The hardest part of product management is not generating ideas -- it is saying no to good ideas. At any given time, your team could build dozens of features. The discipline of choosing the right ones determines whether your startup moves forward or spins its wheels.
The RICE Framework
RICE scores features on four dimensions: Reach (how many users will this affect?), Impact (how significantly will it affect them? 3 = massive, 0.25 = minimal), Confidence (how sure are we about these estimates?), and Effort (how many person-weeks will it take?). RICE Score = (Reach x Impact x Confidence) / Effort. Rank features by score and work from the top.
Customer-Driven Prioritization
Weight feature requests by customer segment: requests from your ideal customer profile should carry more weight than requests from customers who do not fit your long-term strategy. Look for patterns across requests rather than responding to individual asks.
The One-Metric-That-Matters Approach
At any given stage, identify the single metric that most determines your success (activation rate, retention, revenue growth) and prioritize features that move that metric. This prevents the common trap of building horizontally (lots of features, none great) instead of vertically (one amazing experience).
Time-Boxing Exploration vs. Exploitation
Allocate roughly 70% of engineering resources to features that improve your core product (exploitation) and 30% to exploring new capabilities (exploration). This balance keeps your product competitive while creating optionality.
Saying No Gracefully
When you say no to a feature request, explain the reasoning: 'We are focused on improving retention this quarter, and this feature does not directly impact that metric. It is on our radar for Q3.' This builds trust with customers and team members who proposed the idea.
