Finding fit: From first idea to product that works

In this edition of Business Insights Series, I had the pleasure of speaking with Diana Stepner, a seasoned product leader turned product coach. Diana has spent over 20 years navigating the tech and product landscape, from working at Salesforce and Pearson to advising startups and mentoring product teams. Her journey reflects the modern tech leader’s path: fluid, user-focused, and driven by a deep sense of purpose.

She recently captured many of these insights in the book she co-authored, Next-Gen Product Management: Future-Proof Your Career, where topics range from how product managers can adapt, stay relevant, and lead in a world where change is the only constant. It’s a practical, thoughtful guide that reinforces many of the themes we discuss here.

Diana started in customer relationship management, transitioned into UX research, and eventually found her stride in product management. But what stands out most is how her natural ability to mentor and uplift others led to a seamless shift into full-time coaching. Her ability to reinvent herself while staying grounded in human-centered design makes her insights not just valuable, but deeply relevant in today’s fast-evolving business world.

In our conversation, we explored what makes a product actually work, how to avoid spinning your wheels, and why discovery is the real MVP in any business journey. From validating rough prototypes to embracing product clarity, Diana shared key lessons that any founder, coach, or creator can apply. Whether you’re building a new app or just trying to package your consulting services better, this interview offers a wealth of insight.

The journey from product leader to coach

Diana’s background is rooted in user experience, customer relationship management, and product leadership. Early in her career, she noticed a disconnect between engineering teams and the actual users of the product. 

This sparked her curiosity and led her to pursue a degree in human-computer interaction. From there, her path naturally progressed into product management, where she could have a broader influence across marketing, engineering, and sales.

“Making the product experience better has really been what’s powering a lot of my product journey.”

But even as she advanced in product roles, leading teams at startups, large organizations, and agencies, she realized another pattern: her favorite part of the job was helping others grow. Diana consistently found herself mentoring teammates, guiding them through complex projects, and encouraging them to find their unique strengths. Former team members often reached out long after leaving her team to thank her for the impact she had made.

That recurring theme, mentorship and impact, eventually guided her decision to become a full-time coach. She earned her certification and began supporting others through product coaching and advisory roles. Still active in the product world, she now bridges the gap between building products and building people. Diana’s coaching practice is built on the same principles she applied in product development: understand the need, iterate on the approach, and stay connected to the user experience.

Why product clarity is essential for business success 

We often think businesses are built on marketing, sales, or engineering excellence. But Diana made a strong case for something else: product clarity.

“In some way, or form, every company is selling a product. It could be a service or your expertise, but in the end it is always a product.  Not knowing what makes your offering unique leads to a lot of confusion.”

Clarity in product definition extends beyond outward communication. Fostering internal team alignment informs better decision-making, and builds a foundation for sustainable growth. When everyone from marketing to engineering knows what the product vision is, teams can pull in the same direction. That creates momentum instead of confusion.

“If you don’t know what your reason for being is, I would say you’re probably just spinning your wheels.”

Whether you’re consulting, offering a digital tool, or selling a physical item, knowing what your product is, and what problem it solves, is essential. Clarity leads to conviction, and conviction attracts customers, partners, and even investors. It’s the glue that holds everything together when the business is just starting out.

Diana’s emphasis on product clarity as essential for business success is backed by substantial research. A clear product vision serves as the North Star, providing direction and ensuring that every action and decision is aligned with the overarching purpose. Clear and inspiring product vision statements are essential for the success of any product or service, providing a shared understanding of the product’s purpose and objectives.

The business impact of product clarity extends beyond internal alignment. Research shows that a compelling product vision has the power to inspire and motivate teams, transforming day-to-day tasks into steps towards a grand achievement. This supports Diana’s observation that clarity creates momentum instead of confusion.

Discovery before development

Many founders jump into building too soon. Diana emphasized the importance of starting with discovery, not development.

“You’ve got to do discovery first. You’ve got to make sure that you have ideas and connections with customers to be able to give you that blunt feedback.”

This principle is especially crucial in today’s fast-paced market, where customer expectations shift quickly and competition is just a click away. Discovery serves a deeper purpose than being a step to check off; it’s a meaningful opportunity to uncover clarity and direction. It’s how founders can identify the right problem before rushing to build a solution.

Research shows that early-stage testing and validation can reduce product development costs by up to 100 times compared to fixing issues after full-scale production. This data reinforces Diana’s insight about slowing down to do discovery right from the beginning.

The lean startup methodology emphasizes rapid experimentation and validated learning, with customer development serving as a systematic approach to learning about customers’ needs and how products fit into their lives. This validates Diana’s point that discovery hasn’t lost its value, even as the tools around it evolve.

Skipping discovery is like cooking a meal before knowing your guests’ dietary needs. Founders risk wasting months and significant resources building something that doesn’t resonate. Tools today make early testing easier than ever, with lightweight validation methods such as user interviews, mockups, clickable demos, and quick feedback loops. Diana stressed that you don’t need a perfect product to get meaningful input.

As she pointed out, prototyping can be fast, rough, and still incredibly insightful. Discovery allows founders to validate not just the features but the assumptions behind their ideas. This mindset saves time, money, and energy by focusing efforts where there’s already traction. It also sets the stage for a more confident go-to-market plan, with a clearer understanding of who the product is for and what it needs to deliver.

Diana also clarified that discovery doesn’t only apply to digital products or feature development, it can and should apply to the entire business. Whether testing messaging, defining value propositions, or even validating your market as a whole, discovery helps bring sharper focus to all aspects of a new venture.

“The reason for Discovery… hasn’t fundamentally changed. The way you approach it may have changed, but the value of discovery hasn’t.”

