What this episode covers:
Teresa introduces the idea of letting go of products that feel successful but aren’t delivering the impact or growth you need.
04:30 – The dangerous middle ground
Products that are profitable and liked, but not growing, often escape scrutiny—and quietly block better opportunities.
09:30 – The opportunity cost of “okay” products
Every hour spent maintaining a flatlining product is an hour not spent discovering something better.
14:30 – Sunsetting in product organizations
Petra explains why dedicated teams and org design make decommissioning products especially hard—and why leaders need explicit sunsetting conversations.
19:00 – Real examples of killing revenue streams
Teresa shares concrete decisions from her business, including shutting down a popular Slack community and cutting deep-dive courses that made up 40% of revenue.
28:00 – Designing for the right customers
Why Teresa intentionally limits access and pricing to work with customers who show agency and commitment.
33:30 – Burn the ships (on purpose)
Letting go of short-term revenue to make space for experimentation and future growth.
38:00 – Making sunsetting easier
Practical frameworks product leaders can use:
Successful products don’t fail—they run their course. Markets change, and endings should be expected, not stigmatized.
Takeaways for product leaders:
Mentioned in this episode:
