Giving your Users a Well-Lit Path with Matt Watson

In today’s episode of The Business of Open Source, I spoke with Matt Watson, CEO of Fullscale, about a number of topics related to product development and how AI is changing that.

Let’s start with a question: What is the difference between a software engineer and a software developer? Matt thinks there is a key difference: software engineers write code, and software developers figure out how to solve customer problems with software. What do you think is more valuable in a world where AI agents can write the code for you?

We talked about the importance of creating a well-lit path for users to use your product for their specific use case — and removing everything that is confusing or unnecessary for their use case.

Somebody has to have the vision for what the project is trying to do. This was always the case for open source projects, but it continues to be the case now, with AI agents able to demolish a product feature backlog in an afternoon. Who is deciding whether or not it is a good idea to build something just because a customer or a sales rep suggested it? How to do you make sure you stay on track?

We talked about how your biggest competitor is customers not just not buying something from you, but either building something internally using an AI agent, or just doing nothing. This is something you need to consider when you are selling and marketing your product — your biggest competitor.

We also talked about the challenge selling to developers, how AI accelerates the winner-take-all dynamics in many markets, and you need AI to recommend your tools or you’ll get lost.

Last piece of advice: The goal isn't to be the best, it's to be the best known for what you do. Think about that next to you're wondering whether or not you should invest in marketing.

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Matt says we need more product people. If you need help figuring out what the master vision of your company is and how to translate that master vision into a product roadmap and message overhaul that will get your ecosystem fired up, you should reach out… because that is what I do. My clients see increased pipeline growth, better conversions throughout their funnel and team alignment.