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Eira is an editor for Mind the Product. She's been a business journalist, editor, and copywriter for longer than she cares to think about.

Eira Hayward

This week’s Sunday Rewind is a case study from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aefidler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ashley Fidler</a> in which she lays bare a catalogue of common errors made by her and her team when launching a cybersecurity software product.
The case study relates to Ashley’s time at a <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/machine-learning-for-product-managers-a-quick-primer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Machine Learning (ML)</a> platform company that pivoted to cybersecurity in 2016.
The company had a ML platform that was focused on financial services and differentiated by ease of use for non-technical users, but it had hit a common set of issues facing ML companies. It was service-heavy, targeted at enterprises who expected a lot of customisation, and was burning cash without the repeatability and scale of a SaaS product that would justify this spend.
The company made a number of errors when it pivoted:
Lack of data: It pivoted to a new market quickly, based on many untested assumptions, without adequate data.
Relied on expertise: It relied on expertise, rather than fully validating the customer need and budget before building the product
Wishful thinking: They deluded themselves about technological readiness, build time, and the importance of cybersecurity knowledge
Rushing to market: Once these errors became clear, they rushed to market then recovered slowly.
Ashley says that in the end, the company was acquired and nearly everyone got a position with the parent company.  She says: “We made tons of mistakes, endemic to young teams without adequate experience and support to take on the hard challenges we were facing. It wasn’t a  successful outcome, but we escaped without much lasting damage” Her final take away from this experience is, “honestly, humility. Product is hard. It requires patience, curiosity, good judgement, and a level of openness and emotional maturity that takes time to develop”.
Read the original post <a href="https://www.mindtheproduct.com/common-product-development-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them-all-a-case-study/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Common Product Development Mistakes and How To Avoid Them All: A Case Study</a>

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SUNDAY REWIND: Common Product Development Mistakes and How To Avoid Them All: A Case Study

SUNDAY REWIND: Common Product Development Mistakes and How To Avoid Them All: A Case Study

Eira Hayward

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