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PRODUCT · PRODUCT STRATEGY

Product strategy consulting

Product strategy consulting helps you decide who your product serves, which problem it solves first and what to build next or drop, written so your team can act on it. Useful before a first launch or a big bet in a growing company.

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Led by Roger GrekosCo-Founder, product

The drawing shows twelve segment and job pairs and, under it, each placed by the pain heard in interviews and the willingness to pay, with the one bet marked.

BrainStormers offers product strategy services for startups with more ideas than people. A senior product strategy consultant works with the founders on evidence from customers, usage and the market. The work ends with one clear bet and a plan to test it.

01SOUND FAMILIAR?

Signs your product strategy needs work

  • SYMPTOM 01

    Every customer call adds another feature to the list

    Usually means: The product is shaped by requests instead of a choice about who it is for.

  • SYMPTOM 02

    We serve three customer types and none of them well

    Usually means: A small team is spread across segments that each need a different product.

  • SYMPTOM 03

    Investors keep asking why now and why us

    Usually means: The reasoning behind the product has not been tested against the market.

  • SYMPTOM 04

    Every planning meeting turns into the same argument

    Usually means: There is no shared rule for deciding what matters most, so opinion wins.

  • SYMPTOM 05

    Growth has flattened and nobody agrees on the cause

    Usually means: The first bet may have run its course, and the next one has not been chosen.

Led by Roger GrekosCo-Founder, product

Weighing a pivot, a new segment or a second product? Send us the options before the team commits.

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02WHAT WE DO

What our product strategy consulting covers

Strategy is only useful if it changes what the team does next week. Each piece below ends in a written decision, not a slide.

  • Customer and segment choice

    We map who buys, who uses and who pays, then pick the segment where the problem is sharpest and you can win first. Everything else in the plan follows from this choice.

  • Problem and positioning

    We write the problem in your customers' words and test it in interviews. Then we define how the product differs from the tools those customers use today, and why they would switch.

  • The one bet and what to drop

    We choose one bet for the next stage and set the signal that will prove it right or wrong. Then we list what the team stops doing to make room for it.

  • A check on the business model

    We check that the bet can make money: who pays, for what, and how the price grows with the value delivered. Deeper pricing work runs as Pricing strategy consulting and monetization.

  • A strategy the roadmap can follow

    We turn the strategy into goals and a short list of themes, so every line on the roadmap has a reason. For the next step, our guide answers "What is a product roadmap?" and shows how to build one from a strategy.

Illustration of what a strategy drops and the two items it keeps

03IN BRIEF

Product strategy for early-stage startups

For an early-stage startup, product strategy and consulting comes down to three choices. You pick the customer to serve first, the problem to solve for them and the single bet to make next. Everything else, from the roadmap to pricing to hiring, follows from those choices. We make them with evidence rather than opinion. That means interviews with your customers, the usage and sales data you already collect, and a scan of the tools those customers use today. The output is a short written strategy that names the bet and the signal that will prove it right or wrong. Before product-market fit, that signal is usually retention or repeat use, and our guide on how to find product market fit explains what to watch. Once the bet works, scale-up strategy plans the stage after it.

When to hire product strategy consultants

Hire product strategy consultants when a big decision is coming and the team cannot settle it from the inside. Typical moments are a fundraise, a pivot, flat growth, a second product or segment, or founders who disagree about direction. An outside product strategy consultant brings a method, asks the questions the team has stopped asking and has no stake in anyone's favourite feature. It is the wrong purchase if you have no customers or prospects to learn from yet; in that case, test the idea first. If you are comparing product management consulting firms, ask each one three things. What decision will you hold at the end, who will do the work, and how will the strategy reach your roadmap? A good answer names a written output and a date.

How strategy and discovery work together

Strategy decides where to look; discovery finds out what is true there. A strategy names the customer, the problem and the bet. Every strategy also rests on assumptions, such as that customers feel the problem often or would switch from the tool they use today. Discovery tests those assumptions with interviews, prototypes and small experiments before the team commits engineering time. In practice the two run in a loop. The strategy points discovery at the riskiest assumption, and the evidence either confirms the bet, sharpens it or sends it back for a rethink. When the open questions are about what customers need inside the chosen bet, our product discovery services take over. They run that research as a focused project with its own end date. The strategy stays the reference point for every finding.

04STEP BY STEP

How a strategy engagement runs

  1. 01

    Audit

    We gather what you already know: customer interviews, sales notes, usage data, churn reasons and your current plan. Where the gaps are, we add a short market scan and a round of interviews.

