The Evolution From a Single to a Multi-Product Strategy Roundtable

The evolution from a single to a multi-product strategy.

We joined forces with 12 Engineering Leaders in tech, from the likes of Portia AI, Thirdfort, JustEat, Iwoca, Marshmallow & Sotheby's will join together and discuss their opportunities and challenges, with a focus on their evolution from a single to a multi-product strategy.

The session was moderated by Xenofon Papadopoulos, CTO @ Marshmallow with a discussion around: The evolution from a single to a multi-product strategy.

Date & Time: Wednesday 2nd April 9am

Location: Burns Sheehan's London city centre office

Refreshments: a breakfast spread with tea, coffee, juices & pastries

This was an invite-only, discussion-style event, allowing our attendees to expand their networks and bounce ideas off of other seasoned Engineering Leaders in the tech community.

Topics:

• Operational Complexity & Scalability
• Technical Debt & Integration
• Resource Allocation & Focus

🔑 Key Takeaways from the Roundtable 

💡 On AI Adoption & Strategy 

• Start Manual, Learn Fast: Before building complex AI workflows, use manual processes to understand customer pain points and gather insights. 

• Don’t Wait for Perfect AI: You’ll move faster by starting with simple solutions and layering in AI over time, start with a “copilot” approach (AI suggests, human confirms). 

• Balance Investment: Evaluate how much to build now vs. how much to lean on emerging AI capabilities. Consider short-term value vs. long-term scalability. 

🧠 On Internal vs. Customer Priorities 

• Listen Beyond the Loudest Voice. Internal teams (e.g., Ops) often shout the loudest, but customer experience should remain the top priority. 

• Be Conscious of Trade-Offs. Prioritise features and fixes based on impact, not just internal pressure. 

🧩 On Design & Product Thinking 

• Match Designers to Users. Consumer UX designers may struggle with tools built for power users—consider aligning skillsets with user needs. 

• Clarify Role Scope. Clearly define the responsibilities of product managers, designers, and engineers to avoid misalignment, especially in complex environments. 

🔗 On Team & API Structures 

• Consider Hybrid API Models. A centralised API team can bring consistency, but be mindful of bottlenecks. Open-source contribution models may offer a balance between autonomy and control. 

• Design for Flexibility. Give teams room to adapt APIs or tools, especially in fast-evolving environments. 

🔗Check out the full summary sheet here

At Burns Sheehan we're passionate about our community-driven initiatives and host a variety of technology events with our network. If you are a technical leader and would like to get involved fill out the form below.

If you'd like to hear more and are interested in attending, please reach out to our event coordinator and Engineering Leadership Consultant, Simon Evans.