Sourcing Guide
How We Evaluate Product Owners & Builders
For recruiters, talent partners, and clients
What This Role Is (and Isn’t)
This Role IS
- Defining product strategy and roadmap
- Prototyping and shipping MVPs
- Using AI tools to build faster
- Analyzing data to inform product decisions
- Writing specs and coordinating with engineering
This Role IS NOT
- Pure project management (no building)
- Traditional PM who only writes tickets
- UX designer (though may do wireframes)
- Full-time developer (though can code)
- Business analyst or consultant
Where to Find Candidates
Target Companies (APAC)
- AI Startups: Product-minded founders and early employees
- Indie Hackers: People who’ve shipped their own products
- Tech Companies: PMs who also code or prototype
Screening Criteria
Dimension
1 — Weak
3 — Good
5 — Exceptional
Product Sense
Follows specs. No independent judgment.
Identifies user needs. Cuts scope effectively. Ships MVPs.
Defines product vision. Finds product-market fit. Makes hard trade-offs.
Building Skills
Can only write docs and tickets.
Prototypes in Figma/code. Uses no-code tools. Ships independently.
Full-stack capable. Builds and ships production features alone.
AI Fluency
Uses ChatGPT occasionally.
AI-first workflow. Uses Cursor/Claude daily. Prompts effectively.
Builds AI-powered features. Understands LLM capabilities and limits.
Communication
Verbose, unclear. Needs meetings for everything.
Clear async writing. Good specs. Proactive updates.
Excellent storytelling. Aligns stakeholders. Documentation-first.
Startup Fit
Needs process and structure.
Self-directed. Comfortable with ambiguity.
Founder-mentality. Creates structure from chaos.
Interview Process
Step 1: Resume Screen (5 min)
- Has shipped products (not just managed backlogs)
- Evidence of building (side projects, indie products, prototypes)
- AI tool usage
Step 2: Product Screen (30 min)
- “Walk me through a product you shipped. What did you build, what did you cut, and why?”
- “How do you decide what to build next?”