September 10, 2024When you’re an early-stage software startup, making your first in-house hire can feel like a pivotal moment… because it is one! We get this question allll the time: “Help! Who should my first in-house hire be?! And that’s for good reason; there’s a lot on the line — product vision, execution, and ultimately, the success of your company (especially if it’s the first/core software offering from your company). So… who should that first hire be?
At ENO8, we’ve explored this topic extensively, and the answer might surprise you. It’s not the obvious technical lead or even a UX expert. Instead, our recommendation is to prioritize hiring a Product Owner.
If you want the inside scoop on all our rationale, check out the video above (or if you just prefer video to text… we won’t tell anyone). If you prefer a tl;dr, keep on reading.
Before we dive into why a Product Owner should be your first in-house hire, let’s revisit a concept we’ve touched on before: the Essential Trio. This trio includes:
The Product Owner, however, doesn’t replace any of these roles. Instead, they serve as a key link, ensuring that the product vision becomes a reality by maintaining balance between the technical, business, and user perspectives. (It’s also worth noting that the Essential Trio is usually on the executive team or are part of software startup’s founding team, which is why we’re not really including them for purposes of this article).
So, what makes the Product Owner such a valuable hire for your software startup?
First and foremost, the Product Owner is responsible for the day-to-day ownership of the product. This means setting and managing the product roadmap — deciding what to build, when it should be built, and ensuring it’s ready for users. But it’s not just about timelines. A great Product Owner is also deeply connected to the user experience. They understand what makes a product lovable, what solves real user pain points, and what will drive engagement.
Their role also involves managing expectations. From the executive team to the development team to client teams, the Product Owner has to be the bridge that balances the desires of the business(es) with the technical objectives of the product.
While the Product Visionary is responsible for shaping the overall product strategy, the Product Owner is more focused on execution. They ensure that the vision is translated into actionable steps, communicating regularly with developers, UX strategists, and business leaders. This distinction is key. The Product Owner makes sure that both technical and business goals are aligned throughout the product’s development lifecycle.
One of the most important aspects of a Product Owner’s role is their ability to balance the needs of the business with the realities of development. Developers have a nasty habit of focusing on building technically perfect features (and drag their heels when you need to put solid but not perfect code into production). But, those features and their perfection-minded timeline might not always align with immediate business goals.
The Product Owner steps in to ensure resources are focused where they matter most.
They also bring a holistic understanding of the product — from the development stage to the launch phase and beyond. They own the product’s success, including its revenue model, customer acquisition strategy, and long-term viability. It’s not unusual for a Product Owner to also own the P&L (profit and loss) for the product, meaning they are responsible for ensuring that it not only functions well but also makes business sense.
Another advantage of having a Product Owner on board is the flexibility they provide. By keeping product expertise in-house, you avoid being overly dependent on any single vendor or external partner. Should you need to make changes or switch providers, your Product Owner retains the domain knowledge that ensures continuity. This sets your company up to pivot smoothly if needed, without losing valuable expertise.
A truly effective Product Owner possesses a specific set of skills:
In addition to their core responsibilities, a strong Product Owner can be an invaluable resource during sales processes. Especially in B2B software sales, they can offer deep insights into the product, directly communicate with potential customers, and help close deals by demonstrating how the product will solve the customer’s problems. Their intimate knowledge of both the product and the market allows them to refine the product roadmap based on direct feedback from sales conversations, improving the product in ways that drive business growth.
Hiring a Product Owner as your first in-house role may not be the obvious choice, but it’s the strategic one. They provide critical balance, clarity, and execution, ensuring that the product stays aligned with both technical and business goals. They also offer flexibility in how you structure your team, keeping essential knowledge in-house while allowing you to work with a range of partners and vendors.
Obviously, there’s a bunch of different ways to go with your first in-house hire. That said, we’ve found through our hundreds of digital product deliveries that a great product owner can often make the difference between success and failure for software startups.
Now, with all of that being said… we know a lot of software startups aren’t ready (or able) to make an in-house hire, but need to get things going. Hiring an employee is a big commitment — to that person and to your bottom line. So, if you have an immediate, high-skill need (e.g. building a design prototype to secure venture funding), consider using a niche vendor like ENO8 to bridge the gap. That’s quite literally why we created the Innovation Lab. We’ll dive deep with you, understand your goals and your users, and deliver a roadmap and design prototypes that can reduce your budget and speed up your timeline (even if you choose a different partner to build the actual solution).
Jeff Francis is a veteran entrepreneur and founder of Dallas-based digital product studio ENO8. Jeff founded ENO8 to empower companies of all sizes to design, develop and deliver innovative, impactful digital products. With more than 18 years working with early-stage startups, Jeff has a passion for creating and growing new businesses from the ground up, and has honed a unique ability to assist companies with aligning their technology product initiatives with real business outcomes.
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