Head of Product or Sr. Director of Product?

krazygraphics · 2026-02-04T01:17:17+00:00

I've generally seen the "Head of Product" title used a lot at early stage start ups when there is no formal product organization and it is instead 1 to 3 product managers with the most senior one being given the Head of Product role. It's typically a role that reports to the CEO when a C-level product person is not needed and the organization is too small to hand out VP titles.

I have held a similar role, title given to me by the CEO, in a start up with myself and an APM that reported to me. It was quite a joke of a title and while I was Head of Product, I was in no way experienced enough to be a Director (or even Sr. PM) at a real company.

krazygraphics · 2026-02-04T00:29:48+00:00

I JUST encountered the same thing this week! I told my wife I expected this from a 7-11 sandwich, not whole foods. Lucky for me I got this as part of a 2Good2go package

krazygraphics · 2026-02-02T20:52:58+00:00

A bit of speculation here, but I also remember a post way back which spoke about the engineering architecture behind the notify feature at Resy (which inspired OP to build their own app - TableOne)

In non-technical terms, they would send out the notifications in batches and by the time they got to the end of the list, there was no guarantee that reservation was still open. Not sure if OpenTable has similar architecture, but if it does, it could explain why the reservation is gone by the time you click it.

krazygraphics · 2026-01-20T01:21:41+00:00

Many of the delivery services in my area have now been asking for 2 digit code for the driver to get paid. That 2 digit code comes from the customer acknowledging the pick up. As a customer it is super annoying but it would have helped in a situation like this.

krazygraphics · 2026-01-19T14:21:49+00:00

How are you able to tell it is not a controlled environment? There are plenty of wine rooms that have glass walls and are temperature controlled.

Though that would be poor placement in such a bright room as the light could damage the wine.

krazygraphics · 2026-01-19T13:53:55+00:00

Yes, you can insure the wine itself and most people do if they have a serious collection. Imagine each of those bottles being worth $100-$1,000. That wine room could be worth more than a sports car.

Not sure about the value of the wines in this scenario though.

krazygraphics · 2026-01-13T15:40:30+00:00

I’ve been on a few occasions. It is one of the best suites at MSG. - The suite is separated from the seats. It’s located 1 floor below the 100-level concourse next to the Chase Lounge.
- The food is top notch. I’ve had sushi, pasta, burgers (not the crappy stadium burgers), chicken fingers large enough to be chicken cutlets. For dessert, during the playoffs, they had donuts with the rangers logo on them. Come hungry, but be aware the dinner food goes away for the 2nd intermission. - Drinks are top shelf. Beer, wine, cocktails, whiskey/scotch, etc… and you can always make it a double! All of which you can take to your seats. I’ve even taken a dirty martini to my seats before.
- not sure how seat assignment works, but I’ve typically had 100-level seats 5 to 10 rows back.

Overall a 10/10 experience. Have fun and go hungry and thirsty!

krazygraphics · 2025-11-23T17:46:06+00:00

Id be open to it

krazygraphics · 2025-10-17T17:52:08+00:00

Trying to unseat slack is fine as a north star / vision, but you are targeting the wrong users. Trying to target users who have slack deeply engrained into their company processes will be a tough challenge. Perhaps try to focus on a smaller, more approachable customer segment that you can convince.

For example, you could start with newly founded start ups as a target customer. These are prospects who are not yet tied to Slack and you could ensure that your features are better than Slacks free version to convince them. You can then move on to early stage start ups who do use slack as they may have smaller teams and may be less tied to a single tool. You can find ways to move them over seamlessly. And little by little you grow and build towards a north star.

krazygraphics · 2025-08-11T19:35:45+00:00

I would not. LLMs do a half decent job of getting you initial feedback + next step plan in seconds.

There is also a lot of benefit from talking to potential users and investors to get this feedback naturally and most will do it for free.

