Seed and Series A, in AI, infrastructure and cyber companies. Before that she spent...
No More Moats: How Harmony Reached 50 Customers Without a Single Salesperson | Ran Ribenzaft (Harmony)
01:00:56 · September 24, 2026
Ran Ribenzaft, Co-Founder and CTO of Harmony (and formerly founder and CTO of Epsagon, sold to Cisco for $500M), is an unusual CTO: 90% of his time go...