A well-crafted product roadmap is essential for startups as it helps define their destination and directions, aligns the team on key priorities, and ensures effective resource allocation. A product roadmap should be considered a flexible and adaptable plan, not a high-stakes legal agreement. It typically includes what to work on, when it will launch, why it's prioritized, who will work on it, and how to measure impact. Creating a product roadmap involves four stages: organizing, prioritizing, communicating, and iterating. Organizing involves clarifying the overall vision for the product based on market research, while prioritization involves ruthlessly prioritizing features and projects. Effective communication and visualization of the roadmap are also crucial, as it helps align teams and stakeholders, and provides context to shape implementation. Finally, a flexible and iterative approach is necessary to ensure that the roadmap stays aligned with changing customer needs and priorities.