The Foggy Beginning — Why Kim’s First Roadmap Failed

How one founder learned that velocity without vision leads nowhere.

When Kim launched her MVP, it felt like she was finally gaining momentum. A handful of early users signed up, a few even paid, and her small team worked around the clock shipping feature after feature.

But just three months later, things began to unravel.

User engagement flatlined. Her team was burnt out. And investors were starting to ask uncomfortable questions:
“What’s next?”
“What’s your strategic focus?”
“Why does your roadmap look like a JIRA dump?”

Kim had fallen into a trap that many first-time founders and even experienced product leaders face:

Mistaking a feature list for a product strategy.

The Roadmap That Wasn’t a Roadmap

What Kim called a roadmap was really just a rolling backlog of customer requests, prioritized by who shouted the loudest or paid the most.

She thought she was being agile.

But without a clear product vision, her team was directionless. They were building fast — but not building toward anything.

This is what experts call the Build Trap: when companies focus on delivering features instead of solving meaningful problems. It leads to:

• A bloated product full of half-baked features

• Frustrated users who don’t see consistent value

• A confused team unsure of what truly matters

• And worst of all — stalled growth

Customers Are Not Your Roadmap

Kim had another realization: just because a customer asks for something doesn’t mean it belongs on the roadmap.

She was trying to keep users happy by saying "yes" to everything. But the product was starting to look like Frankenstein — stitched together ideas with no coherent story.

It wasn’t just about building fast anymore. It was about building smart — with intention.

What Kim Did Next: Vision-Led Roadmapping

Kim took a step back and asked herself:
What problem are we solving? For whom? And how does our product need to evolve to solve that better than anyone else?

She drafted a Product Vision Statement.

Then she created a Vision-Led Roadmap — a plan that didn’t just say what the team would build, but why it mattered and how it aligned with their long-term goals.

Each roadmap item became a strategic bet, not a checkbox.

This shift helped her team:

• Say no to distractions

• Rally around a shared direction

• Align with investors and stakeholders

• Build features that actually moved the needle

Key Takeaway for Founders:

Don’t confuse momentum with direction.
Velocity means nothing if you're not heading somewhere specific.

Your roadmap should be more than a shipping schedule.
It should be a strategic communication tool — a living document that reflects your product’s purpose and your company’s goals.

At Smartware Advisors, we help innovators achieve product-market fit.

Schedule a free strategy session https://calendly.com/waqarhashim

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