Project vs Product Funding

Episode 22 of the Michael Martino Show podcast, hosted by Michael, titled "Project vs Product Funding" was published on April 30, 2025 and runs 4 minutes.

April 30, 2025 ·4m · Michael Martino Show

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Summary

Project Funding vs Product Funding. Yeah, I know — "funding models" isn't exactly sexy. But let me tell you something — if you get this wrong, you are setting yourself up for years of pain. And if you get it right? You unlock real innovation. Project funding In a project funding model, you fund work one project at a time. You write a big plan, get approvals, allocate budget, deliver something, and then...boom. Done. Team breaks up, everyone moves on. Sounds familiar? It should. Most traditional IT shops, government agencies, and even a lot of big corporations still work this way. Product funding In a product funding model, you do something different. You fund a product team — a standing team — not just to deliver one thing but to own and evolve a product over time. Instead of “Here’s $5 million, build the thing," it’s, "Here’s $2 million a year — your job is to keep improving the thing, forever." Why it matters? The world doesn't stop once you ship. Customers don't stop needing new features. Security threats don't disappear. Technology doesn’t freeze in time. When you fund projects, you’re basically saying, "Let’s pretend the world freezes while we build something — and once we ship it, let’s move on and hope it doesn’t break." When you fund products, you're admitting reality: Software is never done. Customer needs change. Markets shift. Technology evolves. If you want to be agile, if you want to respond to real-world feedback, if you want to build stuff people actually use — you need product funding. The product model is cheaper I know what some of you are thinking "Product funding sounds expensive. We can’t just keep teams around forever." It’s actually cheaper in the long run because you're not constantly starting from scratch. You're not paying the "re-learn everything" tax every few years. You're not scrambling to patch outdated tech when it breaks. You're delivering more value to your users. Getting tactical If you're stuck in project world and you want to move toward product funding, here are three things you can start doing today: Push products, not projects. What are the digital services your customers actually use? Name them. Own them. Budget for outcomes, not deliverables Instead of "build a mobile app," fund "improve customer mobile experience." Let the team figure out what moves the needle. Build long-lived teams People who stick with the product. Learn its quirks. Get to know the users. Teams that build muscle over time instead of starting over every two years. To wrap If you want to be an organization that wins in the digital world — you need to move from project funding to product funding. It’s not just a budgeting exercise. It’s a mindset shift about how you build and deliver value. When you fund projects, you build relationships. For you customers relationships are what matter.

Episode Description

Project Funding vs Product Funding.

Yeah, I know — "funding models" isn't exactly sexy. But let me tell you something — if you get this wrong, you are setting yourself up for years of pain. And if you get it right? You unlock real innovation.

Project funding
In a project funding model, you fund work one project at a time.

You write a big plan, get approvals, allocate budget, deliver something, and then...boom. Done. Team breaks up, everyone moves on.

Sounds familiar? It should. Most traditional IT shops, government agencies, and even a lot of big corporations still work this way.

Product funding

In a product funding model, you do something different.

You fund a product team — a standing team — not just to deliver one thing but to own and evolve a product over time.

Instead of “Here’s $5 million, build the thing," it’s,

"Here’s $2 million a year — your job is to keep improving the thing, forever."

Why it matters?
The world doesn't stop once you ship.

Customers don't stop needing new features.

Security threats don't disappear.

Technology doesn’t freeze in time.

When you fund projects, you’re basically saying,
"Let’s pretend the world freezes while we build something — and once we ship it, let’s move on and hope it doesn’t break."

When you fund products, you're admitting reality:

Software is never done.

Customer needs change.

Markets shift.

Technology evolves.

If you want to be agile, if you want to respond to real-world feedback, if you want to build stuff people actually use — you need product funding.

The product model is cheaper

I know what some of you are thinking "Product funding sounds expensive. We can’t just keep teams around forever."

It’s actually cheaper in the long run because you're not constantly starting from scratch. You're not paying the "re-learn everything" tax every few years. You're not scrambling to patch outdated tech when it breaks. You're delivering more value to your users.

Getting tactical
If you're stuck in project world and you want to move toward product funding, here are three things you can start doing today:

Push products, not projects.
What are the digital services your customers actually use?
Name them. Own them.

Budget for outcomes, not deliverables
Instead of "build a mobile app," fund "improve customer mobile experience."
Let the team figure out what moves the needle.

Build long-lived teams
People who stick with the product. Learn its quirks. Get to know the users. Teams that build muscle over time instead of starting over every two years.

To wrap
If you want to be an organization that wins in the digital world —
you need to move from project funding to product funding.

It’s not just a budgeting exercise.

It’s a mindset shift about how you build and deliver value.

When you fund projects, you build relationships.

For you customers relationships are what matter.