Modern tools may speed up the process, but the principles remain grounded in customer conversations, real-world validation, and the willingness to adapt. Discovery plays a central role in business strategy: it provides the groundwork for everything that follows.

And perhaps most powerfully, Diana believes discovery supports personal reinvention too.

“Technology enables us to reinvent ourselves to see what really gives us,energy and joy – double down on that.”

Just like with products, our careers and businesses benefit from pausing to ask the right questions before diving into action. That mindset is what keeps ideas, and people, relevant.

Keep your prototypes rough and real

When you show someone a polished prototype, they might hesitate to give honest feedback. It looks finished, final, and fragile, something they shouldn’t criticize. That’s why Diana suggests staying scrappy in the early stages.

“The rougher, to be honest, often the better. The key is to ask questions about expectations.”

Rough prototypes invite participation. They send a signal that the idea is still evolving and that input is genuinely welcome. Think of them as conversation starters, not blueprints. This kind of openness is vital, especially for early-stage founders who are still shaping their offer.

Honest feedback comes easier when the customer feels they’re part of the building process. This practice aligns closely with smart business thinking and helps ensure you’re solving the right problem in the right way. Diana recommends asking open-ended questions that prompt users to explain how they’d interact with the product, what they expect it to do, and what’s missing.

For digital products, Diana advises starting with feature-focused prototypes rather than full storefronts. No need for a perfect interface or polished branding, just enough structure to spark user reactions and gather directionally useful insights. This approach keeps the conversation centered on value and usability rather than surface appeal.

Landing pages as early indicators

A simple landing page can be a powerful discovery tool. It serves as a digital business card while also acting as an early experiment in market validation. It helps gauge interest, test messaging, and begin building a user base, all without writing a single line of code for the full product.

“That landing page is often the doorway to  the company.”

Think of it like a storefront window: it’s where curiosity meets intention. By tracking how visitors interact with your content, what they click, scroll past, or sign up for, you start to collect meaningful behavioral data. The focus isn’t solely on metrics, it also involves interpreting signals to understand what truly resonates with users. What’s resonating? What’s not? These are your first feedback loops.

Diana suggests treating your landing page as a listening tool, not just a promotional asset. Use it to experiment with different headlines, calls to action, or value propositions. Watch how changes impact engagement. If you’re seeing no traction, that’s just as informative as getting a flurry of sign-ups, it tells you where to pivot next.

Even better, you can layer in interactive elements like micro-surveys, lead magnets, or prototype previews to take discovery deeper. At its best, a landing page doesn’t just attract interest, but it opens the door to insight.

What makes a product great?

There’s no universal formula for greatness, but Diana shared some timeless qualities.

“It addresses the need. It addresses a gap in the market. Typically, the experience is better… It saves people time, saves people effort and energy.”

These represent more than technical features; they are essential outcomes that create real value for the user. A great product exists to be useful and impactful. It solves a real problem in a way that improves the user’s experience, making tasks easier, faster, or more satisfying than alternatives.

Diana stressed that what makes a product great includes both what it does and how it feels. A product that performs well and also feels intuitive earns loyalty and trust from its users. A great product feels intuitive, like it just “gets” the user. It’s the kind of tool or service people come to rely on, not just because it works, but because it fits seamlessly into their lives.

She also pointed out that product greatness is never final. The best products evolve. They grow with their users. They get better over time through iteration, feedback, and responsiveness to new needs or market changes. That commitment to growth keeps them valuable, and relevant, long after launch.

Timeless characteristics like usability, relevance, simplicity, and emotional resonance don’t go out of style. Even as technology changes, those fundamentals continue to define the products we love and depend on.

Coaching is a product too

Even service-based offerings like coaching require the same level of clarity and packaging as a digital product. The same product thinking that applies to a mobile app or SaaS platform applies when you’re marketing human skillset or expertise. You need to understand what makes your offer unique, who it’s for, and how it improves their life or business.

“You are the product. And so you’ve got to make sure that you spend time, you know, packaging up yourself.”

Diana didn’t skip discovery when she transitioned to coaching. She treated it like any product launch: testing, refining, and engaging her audience. She asked herself what clients needed, how she could deliver value, and how to communicate that in a clear and compelling way.

Her move into coaching grew naturally from years of mentorship and the impact she had on her teams. Former colleagues reaching out for guidance became a clear signal that her next product was, in fact, herself. But she didn’t take that for granted. She still tested her messaging, experimented with how she structured her services, and paid close attention to client feedback, just as she would with any product in development. It’s that same discipline that made her shift not only successful, but sustainable.

Conclusion: Stop guessing, start discovering

Great businesses evolve through deliberate cycles of discovery, testing, and iteration. Diana’s insights reinforce the idea that discovery goes beyond a one-time activity. It reflects a mindset rooted in listening, learning, and adapting over time. It’s what separates reactive teams from intentional ones.

From rough prototypes to landing pages and honest customer conversations, the goal is to find out what people actually want, not what we assume they want. Diana’s story illustrates that discovery applies broadly, from software and digital products to launching a coaching practice, refining a service offering, or rethinking your business model.

Diana Stepner’s story also serves as a spotlight on how leadership, empathy, and continuous learning can shape not just products but people. Her journey shows that clarity develops through engaging deeply with your audience, iterating often, and staying open to change, rather than simply trying to think harder.

So if you’re feeling stuck, unsure whether your idea will resonate, or wondering how to pivot smartly, maybe it’s time to slow down and discover.

Want to explore how discovery can shape your next product or service?

To learn more about Diana sign up for her newsletter or follow her on LinkedIn. She also offers free Discovery calls.