Alvin Sng(@alvinsng):This is why we recently rolled out the Product Vision interview at Factory and require it for all engineering roles. It’s no longer enough to know how to build something. Engineers increasingly need to know what to build, why it matters, and have the autonomy to take it from idea to impact. That’s a big part of why Factory stays lean, with <40 engineers while shipping so much. When the same person owns both product and engineering, they have the full context to make better decisions while avoiding the context and coordination taxes that come from working across teams. See a recent example in action:

2026.09.28 21:54

This is why we recently rolled out the Product Vision interview at Factory and require it for all engineering roles. It’s no longer enough to know how to build something. Engineers increasingly need to know what to build, why it matters, and have the autonomy to take it from idea to impact. That’s a big part of why Factory stays lean, with <40 engineers while shipping so much. When the same person owns both product and engineering, they have the full context to make better decisions while avoiding the context and coordination taxes that come from working across teams. See a recent example in action:

Xiaoyin Qu@quxiaoyin

2026.09.27 08:50

Prediction: from now on, great product leaders will get $100M comp package, not researchers. 1. 2022-2026 is all about killer models. Right now models still matter, but only for frontier tasks like science, math, trading etc. etc. You either kill cancer or you don't matter. 2. Instead, great products like muse, grokbot make AI truly accessible for people. The proliferation of AI matters way more now. 3. Open weight models make it cheaper and better, and the margin for most models will go down significantly, leading to less profits. 4. Training techniques are copyable, but unique data is not. All things equal(compute, training techniques), unique data is the new oil. Even if your training techniques are second-tier, with unique first-tier data you win. 5. Great products attract sticky users who provide unique data that lead to even better models. Therefore, product is the one that matters. We are finally entering the gold era of product visionaries.

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