From Technical Demos to Product Strategy: Lessons Learned

The Demo Floor Teaches You Everything

When you're standing in front of a skeptical CISO demonstrating your product, you learn things no user research report can teach you.

You see exactly:

Objections Are Feature Requests

The objections customers raise during sales cycles are often the clearest product requirements you'll ever get.

"We can't use this because..." is the beginning of a feature spec.

I learned to:

Global Markets, Local Needs

Working across EMEA and Asia taught me that security products need regional adaptation.

Different regions have:

The Technical to Strategic Transition

Moving from technical roles to product strategy required a mindset shift:

From: "What can we build?"

To: "What should we build?"

From: "How does this work?"

To: "Why does this matter?"

From: "Feature completeness"

To: "Market fit"

This transition isn't about losing technical depth — it's about adding strategic altitude while maintaining technical credibility.

Building Business Cases

In enterprise, every feature needs a business case. I learned to frame everything in terms of:

The Bridge Role

Product managers in technical domains serve as bridges — between engineering and sales, between customers and development, between strategy and execution.

This bridge role requires: