Kevin Yien
Product Lead, Merchant Experiences at Stripe (formerly Square, Mutiny)
Kevin Yien leads product for merchant experiences at Stripe. He previously built the restaurant business and ecosystem teams at Square, and was head of product and design at Mutiny. He is known for his unique hiring practices including the 'unsell email' and his emphasis on decision logs for building product sense.
Dimension Profile
Key Themes
Episode Summary
Kevin Yien shares a toolkit of unique PM practices: keep a decision log to build product sense through reps, send an 'unsell email' to candidates listing everything terrible about the role to find A+ hires, and always be able to sell and support your own product. Drawing on experience at Stripe, Square, and Mutiny, he argues that the PM job has become too internal and that staying close to customers through direct selling and support is essential.
Leadership Principles
- → If you can't sell or support your own product, I don't trust you to build the product — PMs must stay close to customers
- → Product sense is just making good decisions with insufficient data — keep a decision log to build that muscle
- → Send an unsell email at offer stage listing all the terrible things about the role — candidates who are still excited are A+ hires
Notable Quotes
"If you can't sell or support your own product, I don't trust you to build the product. The PM job can become a little too internal, influencing stakeholders and getting alignment. But you need to be close to customers."
— On why PMs must be able to sell and support the product they build
"Product sense is just a fancy way of saying you can make good decisions with insufficient data. PMs need as many reps as possible in making decisions, documenting the rationale, and then crucially seeing the outcome of them."
— On why every PM should keep a decision log to build product sense
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