In the fast-paced world of product development, there are moments when you're thrust into a high-stakes project with a rough strategy, a clear market need, and a vague vision. As a product leader, these are the moments where you have to “start hard.” My journey from launching Kayo Sports and then to accelerating the launches of Binge, Flash and Hubbl perfectly encapsulates what it means to tackle these challenges head-on.
Laying the Groundwork: The Initial Steps
When you step into a rapidly scaling project, you're often met with a broad, somewhat pixelated picture: a high-level strategy, an identifiable market need, and a gap waiting to be filled. The first move is to dive into immediate research—competitor analysis, market sizing, and understanding the landscape. Think of it like starting with a low-resolution image that becomes clearer as you gather more data.
Dividing and Conquering: UX and Product Focus
With a broad but defined starting point, the UX and product teams split their focus. UX dives into researching known features and functionalities, analyzing what competitors are doing, and identifying best practices. Meanwhile, the product team zeroes in on defining the value proposition and what a minimum viable offering looks like.
Importantly, the entire product team also conducts interviews with potential customers to ascertain their needs and pain points. This step ensures that the product is not only informed by market trends and competitor benchmarks but also deeply rooted in real customer insights. This holistic approach helps in crafting a product that truly resonates with its intended audience and aligns with their needs from the very beginning.
Iterative Refinement: From Broad to Precise
As research and interviews uncover more detail, the vague vision starts to crystallize. Prototypes are built. Customer feedback is looped in. Concepts are tested. Product-market fit is shaped not all at once, but one insight at a time.
Each iteration adds definition to the product, bringing it closer to a lovable solution. This iterative approach ensures what you launch isn't just viable—it's valuable.
From Kayo to Binge: The Power of Starting Hard
When we launched Kayo, it took 18 months to reach a minimum lovable product (MLP). We were building everything from scratch—processes, design libraries, tech stacks, and research functions. That first-time effort laid down a foundation.
When Binge launched, we weren’t starting from zero—we had design systems, technical frameworks, and user insights we could carry forward. It took just 9 months to reach the same level of polish and customer satisfaction. Flash News only took the product team 4 months to design. Starting hard the first time gave us the momentum to move fast the next time.
Tech Integration: A Parallel Journey
While this post focuses on the product and UX journey, it's important to acknowledge the parallel work happening in tech. As the product vision becomes clearer, tech teams work with subject matter experts to assess feasibility and move into development.
Sometimes this means making trade-offs or designing minimal lovable product (MLP) solutions for specific features to meet delivery timelines. It’s not always ideal, but it’s a necessary rhythm in high-speed environments. Maintaining alignment and flexibility ensures the whole team can ship fast without compromising too much on quality.
Conclusion
“Starting hard” isn’t just about grinding—it’s about intentionally laying foundations. It’s about being strategic when things are fuzzy, decisive when speed is essential, and grounded in insight when direction is vague.
What took 18 months the first time took only 9 the next. That’s the power of investing early in clarity, collaboration, and systems that scale.
