How can product leaders build personalized edtech products? In this episode of Product Talk hosted by Kaboo Founder Neha Shah, Dailies Co-Founder & CEO Jessica Shelley shares her inspiration for starting Dailies based on her experience as a teacher, wanting to better engage families in students’ learning. She discusses building the initial product team and navigating the transition from teaching to leading a tech startup. The conversation covers challenges like difficult decisions to cut features and lessons learned from experiments. Jessica emphasizes the importance of aligning on long-term vision over short-term gains and hiring candidates committed to the company mission in a startup environment. Listeners gain insights on iterative product development and community involvement for ongoing learning and career growth.
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Show Notes
- User experience and lived experience can inform product design decisions.
- Small startups can foster close-knit, supportive cultures.
- Founders must adapt quickly to new environments like tech.
- Gathering authentic feedback is crucial for prioritizing features.
- Data and trends may require difficult decisions like cutting features.
- Free users provide different insights than paying customers.
- Long-term metrics like customer lifetime value are important.
- Alignment on company vision helps teams through challenges.
- Involving all team members benefits decision-making.
- Community involvement supports ongoing learning and growth.
- Prioritizing based on needs and resources is key for startups.
- Experiments may not align with business goals in the long run.
- Customer service quality impacts sustainability.
- Commitment to the mission is important in startup hiring.
- Iterative development relies on user and business feedback.
- Transparency helps teams through difficult product decisions.
- Connecting with mentors provides valuable “pressure tests.”
- Exemplars in related spaces inspire design and functionality.
- LinkedIn and communities foster learning and connections.
- Building understanding and trust with customers ensures loyalty.
About the speaker
About the host
My experience covers the trifecta of B2B Product Management, Sales, and Marketing. I also co-founded a B2C startup focused on family and education technology. I believe technology can be a creative and powerful driving force for change, and am passionate about building products that improve every day experiences.