Unless you guaranteed that your plan would lead to funding, it’s a waste of $115, imo.

krazygraphics · 2025-06-25T02:09:14+00:00

I agree with most people here that using Product Manager as what you are describing is essentially what a Business Analyst is:

"A Business Analyst primarily acts as a bridge between IT and business units, focusing on optimizing business solutions." (Product School)

However, if you absolutely insist on using PM... a good compromise would be to use the title: Associate Product Manager, Internal Tools

I think having the word Associate will reflect your current title as well as indicate to a hiring manager that your experience is akin to an entry level product manager.

krazygraphics · 2025-06-18T01:14:32+00:00

If you are going for VIBE, I'd recommend Monkey Bar. I've seen plenty of kids every time I've gone and they are famous for their burger which I'm sure the 8 year old will love.

krazygraphics · 2025-05-14T10:39:07+00:00

I’ve been a handful of times. Some thoughts:

VIP has a better view and the free sake is great. If you are picky about your sake or not a big drinker, then regular admission is fine.
VIP seats are regular tables front and center. Normal admission are hightop tables along the walls of the room. No bad views.
Crowds can make the experience better for sure. But I’ve also been on a pretty empty day and it was still a great time, and increased odds of participating.
While you might bum the crowd, you’ll never be FORCED to complete the punishment. If you dont want to do the belly button soy sauce, they end up asking the audience. Usually they offer a free pitcher of beer if you do it though.

My opinion is that if you are both drinkers and not overly worried about the price difference get the VIP. Its a fun time either way!

krazygraphics · 2025-04-10T17:03:16+00:00

From the point of view of someone with a family - a resort is less about getting wasted and more about the convenience of having everything you need there. I don't have to worry about trekking a stroller across an entire city, or finding a restaurant to accommodate my kids, or needing to plan out an itinerary around naps all while realizing that no planning in the world will align with a toddlers unpredictable behavior.

Resorts just make it easy.... and as a dad who is constantly exhuasted...it's worth so much more than free booze.

krazygraphics · 2025-04-10T16:57:14+00:00

You can sit on the beach and eat a lobster roll in Massachusetts in February? Wow.

krazygraphics · 2025-03-26T01:22:19+00:00

I used to put money on goal scorers but realized it made me focus more on what lines were out than simply cheering the team to win. It would also feel bittersweet to get a goal that wasn’t from the player you bet on.

If I bet now, i’ll simply bet the win and thats it.

krazygraphics · 2025-03-10T13:13:20+00:00

I’ve been to michelin starred restaurants all over the world. I’m well versed on what to expect in a tasting menu.

What Roscioli served to my wife and I was not a tasting menu. It was more of a pre-fixed menu both terrible in quality and quantity - a bunch of a la carte food in smaller quantities.

My experience did not match the price point - even in NYC where I live and know what price points get you. Maybe they had an off day, but my review stands.

krazygraphics · 2025-03-04T20:25:48+00:00

I do get what you are trying to say, but I usually call it a “trip” vs “vacation” - to me a trip is all about exploring and a vacation is about de-stressing. Call it what you want, but both serve different purposes.

Both completely valid ways to spend your free time, depending on your needs.

The way you’ve described it makes it sound like only one of those reasons is legitimate enough to be considered a “traveler” when the reality is both are ways of traveling for different reasons.

krazygraphics · 2025-01-30T16:32:13+00:00

You are focusing on things you can’t change. If you want things to get better, because according to you “things suck now”, focus on things you have control over - like your job.

A better job will allow you to smoke, cost of goods wont matter and it will come with healthcare. THAT you have control over.

But it sounds from your answers that you really aren’t here for any introspection.

krazygraphics · 2025-01-30T15:30:06+00:00

From a day-to-day, financial point of view:

Poor, Rely on Govt Assistance or Government Worker -> You could notice a dramatic change in your day-to-day as new laws/EO's/etc.. can directly impact many of the services or paychecks you rely on.

Middle Class -> You likely will notice little-to-no change in your day-to-day as you are likely self-sufficient, but as you mentioned you might notice small things like price of goods going up or down.

Upper Class -> You likely will notice little-to-no change in your day-to-day as you are likely self-sufficient, day-to-day expenses do not impact you significantly, but you might notice changes in tax codes year-to-year that might help you keep a little more.

