Using consulting to build a successful product

Many startups grapple with whether to offer services while developing their product, a dilemma faced by Nango, which initially embraced this approach. The company discovered that developers needed infrastructure rather than prebuilt solutions, leading to a shift towards a more service-oriented model to overcome early product limitations. This strategy allowed them to gain trust and insight by working closely with customers on integration challenges, providing valuable feedback and deep understanding of diverse use cases. However, as services began to hinder scalability and create dependency issues, Nango transitioned back to focusing on its product, leveraging the insights gained to strengthen its platform. The transition allowed them to simplify operations, improve customer fit, and increase leverage by scaling software instead of human resources. Nango's experience underscores the importance of using services as a strategic learning tool, while recognizing the right moment to pivot back to a product-focused model to achieve sustainable growth.