Eric Müller

Scaling a product or development team inside of a product consultancy in many ways is like scaling one inside of a product company in that you are thoughtful about when you bring staff on as opposed to when you are engaging with consultants. You never want to get to a place where you're like, oh, the money's always going to be there. I'm going to hire 50 people.

Scaling a product or development team inside of a product consultancy in many ways is like scaling one inside of a product company in that you are thoughtful about when you bring staff on as opposed to when you are engaging with consultants. You never want to get to a place where you're like, oh, the money's always going to be there. I'm going to hire 50 people.

And then it's six months later and you've got to lay off 25 of them. That first layoff in a company is devastating to everyone inside of the company because they're like, wow, I thought we were a family and I thought we were going to be taken care of and while working hard and like my buddy who's sitting next to me is now gone and I know they were working hard.

And then it's six months later and you've got to lay off 25 of them. That first layoff in a company is devastating to everyone inside of the company because they're like, wow, I thought we were a family and I thought we were going to be taken care of and while working hard and like my buddy who's sitting next to me is now gone and I know they were working hard.

And then it's six months later and you've got to lay off 25 of them. That first layoff in a company is devastating to everyone inside of the company because they're like, wow, I thought we were a family and I thought we were going to be taken care of and while working hard and like my buddy who's sitting next to me is now gone and I know they were working hard.

I think the other thing to think about, there's a million technologies out there. We can't do everything. I'm more than likely to hire people in some of the core technologies we have and then occasionally hire folks if I start to grow in a niche area or bring in a consultant. Work with me six months, a year, two years. Also try to think about processes.

I think the other thing to think about, there's a million technologies out there. We can't do everything. I'm more than likely to hire people in some of the core technologies we have and then occasionally hire folks if I start to grow in a niche area or bring in a consultant. Work with me six months, a year, two years. Also try to think about processes.

I think the other thing to think about, there's a million technologies out there. We can't do everything. I'm more than likely to hire people in some of the core technologies we have and then occasionally hire folks if I start to grow in a niche area or bring in a consultant. Work with me six months, a year, two years. Also try to think about processes.

And that's really difficult when you're working across a bunch of different companies where everyone might have a different process. And so you have to be flexible around that. But I think there's something to be said for when you bring someone into the company. And I've always done this is you bring them in and I talk them through what are the expectations.

And that's really difficult when you're working across a bunch of different companies where everyone might have a different process. And so you have to be flexible around that. But I think there's something to be said for when you bring someone into the company. And I've always done this is you bring them in and I talk them through what are the expectations.

And that's really difficult when you're working across a bunch of different companies where everyone might have a different process. And so you have to be flexible around that. But I think there's something to be said for when you bring someone into the company. And I've always done this is you bring them in and I talk them through what are the expectations.

And so like from day one, they're coming in the door and I'm like, hey, this is how we write code. And this is how we use GitHub. And we have two people do poll reviews. And a lot of that stuff is boring. They're already doing it. But you're setting a marker, right? This is how we do things. And yes, things are going to be flexible.

And so like from day one, they're coming in the door and I'm like, hey, this is how we write code. And this is how we use GitHub. And we have two people do poll reviews. And a lot of that stuff is boring. They're already doing it. But you're setting a marker, right? This is how we do things. And yes, things are going to be flexible.

And so like from day one, they're coming in the door and I'm like, hey, this is how we write code. And this is how we use GitHub. And we have two people do poll reviews. And a lot of that stuff is boring. They're already doing it. But you're setting a marker, right? This is how we do things. And yes, things are going to be flexible.

We may have to change because of a situation of a client or we're in a rush or something like that. But you're setting that cultural beginning. I would say to answer your other question around the challenges of scaling, it's interesting when we started doing this, AWS was just becoming a new hotness. And I think building out that team has always been a challenge for me.

We may have to change because of a situation of a client or we're in a rush or something like that. But you're setting that cultural beginning. I would say to answer your other question around the challenges of scaling, it's interesting when we started doing this, AWS was just becoming a new hotness. And I think building out that team has always been a challenge for me.

We may have to change because of a situation of a client or we're in a rush or something like that. But you're setting that cultural beginning. I would say to answer your other question around the challenges of scaling, it's interesting when we started doing this, AWS was just becoming a new hotness. And I think building out that team has always been a challenge for me.

From talking with people in product companies, they have the same challenge as me, other leaders, which is, It's really easy to say, I've got a developer. I need to bring him in. I'm going to keep them busy. I can justify that. I can go to the board. I can go to whoever and say, give me the money for five developers. They're going to be busy all the time. Don't worry about it.

From talking with people in product companies, they have the same challenge as me, other leaders, which is, It's really easy to say, I've got a developer. I need to bring him in. I'm going to keep them busy. I can justify that. I can go to the board. I can go to whoever and say, give me the money for five developers. They're going to be busy all the time. Don't worry about it.

From talking with people in product companies, they have the same challenge as me, other leaders, which is, It's really easy to say, I've got a developer. I need to bring him in. I'm going to keep them busy. I can justify that. I can go to the board. I can go to whoever and say, give me the money for five developers. They're going to be busy all the time. Don't worry about it.