Student Experience | Product Management, Week 8 | Jessica Park

By BrainStation March 9, 2016
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Interested in learning more about BrainStation’s Product Management Course?

This week we covered a whole bunch of sexy stuff, like risk management and financial planning. While maybe not actually the most exciting of topics, this class was definitely one of the more critical pieces of the Product Management puzzle that we’ve covered in the course.

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk.”

– Mark Zuckerberg

Launching a new thing can be risky business and Product Managers (and/or business owners) have to expect the unexpected and mitigate risk by always preparing for the worst. While you might be thinking “well, duh”, going through the process of identifying risks and outlining their required responses was a good reminder about the importance of prioritizing the risk management process ahead of a product launch.

“Being rich is a good thing. Not just in the obvious sense of befitting you and your family, but in the broader sense: profits are not a zero-sum game. The more you make, the more of a financial impact you can have.”

– Mark Cuban

Arguably the most vital aspect to clearly understand when turning a product or business idea into a reality is the financials around it – understanding how much money you really need to get this thing off the ground (and keep it afloat) and then forecasting how you’re going to break even on, make a profit off of, and then re-invest into this thing.

Next week we start presenting our final projects [Side note: WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!] and after this class I’m feeling really good about where I am with my product idea. I won’t spill the beans just yet, but it’s very FITting now that Mother Nature is reminding us all about bikini season being around the corner.

Until next time!

Jessica is taking BrainStation's Product Management Course in Toronto!

Jessica is taking BrainStation’s Product Management Course in Toronto!