The Newsletter Every Product Manager Needs for Profitable, High-Performing Products

Company X shuts down Product Y.

Does it bother you when you read about a product-led company or one of its products shutting down? What might have gone wrong? You may be thinking. Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business School Professor, reported that nearly 30,000 new products are introduced each year, and 95% of them fail.

Do you ever wonder if there's a predictable path to product success, so your time and efforts aren't wasted?

I’ve had my share of product wins and losses. In my 10 years of product management experience, I’ve had to create sunset plans for four products I poured my time and effort into. The pain of decommissioning them was real but just like a great sailor is forged in storms, I’ve navigated both smooth and turbulent times in product management. Each experience has taught me what to do and what not to do.

But it’s not all losses there have been significant wins too. When I joined Interswitch Group 2015, I was responsible for the growth of seven products. One of those products, the Verve card, is now actively used by 50 million users across multiple countries. Another product is used by all banks for settlement, dispute resolution, reporting, and reconciliation. And more products that have had an equally lasting impact on the African tech ecosystem, eCash, Safetoken, digital Wallets etc)

In less than a year at Andela , I was promoted to lead one of the departments within the technology team, managing product managers and designers. In this role, I drove key innovations that helped the business generate millions in revenue and save costs. As the first Senior Growth Product Manager at Flutterwave , I played a pivotal role in scaling a product and growing its user base by over 200% through innovative growth strategies across multiple countries amongst other products. Through ProductDive , I’ve launched products that have empowered over 30,000 product managers globally with expert training, resources, and community support.

These experiences with both good and bad moments have shaped my approach to product management.

And this is why the Profitable Product Management newsletter was birthed with a passion to help product managers or anyone who owns the outcome of a product have the insights, frameworks, and tools they need to build profitable, high-performing products that make a lasting impact.

In this newsletter, I’ll share what works, what you shouldn’t bother your time on, and what you should focus on because it works. I'll show you how to easily incorporate it into your product craft without the fluff.

Don’t make the same mistakes I’ve heard product managers make. I’ve heard things like:

• "I’m getting paid duly, so product performance doesn’t bother me."
• "Before I joined the team, the CEO already had a strategy, so I’m just running with it."

Okay, did you validate that strategy? You better run carefully so you're not forced to run out ahead of your time.

As a product manager, you can’t sit back and work without thinking about how your product is performing. Whether your product works well or not, your contract may still be intact, but you’re sitting on a potential bombshell that’s only a matter of time before it explodes if you don't focus on revenue generation and profitability.

And are there rewards when your product generates good enough revenue? Yes, there are. In my next issue, I’ll share my unique experience on this.

So, what can you expect in the next issues of my newsletter?

• How to map your products to profit. We’ll talk about your posture, process, people, why product performance precedes product prettiness, and how to achieve that balance.
• How to avoid the common traps so you can focus on what works to build a product that’s both profitable and high-performing.

So who is this newsletter for?

• A product manager who desires to build products that drive revenue. Whether you’re a Technical PM, Growth PM, Platform PM, Consumer PM, or Enterprise PM or if you’re in Fintech, EduTech, E-commerce, or Logistics etc, this is for you.
• A product leader who leads a team and needs guidance on how to organise your team to build products effectively.
• A CEO of a product-led organisation that needs to know how best to support the product management function to achieve business goals because product profitability does not solely lie in the hands of a product manager.
• And anyone who’s curious about product management and wants to learn more about building profitable products.

???? So Welcome to Profitable Product Management with Tobi Otokiti.

Just before I wrap up today's newsletter issue, I have a short task for you

As you wait for the next, think about one product you’re managing or one that’s on your radar. Ask yourself: How does this product generate revenue?

Take a few moments to jot down your thoughts. This exercise will set the stage for our upcoming discussions on product performance and profitability.

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