a16z Partner Josh Elman Says Product Management Is Storytelling

a16z partner Josh Elman said product management is about storytelling, recalling that he began his career as an engineer at RealNetworks and worked on the product and engineering teams for RealPlayer, which had hundreds of millions of users. According to ChainCatcher, he said he was later interviewed by Reid Hoffman for LinkedIn and was asked what a product manager’s output is; he first answered a specification document, but later said that was the wrong answer and that the real output is a story people can pass along without him present. Elman said he once wrote a 120-page specification document at LinkedIn. He added that AI has collapsed the cost of making products and reversed the development loop, shifting the process from specifications and scope to building and experience. He said teams should use AI to quickly build prototypes, see how they feel, and then design and release after the prototype proves better than assumptions. He also said demos are now nearly free while working products are not, making decisions about what to build a debate over influence. Elman said vision consists of purpose, core actions, and cycles, and that teams should ask whether people are truly using the product. He added that guiding users is the most important moment in storytelling.