Read the original at Lenny’s Newsletter ↗lennysnewsletter.com · subscriber post
By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
Lenny Rachitsky argues that good PMs make product teams better, and that the core PM jobs (shaping, shipping, and synchronizing) must be covered by someone regardless of hiring. He outlines three signs it's time to hire a first full-time PM: frequent bottlenecks, frequent misalignment, and a need to go deep on a problem after finding product-market fit, while warning against hiring too early or too late.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- Someone must do the core PM jobs even if you never hire a dedicated PM.
- Frequent bottlenecks around a founder or lead often signal it's time to hire a PM.
- Recurring misalignment on priorities, timelines, or problems is a strong hiring signal.
- Hiring too early can create too many cooks; hiring too late leaves teams overworked.
- A first PM faces heavy ambiguity, so they must add clarity while staying flexible.
“We should have hired a PM sooner at Product Hunt so that I (as CEO) was no longer a bottleneck.”Ryan Hoover · Lenny’s Newsletter
“A starvation diet when it comes to PMs is preferable to being overstuffed.”Ken Norton · Lenny’s Newsletter
02Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.