PM isn’t universal. Every role is different.

It looks completely different at a start-up, a mid-sized company, and a large tech giant.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked at every level:

• Started my own company

• Was the first and only PM at a small start-up

• Worked at a mid-sized company like Shopify

• Navigated a massive organization like Meta

Each environment shaped how I approached product management. If you’re trying to figure out where you’d thrive, here’s what you need to know.

Working at a Large Company

1. You Work with a LOT of People

• At a large company, you might have to bring together 100 or 200 people to build products. A lot of your time is spent coordinating between different disciplines, ensuring everyone is aligned on the vision and knows the plan. Cross-functional collaboration is key.

• Strong communication, writing, talking, and presenting skills are a must.

✅ Example: Sometimes legal, policy, and privacy teams feel misunderstood, and marketing wants more involvement. Engineering teams are large, and people shift around a lot. Your job is to bring them all together and ensure smooth execution.

2. More Guidelines Come from Leadership

• Product managers still have a say in what they build and can pitch leadership, but leadership often sets high-level themes and priorities.

• Roadmaps need to align with the company’s broader vision, and PMs reference leadership’s key areas when planning for the quarter or year.

✅ Example: At Meta, VPs and Product Directors set key themes. Every roadmap review ensured PMs focused on solving the problems leadership prioritized.

3. Organizational Change is Constant

• Big tech moves fast—teams shut down, new teams spin up, and leadership restructures frequently.

• You may be moved to a new manager or product unexpectedly, requiring adaptability.

✅ Example: When I worked on Instagram, Adam Mosseri decided to cancel Instagram Youth, a product for 10-12-year-olds that I was working on. Our team had to pivot immediately and work on something else.

4. There’s a LOT of Help

• One of the biggest perks? Specialized teams. You’ll have access to legal, privacy, marketing, customer insights, and more.

• Your designer likely has an illustration team, a design systems team, and usability researchers supporting them.

⚙️ Key Skill: Asking the right questions and delegating effectively.

5. Structured Processes Exist

• Large companies rely on roadmap reviews, strategy reviews, and launch approvals to stay aligned.

• While this may feel bureaucratic, it also provides clarity and ensures resources are secured.

✅ Example: At Meta, half-year roadmap reviews ensured PMs pitched ideas at the same time and coordinated cross-functional teams efficiently.

🔧 Better engineering processes and tools: Companies like Shopify and Meta have built internal tools that streamline product development—like no-code platforms that allow PMs to ship experiments without engineering involvement.

6. Clear Career Path

• Promotions are structured. At Meta, PMs had levels from IC3 through IC8, with clear career tracks for both individual contributors and managers.

• Performance reviews and mentorship are built into the system.

⚙️ Key Skill: Knowing how to navigate performance reviews and career growth.

Working at a Start-up or Small Company

1. You Wear Many Hats

• You won’t have specialized teams like at a big company. You might be doing user research, competitive analysis, customer support, and even sales calls.

✅ Example: At a start-up, I had to analyze customer support tickets, conduct user interviews, and assist with marketing.

2. Less Bureaucracy, More Speed

• Start-ups have fewer PMs and fewer layers of approval. You can ship features faster.

• Decisions aren’t delayed by long approval chains.

✅ Example: At a start-up, you might pitch an idea directly to the CEO instead of waiting for a quarterly roadmap review.

3. The Founder Might Be the Real PM

• At early-stage start-ups, founders are often deeply involved in product decisions. Your job is to execute their vision while still advocating for product best practices.

⚙️ Key Skill: Learning how to work with founders and influence without authority.

4. Fewer Customers, Less Data

• Without millions of users, you may not have large datasets to work with. Decisions rely more on qualitative feedback, industry trends, and competitive analysis.

⚙️ Key Skill: Making informed bets without perfect data.

5. Undefined Career Paths

• Unlike big companies with structured levels, small companies often lack formal career tracks. Growth depends on proving your impact and having direct conversations with leadership.

✅ Example: At Shopify, we didn’t have strict performance reviews or defined PM levels early on. I had to advocate for my own growth.

So, What’s Similar?

No matter the company size, PMs still:

🪚 Build and ship products.
💡 Learn from user feedback.
📈 Drive business impact.

The difference is how you do it—whether you have a team of specialists supporting you or whether you’re juggling multiple roles yourself.

Which Environment Fits You Best?

Large Company PMs Thrive If:

🔑 You enjoy structured processes and clear career progression.
🔑 You like working with large teams and cross-functional partners.
🔑 You’re comfortable navigating company-wide goals and leadership expectations.

Start-up PMs Thrive If:

🔑 You prefer fast decision-making and less bureaucracy.
🔑 You like wearing multiple hats and working across different disciplines.
🔑 You enjoy the challenge of building something from scratch.