There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the optimal number of Product Managers (PMs) in a product team. The conversation gained traction after Airbnb restructured their product management organization, and there have been articles about startups thriving without any PMs. It is my belief that many companies hire too many PMs, leading to them being bogged down with project management tasks instead of focusing on product optimization. The number of PMs needed depends on the specific product, team, and business needs. Startups should consider hiring a PM when the founders can no longer handle all the important product decisions, usually when the organization reaches 50-100 people. It is important to have a clear product strategy in place and hire a senior PM rather than a junior one or a Chief Product Officer (CPO). The rest of the product development team should also take on more responsibility, actively participating in shaping the product and leading detailed discussions. Collaboration between product, design, and engineering is crucial in problem-solving. To foster a product-oriented team, it is beneficial to start discussions together before diving into solving problems individually, expose everyone to user feedback, and avoid micromanaging and harmful KPIs. Additionally, it is best to avoid using separate PM tools and instead ensure
https://kitemaker.co/blog/more_product_fewer_pms