From CTO to Product: Bridging the Startup Gap

Startups often launch with vision but no roadmap. Founders know their business domain but lack the product and technical expertise to turn ideas into real apps.In this episode from Product Excellence, Drew Falkman, Principal at Moves the Needle, shares how his CTO work naturally evolved into product leadership. He explains how guiding founders through customer discovery, product planning, and building the right teams became the most critical part of his role.What You Will Learn• Why non-technical founders struggle to translate vision into products• How customer discovery reshapes early product thinking• Why product leadership mattered more than code in Drew’s CTO role• The evolution of product as a discipline in the 2000s and beyond• Why a strong product foundation sets the stage for technical executionMembers of The Product Way on Patreon get exclusive access to the full interview with Drew Falkman and early access to clips before they are released anywhere else in Product Excellence, plus strategies, case studies, and examples from award winning product leaders.👉 Join here: https://patreon.com/theproductway/membership