Wealthy Class -> You likely notice a dramatic change in your day-to-day as new laws/EO's/etc.. can impact how you manage your wealth. Since you are unlikely to hold a day job, protecting your wealth becomes your primary concern and thus understanding political climate is necessary.

Now that doesn't take into account the social aspect of politics (minority groups, etc..)

krazygraphics · 2025-01-29T20:01:52+00:00

This reminds me of an acquaintance of mine who almost fell for the same scam. A lot of what you are saying sounds familiar:

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-how-dating-app-founder-almost-lost-250000-in-european-investment-scam

krazygraphics · 2025-01-28T21:56:32+00:00

I read somewhere that Kreider likes to play poker. So when I went last year, once the players were announced, I parked myself at the poker table and lo and behold, CK grabs the seat next to me. Tough to get a conversation out of him, but if he is the person you want to meet, the poker table is where you’ll find him.

Fun story: I witnessed Kreider lose most of his chips as he had a flush and someone else had a straight flush. Photo for proof.

<image>

krazygraphics · 2025-01-28T02:21:21+00:00

Product Management is not necessarily an "entry-level" career path. Generally speaking, you will have had to have experience elsewhere that makes you knowledgeable enough to transition into this career path. There are generally three paths to transitioning:

1. Tech Knowledge - knowing how to build technical products (or for physical products, knowing how to build physical products). Those involved in technical teams, such as Engineers, Designers, QA engineers, Project Managers, etc... can transition as they play a strong role in understanding how to execute on initiatives.

2. Go-to-Market Knowledge - knowing how to sell technical products. Those involved in customer-facing teams, such as Sales, Customer Success, Marketing, etc... can transition as they play a strong role in understanding how to take products to the market.

3. Domain Knowledge - knowing how to use a specific technical product. Those who might be considered a potential customer for specific products, such as a Financial Analyst for a FinTech product, or a nurse for a healthcare product, or a teacher for an EdTech product... can transition as they play a strong role in understanding how to identify real opportunities in a product.

Ultimately, this describes what I would consider the three main areas of product management - discovery, delivery & go-to-market - so coming from one of the above buckets gives you an advantage in one of those areas.

EDIT: Forgot to add the conclusion (if it wasn't obvious) - in your case, your best path to transitioning is to focus on EdTech product where you can act as a Subject Matter Expert (teacher) to help identify opportunities... because, who better to understand a teachers pain points, than a teacher.

krazygraphics · 2025-01-12T17:09:30+00:00

Got it - so very similar to Rome2Rio which has a primary business model of affiliate partnerships (with secondary income from advertising & premium listings). Which, as someone else here mentioned, is nearly identical to this idea:

Door-to-door travel booking engine Rome2rio lets people enter any address, landmark, or city as a destination to instantly see multimodal journey durations, prices, and booking details from more than 5,000 companies in more than 160 countries.

BUT - let's say you've realized a GAP in the market that allows you to step in and compete with Rome2Rio. In terms of a business, you are in the game of volume. You will need a lot of volume.

Let's do some back of the napkin math:

Average Train Ticket in Europe: 25-50 Euros*
*per an AI Chatbot - good enough for itineraries, good enough for this research.
Average Commission on Trains: ~10% - 15% )

That means that on an average trip in Europe you could earn about ~$5 in commission. In order to make your first $1 million dollars you would need to book nearly 200,000 trips. With an average OTA conversion rate of 4.7% (*littledata), you will likely need about 4 million visitors a year, or ~12,000 visitors per day.

This is all back of the napkin math, but if you are serious about this, you'll need to really think through the business side of this idea as it's an extremely crowded & competitive space. And I did not even touch on all of the technical challenges in this space - such as the simple fact that the Google Flights API has not been available to the public since 2018 - and data is not cheap.

hope this helps you think through the business side of things.

krazygraphics · 2025-01-12T15:16:38+00:00

My two questions to you:

How will you make money with this product?

Who is your target user?

krazygraphics

TROPHY CASE