December: Living in Awe

December 11, 2024

Hey, This week I’ve been reminded of what an amazing time and world we live in. It sounds hella cheesy, but I’m trying to stay in this state of wonder as...

May: Project Meet People

May 26, 2024

Hey, I’m back. Obviously since last time, I had my daughter, and that’s been keeping me busy. But that’s not why I’m writing. How have the first 5 months of...

December: Puzzle & Flow

December 3, 2023

I'm sitting at the fold-out table we bring out this time of year to push around puzzle pieces. It's still dark outside and there's no snow yet. What kind of...

Making my younger self proud

August 31, 2023

My 16-year-old self would be proud of me today. After years (decades?) of toying with the idea of learning to animate and taking zero action, I finally...

Second marathon in the books

October 12, 2022

Hey, Today’s a short one. I’m still in the midst of recovering from a marathon and it’s taking longer than I expected. My body is punishing me after I...

Running for my life

October 4, 2022

Hey, The next time I send this we’ll have run our marathon! It’s in just 5 days. Wild. Liz and I have been training for about 7 months, this is the longest...

Becoming a personality

September 20, 2022

Hey, I have a somewhat embarrassing confession to make: my goal for the next 12 months is to become a “personality”. Arbitrary, yes. Fun challenge? Kind of....

Finding a routine

September 13, 2022

I've been trying to find consistency in a sea of freedom

Notes from a plane

August 30, 2022

I try way too hard to be interesting.

A racing mind

August 25, 2021

Hey, I’m writing you at the last minute from our Sonder in Toronto, have you heard of them? It’s kind of like Airbnb meets hotel - I think they just buy up...

Life in seasons

August 18, 2021

Hey, I’m back from Edmonton and getting settled again at home. But of course, we are going to Toronto this weekend for the final week of my sabbatical. As...

Training camp and a slurry of ideas

August 11, 2021

Hey, Since arriving here on Thursday last week, I’ve swam just over 9km and as of when this email goes out, it will likely be closer to 12km. This is more...

Crying in my kitchen

August 4, 2021

Hey, Did you get Monday off? It was a holiday in most, if not all of Canada. A long weekend meant trying to do a few more things than normal. We went to go...

Getting into a routine

July 28, 2021

Hey, I can’t remember if I already told you, but I’m currently on a short two-month sabbatical. I’m about halfway through it now (!!) and I think I’m finally...

Lost memories and a lost week

July 21, 2021

Hey, Last week when I was visiting my mom, I was tasked with sorting through what old tapes and photos I wanted to keep. She had started to slowly clean out...

Giving credit where it's due

July 14, 2021

Hey, I’m writing this from my mom’s kitchen in Oakville where the house is kept at 27º🥵. I’ve spent the last few days here after two nights in Toronto. It...

Karmic Home Ownership

July 7, 2021

Hi friends, As of when this is going out, I’ll be on a plane (!!!) to Toronto. It’s going to be weird, but I’m excited. It’s been awhile since I last wrote...

Products & Habits

May 19, 2021

Hi friends (and new readers 👋🏼), Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share...

Issue 018 - What is your life's work?

May 5, 2021

Hi friends (and new readers 👋🏼), Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share...

Issue 017 - Trust on the internet

April 21, 2021

Hi friends (and new readers 👋🏼), Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share...

Issue 016 - Finding my growth mindset

April 7, 2021

Hi friends (and new readers 👋🏼), Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share...

Issue 015 - Write of Passage

March 30, 2021

Hi, Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share something I’ve written on the topics...

Issue 014 — On Generalists, Complexity Theory, and Thinking Broadly

December 11, 2020

Hi, Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular (lol) newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share something I’ve written on the...

Issue 013: A new project and an interesting paper

April 18, 2020

Hi, Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share something I’ve written on the topics...

Issue 012 - I am a Strange Loop

April 1, 2020

Hi, Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share something I’ve written on the topics...

Issue 011 - The separation of thinking and doing

March 20, 2020

Hi, Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share something I’ve written on the topics...

Issue 010 - A Compound Life

February 28, 2020

Hi, Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share something I’ve written on the topics...

Issue 009 - Taking a systems view of an organization

February 8, 2020

Hi, Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share something I’ve written on the topics...

Issue 008 - The power of decomposition in design

January 19, 2020

Hi, Steven here. This is Product Matters, a semi-regular newsletter on Products and Strategy. Each issue I try to share something I’ve written on the topics...

Issue 007 - Storytelling, not “storytelling”

January 6, 2020

Hi, Happy New Year! Without getting too much into a reflection on last year, unsurprisingly I didn’t write as much as I had planned. As such, my 2020 goal is...

PM Issue 006 - Streetwear, Influencers, and Product Adoption

December 24, 2019

Hi, Happy holidays! Hopefully you are taking some time this season to relax, reflect, and recover from the year passed. This season is usually when I feel...

What causes brands and products to grow?

November 28, 2019

Hi, It’s been quite awhile so hopefully you haven’t forgotten about this newsletter. One of the things I have tried to do for awhile is write more, and I...

Considering Product Evolution

October 15, 2019

I have struggled lately to write anything other than incomplete idea dumps into text files. As a result I am going to try re-committing to this email and...

Why do bad businesses succeed?

September 7, 2019

Hi, Its been a long time since I wrote or published anything, so hello! Last time I wrote I had been working on a small app with a friend. We have finished...

Issue 002: Going down the product value rabbit hole

June 24, 2019

Hello! Last weekend I got to spend some time in a mini product sprint/hackathon with a friend of mine. We have built small apps together in the past and...

Welcome to How To Build a Product!

June 5, 2019

Hello there, This is my first official letter to this list, quite exciting. I have recently launched a new site called How To Build a Product which will...