💎 What’s stopping you from creating a scalable product strategy

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard founders and product leaders say, “We just need to scale faster!” It’s a common rallying cry. But when I ask about their product strategy, they often go quiet, or worse—they point to a list of features as if that’s a substitute for a roadmap that scales.

It’s not.

Scaling a product requires more than adding features or doing more of what’s already working. It’s about being intentional, aligning teams, and thinking ahead. Yet, building a scalable product strategy is easier said than done. So what’s stopping you from getting there? Let’s break down the barriers, not from a textbook perspective, but from real experiences I've seen firsthand.

1. Chasing Short-Term Wins Instead of Long-Term Vision

I’ll never forget a conversation I had with a founder who told me they were launching six new features within three months. They were excited—these features would surely blow up their user base. But a few months later, they were struggling. Their team was exhausted, and they still weren’t gaining traction in the market.

What happened? They were so focused on short-term gains that they’d forgotten to ask themselves how these features aligned with their long-term strategy. They were playing catch-up, trying to fill gaps they saw in the moment, rather than positioning the product for sustainable growth.

It’s tempting to chase short-term wins—believe me, I’ve been there. But those wins can become distractions if they don’t serve a larger goal. The lesson? Every new feature or decision should ladder up to a vision that stretches beyond the next quarter or fiscal year. Ask yourself, How does this help us build a product that grows over time? If the answer isn’t clear, you might need to rethink your approach.

2. Lack of a Clear Market Fit

I once worked with a company that thought they had nailed product-market fit. They had a few loyal customers, positive reviews, and even some early revenue. So, naturally, they started talking about scaling. But the problem? Their product only resonated with a small niche, and that niche wasn’t growing.

When they tried to scale, things fell apart. They pushed into new markets and expanded their feature set, but nothing stuck. Why? Because they hadn’t really figured out who they were building for. They had a handful of enthusiastic customers, but not a repeatable model for growth. It turned out, they needed to go back to basics.

Finding true product-market fit isn’t about making a few sales—it’s about knowing, without a doubt, that you’ve built something your target market can’t live without. Scaling prematurely can be like pouring gasoline on a fire that hasn’t even been lit. You need to focus on perfecting the fit first. It’s tedious, it’s frustrating, but when you get it right, it unlocks everything else.

3. Trying to Do Too Much at Once

We’ve all been guilty of wanting to do it all. I remember sitting in a product meeting where we discussed our roadmap for the next year. Someone said, “What if we could build all these features? It was an ambitious list: new integrations, a revamped user interface, a mobile app, the works. It sounded great—until we actually tried to pull it off.

About halfway through the year, reality hit. We were spread too thin. The quality was slipping, teams were overwhelmed, and worst of all, none of the features were making the impact we’d hoped for.

This is a trap many companies fall into—trying to do too much at once. You think, If we can just launch all of these things, we’ll be unstoppable. But scaling doesn’t work like that. You need focus. You need to understand what your product does best and what your users actually care about. Then, build around that core value. Expanding too fast or trying to serve too many markets at once will only dilute your efforts and slow you down. Trust me, less really is more.

4. Failure to Prioritize Resources

A friend of mine, a fellow product leader, once described his team’s roadmap as a “never-ending to-do list.” They had a million things in progress, each one with its own justification, but none of them was making the product meaningfully better. Worse, the team was constantly in firefighting mode, reacting to the loudest voice in the room rather than focusing on what really mattered.

Sound familiar? When you don’t prioritize resources, everything seems equally important, which means nothing really is. And when everything is a priority, you can’t scale effectively—you’re just putting out fires.

This is where ruthless prioritization comes in. You can’t scale a product if your team is scattered and constantly chasing after the next shiny object. The trick is figuring out what moves the needle and putting your resources behind that. Yes, it means saying no to things. Yes, it’s uncomfortable. But without focus, you’ll just spin your wheels, never gaining enough traction to truly grow.

5. Misalignment Across Teams

Let me paint a picture: Sales wants new features to close deals. Marketing wants new messaging to keep things fresh. Product wants to refine what’s already there. Sound chaotic? It is.

I’ve seen this scenario play out time and time again—teams working toward different goals, creating friction, confusion, and wasted effort. It’s like trying to row a boat with everyone paddling in a different direction.

Scaling a product strategy isn’t just about what the product team does. It’s about aligning every department so they’re all working toward the same goal. That means clear communication, shared KPIs, and regular check-ins to ensure that everyone understands not just what you’re building, but why. When teams are aligned, you can execute a product strategy that scales. When they aren’t, well, you’re just spinning in circles.

6. Fear of Taking Risks

I’ve worked with companies that had all the right ingredients for scaling—great product, talented teams, and enough funding to make things happen—but they were terrified of change. They’d had success with their current model, and the idea of taking risks, launching into new markets, or even changing their pricing strategy made them nervous.

Here’s the thing: scaling requires risk. It means trying new things, launching experiments, and sometimes failing. You can’t play it safe and expect to grow. If you’re too afraid of messing up, you’ll stay exactly where you are, and someone else will leapfrog ahead of you.

The companies that scale successfully are the ones that embrace risk. They aren’t reckless, but they’re not afraid to innovate. They know that sometimes you have to take a leap and trust that you’ll land on your feet. After all, the biggest risk is doing nothing and letting opportunities pass you by.

Scaling isn’t just about the product. It’s about having the right strategy in place, knowing what to prioritize, and ensuring your teams are aligned behind a shared goal. It’s about finding product-market fit and making decisions that not only drive growth today but build a foundation for tomorrow.

What’s stopping you isn’t the competition or the market; it’s how you approach growth. The sooner you recognize that the faster you’ll break through those barriers and start building a product strategy that can take your company to the next level. Let’s connect and discuss how we can collaborate to achieve your company’s success.

Onwards,

PS - If you’re a founder in Vancouver on October 16, I’m hosting a free wine-tasting event to bring everyone together and share insights for 2025. Sign up before spots go!