  2. 02

    Build

    We work through the choices with the founders in a few focused sessions: segment, problem, positioning, the bet and what to drop. Each session ends in a written decision.

  3. 03

    Ship

    We hand over a short strategy document, the goals and themes for the roadmap and the signal you will watch. A follow-up review checks the bet once real data comes in.

05ENGAGEMENT OPTIONS

Ways to work with us on strategy

  • Strategy session

    A working session to pressure-test one decision, such as a pivot or a new segment.

    You get

    • A prepared review of your plan and data
    • A written recommendation after the session

    Typical shape

    One to three sessions

    Quoted after a short call

    Ask for a quote

  • Strategy sprint

    A fixed-scope project that ends in a written strategy your team can act on.

    You get

    • Customer interviews and a market scan
    • Segment, problem and positioning decisions
    • The one bet, its signal and the not-doing list
    • Goals and themes for the roadmap

    Typical shape

    A fixed scope

    Quoted after a short call

    Ask for a quote

  • Ongoing strategy partner

    A senior product strategy consultant in your leadership meetings while the strategy plays out.

    You get

    • A regular review of the bet against its signal
    • Help with board and investor updates
    • Adjustments when the evidence changes

    Typical shape

    A few days a month

    Quoted after a short call

    Ask for a quote

06WHO IT IS FOR

Who product strategy consulting is for

Roger Grekos

07LED BY

Who shapes the strategy

Roger Grekos leads product strategy work at BrainStormers, with a focus on users, evidence and plans a small team can carry out.

A small team can win one fight at a time. Strategy is choosing that fight on evidence, then planning everything else around it.

Roger GrekosCO-FOUNDER · PRODUCT
Roger Grekos
Co-Founder, Product, Project & Scale
Background
Roger co-founded BrainStormers and has led product for 12+ years across SaaS, fintech, media, gaming and services. At Find.co he led product strategy for a media portfolio whose revenue grew from $22M to $55M in three years; at PayEm he took a procurement platform to $1M ARR in 12 months.
Roger's profileLinkedIn

08

Related services

  • Product discovery

    Customer interviews, workshops and prototypes that show what customers will pay for before you build.

    Roger

  • Pricing and monetization

    Pricing strategy for startups: value metric, plans, usage pricing and price tests, built into a monetization plan.

    Roger

  • Scale planning

    A staged plan for your next stage of growth: team shape, process, product operations and the systems behind them.

    Roger

  • Product and engineering

    Strategy settled and ready to build? Our SaaS development services put product and engineering on one plan.

    Roger and Thanos

09

Insights on product strategy

  • SCALE STRATEGYGUIDE

    How to build a product roadmap

    How to build a product roadmap a startup can follow: formats, a seven-step process, RICE scoring, a copyable template, examples for three stages and habits that keep it honest.

    Roger Grekos

10FAQ

Questions about product strategy consulting

What does product strategy consulting include?

Product strategy consulting includes choosing the customer segment to serve first and defining the problem and positioning. It also picks one bet for the next stage and lists what the team will stop doing. It ends with a short written strategy, goals for the roadmap and the signal that shows whether the bet is working.

What is the difference between a product strategy and a roadmap?

A product strategy says who the product is for, what problem it solves and how it will win. A roadmap is the order of work that carries out that strategy over the coming months. The strategy should change rarely and for a reason; the roadmap changes often as the team learns.

How do you decide what to build next and what to drop?

We test each candidate against the strategy: does it serve the chosen customer, solve the chosen problem and move the signal we agreed to watch? Items that fail go on a written not-doing list with the reason. Evidence from interviews and usage data breaks ties, not the loudest opinion in the room.

Can a product strategy help us raise money?

A strategy does not raise money on its own. It answers what investors ask: who the customer is, why the problem matters now, why your team can win and what the round pays for. Founders who can show that reasoning, with evidence behind it, leave investors less to guess.

How long does a product strategy engagement take?

It depends on how much evidence already exists. With customers, usage data and recent interviews in hand, the work is mostly decisions and moves quickly. If that evidence is missing, we add research first, which takes longer. We agree the scope and the end date before we start, so the project never runs open-ended.

What does the finished strategy look like?

It is a short written document rather than a long deck. It names the target customer, the problem in their words, the positioning, the one bet, the signal that proves it and a not-doing list. It comes with goals and themes your roadmap can follow and a date to review the bet.

Led by Roger GrekosCo-Founder, product

Talk to Roger about product strategy

20-minute intro call

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YOUR MOVE

Decide what's next

Bring the decision you are stuck on, whether it is a pivot, a new segment or what to drop. We will say whether it needs one session, a sprint or ongoing help.

You’ll talk to Roger

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