“Consumer product managers who are not natural at marketing often keep playing in hard mode,” says CRED Founder Kunal Shah

CRED founder Kunal Shah recently sparked discussion among product managers and startup founders with a brief post on X. 

He pointed out a common challenge in the consumer product world: excelling at product design is not enough if marketing is not part of the plan.

Kunal Shah Says Marketing Skills Matter for Product Managers

In his post, Kunal Shah wrote, “Consumer product managers who are not natural at marketing often keep playing in hard mode.” 

He means that a product manager who cannot communicate the value of a product clearly will face more problems than necessary.

Marketing here is more than ads or promotions. It includes understanding what users want, shaping messages so people understand the product, and making it easy for them to see why it matters. Without this, teams may spend extra time fixing growth and adoption issues.

Kunal Shah has often said that consumer products succeed when teams understand how people think and behave. A product might be well-built, but if it does not reach users in the right way, it will not grow as expected.

The takeaway is clear for startups: product skills alone are not enough. Knowing how to connect with users is part of the role.

For product managers, learning marketing basics can make the job easier and increase the chance of success.

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