The PR/FAQ Product Validation
by Bill Carr • Co-author of Working Backwards at Working Backwards, LLC
Former VP of Digital Media at Amazon; launched Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Amazon Studios; 15-year Amazon veteran.
🎙️ Episode Context
Bill Carr, co-author of 'Working Backwards', deconstructs the key management philosophies and processes that drove Amazon's scale from a bookstore to a global tech giant. The conversation covers the practical implementation of working backwards from the customer, structuring teams for autonomy through single-threaded leadership, focusing on controllable input metrics over financial outputs, and maintaining high talent standards via the Bar Raiser program.
Problem It Solves
Prevents building products that work technically but solve no meaningful customer problem; avoids the 'solution in search of a problem' trap (e.g., Fire Phone).
Framework Overview
A product development process that starts with the customer by writing a Press Release and FAQ documents before any coding begins. This ensures the product solves a real customer problem and forces clarity of thought.
⚡ Step-by-Step Framework
Work backwards from the customer, not forward from capabilities.
Write a future-dated Press Release to crystallize the value proposition.
Create an FAQ to address internal (feasibility) and external (customer) questions.
Iterate through a concentric circle of reviewers.
Work backwards from the customer, not forward from capabilities.
Write a future-dated Press Release to crystallize the value proposition.
Create an FAQ to address internal (feasibility) and external (customer) questions.
Iterate through a concentric circle of reviewers.
When to Use
At the very beginning of the product development lifecycle, before allocating engineering resources.
Common Mistakes
Using hyperbole/marketing fluff instead of factual descriptions; writing it as a real external PR rather than an internal validation document; skipping the iterative review process.
Real World Example
AWS and Prime Video were both defined via PR/FAQs before they existed; The Fire Phone is cited as a failure where the process may have been overridden or the problem wasn't validated.
We're going to start with what's best for the customer and then come backward from there.
— Bill Carr