Ask HN: Which is the better hire? Product Manager or Product Designer

Posted by siri- on Saturday May 24, 2025 @03:35PM
from the ask-hn dept.

Assume

- early stage startup (Pre-Series A)

- ENG hiring is at capacity

- No PM or PD

Specify founder makeup

- both founders are ENG

- neither founders have PM or PD experience

Specify company type

- b2b

- b2c

- ecom

—

Just curious what the PM vs PD split is between ENGs

( 1 comment | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Which is the better hire? Product Manager or Prod... by yemi_cortez on Thursday May 29, 2025 @12:31PM (#44127651)

ENG-heavy teams often overlook that positioning and messaging are your biggest growth levers early on. Case in point: Superhuman spent 6 months on messaging before building. If you’re debating PM vs. PD, first ask:

‘Can we even articulate why customers should pick us?’

‘Are our landing pages/conversations losing people who should get it?’ I’ve helped similar startups fix this. Happy to audit your messaging for free—DM me.

[ Parent | on HN ]