Is your company a product-first company? Do you know what that means? Does it even matter?

Absolutely yes, it does.

Product-first companies nurture and appreciate authentic product thinking. They work to create a culture that empowers innovation and rewards disruption. They enable product managers to learn more and make a substantial impact.

Stripe, Slack, Evernote, and MailChimp are some of the best examples of product-first companies. I recommend reading their blogs to understand their cultures.

Let's jump right in and understand - what makes a company product-first.

Product-Minded Leadership Team

1. Product-first company's leadership has a background in product rather than sales.
2. Most of the teams in a product company are product teams (e.g. engineering, UX, PMs)

Product Engagement Drives Conversions

1. Product companies trust that the right users who have used the product will purchase. They purposely keep the barriers to entry to their product very low.
2. They focus on long-term gain over short-term. That is why these companies offer flexible pricing and monthly plans. Not something that sales companies do.
3. They inspire users to use the product without any pressure to purchase. This freedom builds trust and loyalty, which converts users to customers and customers to promoters.

Cross-Company Alignment on Mission

1. Product companies have a laser-focused mission which powers all decision making
2. User delight is always the highest priority. But, product teams make difficult decisions to stay true to their mission, even if that means "firing" a customer or turning a high-revenue customer's requests down.