I’ve spent most of my career answering one question: Is this idea worth building?It sounds simple, but it’s the question that trips up most founders and product teams. They fall in love with a solution before understanding the problem. They build for months before talking with customers. Most of my career has been about helping others avoid those mistakes.
ABOUT JIM SEMICK
For over 25 years, I’ve helped turn early-stage ideas into successful software companies. I co-founded ProductPlan, a product management platform used by thousands of teams. We bootstrapped it, grew it to several million dollars in annual recurring revenue, and it was acquired in 2022.
Before ProductPlan, I was an early employee at AppFolio, where I helped validate the company’s market entry and product strategy. AppFolio went public in 2015. Before that, I led the market validation and defined product requirements for GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting, and GoToWebinar — products that collectively changed how people work remotely. Earlier in my career, I was a technology writer and published several technology titles with Microsoft Press.
Before ProductPlan, I was an early employee at AppFolio, where I helped validate the company’s market entry and product strategy. AppFolio went public in 2015. Before that, I led the market validation and defined product requirements for GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting, and GoToWebinar — products that collectively changed how people work remotely. Earlier in my career, I was a technology writer and published several technology titles with Microsoft Press.
What I do Now
I lecture in UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Technology Management, where I teach a course called Creating a Market-Tested Business Model. I take students through the real process of discovering whether a business idea has legs, using customer interviews, validation experiments, and lightweight frameworks that don’t require a product management background.
I’m also writing a book called The Product Code, which distills everything I’ve learned about product discovery into a practical guide for founders and builders. It’s based on my UCSB curriculum and decades of doing this work in the real world.
I’m also a mentor and angel investor in the Santa Barbara tech community.
I lecture in UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Technology Management, where I teach a course called Creating a Market-Tested Business Model. I take students through the real process of discovering whether a business idea has legs, using customer interviews, validation experiments, and lightweight frameworks that don’t require a product management background.
I’m also writing a book called The Product Code, which distills everything I’ve learned about product discovery into a practical guide for founders and builders. It’s based on my UCSB curriculum and decades of doing this work in the real world.
I’m also a mentor and angel investor in the Santa Barbara tech community.
