Zero-to-One: Creating Kanarys' Top-Selling Product

Background

At Kanarys Software, I identified a critical bottleneck in their assessment process: while the existing core product, the ‘Engagement & Belonging Assessment’ collected valuable data, clients struggled to translate these insights into actionable strategies. I followed a structured discovery process to identify market gaps:

• User Research: Conducted 30+ customer interviews to uncover pain points in the assessment workflow

• Problem Definition: Identified that clients struggled to translate data from our 'Engagement & Belonging Assessment' into actionable strategies and determined consultants needed standardized organizational context to make targeted recommendations

• Opportunity Sizing: Quantified the potential revenue impact from addressing the assessment-to-action gap

• Market Research: Discovered potential clients were hesitant about company-wide surveys, indicating need for a low-touch alternative

Solution

Product Strategy & Development Process

Following product management methodology, I led the WIA from concept to launch:

• Hypothesis Development: Created testable hypotheses about assessment frameworks and client adoption

• Product Requirements Document: Wrote detailed PRD outlining user stories, acceptance criteria, and success metrics

  • Wrote base user stories, and enhanced requirements by collaborating with UX/UI designers, data architects, and developers

• Prioritization Framework: Used RICE scoring to evaluate and prioritize features for MVP and future roadmap

• Prototype & Validation: Developed low-fidelity prototypes to test assessment concepts with key stakeholders

• Cross-Functional Alignment: Established buy-in across engineering, design, sales, and consulting teams

Solution Architecture

• Comprehensive Assessment Framework: Created evidence-based audit that spanned across five key categories of workplace infrastructure through rigorous research incorporating industrial-organizational psychology, data science, and legal expertise

• Maturity Model Development: Built a global best practices database that formed the foundation for our proprietary 5-level framework

• Data Model Design: Architected scoring algorithm and relational database structure

• Product Integration Strategy: Designed APIs and data flows between WIA and existing products

• User Experience Mapping: Created journey maps for different stakeholders interacting with the system

Execution & Iterative Development

As product owner, I employed agile methodologies to bring the WIA to market:

• MVP Definition & Scope Management:

  • Clearly defined minimum viable product based on core user needs

  • Created feature prioritization matrix balancing business value and development effort

  • Established MVP success criteria with measurable KPIs

• Agile Development Leadership:

  • Ran bi-weekly sprint planning and retrospectives with development team

  • Wrote detailed user stories with clear acceptance criteria

  • Maintained and groomed product backlog based on emerging insights

  • Conducted regular stakeholder reviews to maintain alignment

• Data-Driven Iteration:

  • Implemented analytics tracking to measure user engagement

  • Used A/B testing to optimize audit flow and completion rates

  • Conducted usability testing with consultants and select clients

  • Created feedback loops to capture insights from early adopters

• Feature Evolution & Product Scaling:

  • Evolved from manual scoring to fully automated solution

  • Developed recommendation engine using structured data taxonomy

  • Built customizable action planning features based on consultant and client feedback

Results

I established comprehensive metrics for tracking success and demonstrating ROI:

A dashboard showing key metrics and ROI

• Product Metrics & KPIs:

  • Achieved 90% audit completion rate (compared to 75% benchmark)

  • Maintained 95% data accuracy through automated validation

  • Increased platform retention by 35% for WIA users vs. non-users

• Business Impact:

  • Became Kanarys' top-selling product within first year of launch

  • Generated $2.1M in new revenue within first 6 months

  • Contributed to securing $6.3M in Series A funding

  • Drove 56% increase in overall platform sales

• Client Value Delivery:

  • Reduced time required for client recommendations by 80%

  • Improved client NPS scores from 52 to 79

  • Created new market segment with 30% of sales to clients previously unwilling to adopt company-wide surveys

• Strategic Outcomes:

  • Positioned Kanarys as category leader in workplace analytics

  • Expanded product portfolio with premium-tier comprehensive platform offering

  • Contributed directly to successful acquisition (valuation multiple improvement)

Skills Demonstrated

I applied several core product management best practices throughout this zero-to-one product development:

• Customer-Centric Development: Built solution based on observed and validated user needs rather than assumptions

• Data-Informed Decision Making: Used quantitative and qualitative data to guide product decisions

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Facilitated collaboration between engineering, design, sales, and customer success

• MVP & Iterative Approach: Started with minimal viable solution and evolved based on beta-testing and market feedback

• Clear Success Metrics: Defined and tracked specific KPIs aligned with business objectives

• Strategic Product Positioning: Designed product to expand market while complementing existing offerings

• Product-Led Growth Strategy: Created self-service elements to reduce implementation friction

• Technical Debt Management: Balanced speed-to-market with architectural sustainability

Lessons Learned

This zero-to-one product development journey reinforced key product management principles:

• Solving Real Problems: Success came from addressing a genuine market need rather than building features

• Evidence Over Opinion: Using data to validate decisions led to better outcomes than relying on intuition

• User Experience Focus: Simple, intuitive design significantly impacted adoption and retention

• Continuous Feedback Loops: Regular customer input throughout development prevented major course corrections

• Strategic Alignment: Ensuring product vision supported broader company goals maximized organizational impact

This product transformed Kanarys' market position while demonstrating my ability to execute the complete product development lifecycle from concept to market-leading solution.