Drew Falkman: The Hardest Lesson—Fail Fast and Validate Early

In this episode of "Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success," Drew Falkman shares the toughest lesson he’s learned in product management: the importance of failing fast. Drew explains how, early in his career, he spent too much time making assumptions and building features before validating them with users. He reflects on how getting feedback early can prevent costly mistakes and save precious time and resources, especially for startups with limited runway. If you’ve ever wondered how to avoid wasted effort, this episode will provide the answers. What You'll Learn: • Fail Fast, Learn Fast: The importance of testing ideas quickly with users. • Validate Before You Build: How skipping validation wastes resources and limits runway. • Lessons from Experience: Drew’s journey from costly assumptions to smarter development. 🔔 Subscribe for more expert insights from leading product managers: https://www.youtube.com/theproductway Related Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewfalkman/ Explore our full podcast series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt_nAQD_ZpQhbxw5G_1IGGWRxb236D--6 Connect with Us: https://linkedin.com/in/TheProductGuy Email: [email protected] #ProductStrategy #FutureOfWork #ProductManagement #DigitalTransformation #CareerJourney