Why ElevenLabs Has No Product Managers

In a podcast clip from 20VC, Luke Harries of ElevenLabs explains why the company has eliminated the product manager role entirely. The reasoning is simple: engineers build the product, so engineers should own the product.

The Thesis: Engineers Own the Roadmap

ElevenLabs operates on the premise that the people writing the code should also be responsible for what gets built. Their product engineers own the roadmap, ship features, analyze results, and iterate. They run that entire loop without needing anyone else's permission or approval to slow them down.

This is not a new idea, but AI has accelerated it. As Harries puts it, AI is causing traditional roles to merge. The boundaries between engineering, product, and marketing are blurring, and ElevenLabs decided to lean into that rather than fight it.

Product + Marketing = Growth

Instead of maintaining three separate functions (engineering, product, marketing), ElevenLabs merged product and marketing into a single function they call "growth." Most of the people on that growth team are former product managers who now focus on distribution and go-to-market rather than roadmap management.

The result is a two-track system: engineers build and ship, while the growth team handles positioning, messaging, and distribution. There is no middle layer translating between the two.

Key Takeaways

• ElevenLabs has no product managers; engineers own the roadmap, ship, and analyze results
• AI is accelerating the merger of traditional engineering, product, and marketing roles
• The company replaced the PM function with a "growth" team that combines product strategy with marketing
• Most growth team members are former PMs refocused on distribution

Resources

• 20VC Podcast -- Venture capital and startup podcast hosted by Harry Stebbings
• ElevenLabs -- AI voice and audio platform