The Product Feature Pyramid

Wisdom from China: Less is more—focus on what truly matters.
Source: 少即是多 = “Less is more”.

Invincible Hardware Minute: Unless you’re building a Swiss Army knife, less is usually better—especially for your first product launch. Yet, this is where most teams get it wrong.

Product feature debates are often driven by opinions, egos, and guesswork. Cut through the noise with a structured approach like the Product Feature Pyramid:

1. Core

2. Should

3. Maybe

4. Moonshot

Once features are categorized, run a workshop to debate their value. Ask:

• “What must be true [for customer/market] for this to be Core?”

• “Can this move to a Pro version?”

• “What problem does this solve for the user?”

• “How does it increase product lifetime profit?”

If there isn’t a compelling, and ideally data-backed answer, it’s not Core—demote it.

It’s not easy to get right, and I’m still learning. After trimming a startup’s feature list earlier this year, I had to scrap another feature recently due to underestimated technical and supply chain challenges. Lesson learned—yet again.

I run these workshops regularly. If you're struggling to prioritize, let’s chat! Or, reply to this email for the Product Feature Pyramid template—I’ll send it over.

Final thought: If customers won’t buy the simplest version of your product, why would they buy the more complex version?

As promised, better hardware in under a minute.

Less is more,
Ryan

PS - Yes, even this cat agrees.