{"id":21770,"date":"2023-02-15T08:47:22","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T16:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/?p=21770"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:12:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T22:12:36","slug":"elio-narcisos-customer-first-guide-for-building-innovative-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foundersnetwork.com\/elio-narcisos-customer-first-guide-for-building-innovative-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Elio Narciso\u2019s Customer-First Guide For Building Innovative Products"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elio Narciso is passionate about technology, making the world better, and having fun while combining the two. And, he loves startups.\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

His career includes years of designing and launching go-to-market initiatives for mid to late-stage enterprise tech startups with Amazon AWS. He has also successfully co-founded and exited two tech startups with deals valued at over $80 million. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>Today, Elio is the co-founder and CEO of <\/span>Scalestack<\/span><\/a> where he\u2019s building a one-of-a-kind AI copilot for sales that uncovers and integrates market data to accelerate business wins.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>In his<\/span> Founders Network<\/span><\/a> global keynote on March 15, Elio covered what he describes as the \u2018working backward\u2019 methodology, which is the blueprint behind Amazon\u2019s customer-centric innovation framework. In addition to sharing more about this methodology for building innovative products, Elio also shared insights on how to build a strong team c<\/span>ulture.<\/span><\/p>\n

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To learn more about building innovative products, see if you qualify for membership<\/a> and check out our video<\/a> from Elio’s event.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Founding Successful Startups<\/h3>\n

The first company Elio co-founded was launched in 2004 before the iPhone existed. Mobile tech was still up-and-coming, but Elio and his team found a way to personalize mobile phones with ringtones and wallpaper customization. Though he says the product was simple in nature, the company generated over $50 million in annual revenue at its peak. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>\u201cCompanies exist to satisfy a need in the market at a price point that makes sense for whatever they’re providing,\u201d he says \u201cThat’s job number one. Never forget this, because if you don’t do this well, or if you provide something that is nice to have, but not a need, you won\u2019t make an impact.\u201d <\/span>
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\n<\/span>Elio brought this passion into his second venture, an adtech company that marked a transition into his first B2B business. The switch helped to highlight the power of relationships and finding common ground when working with others to serve customers successfully.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>Now, Elio is on to his third venture at <\/span>Scalestack.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>The company\u2019s mission is to enable sales leaders to easily govern data, automate sales workflows, and fuel\u00a0their organizations to close deals faster. Elio has achieved this by developing an AI sales copilot that uses 3rd party data and pre-built integrations to automate repetitive tasks and optimize workflows.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Based on these successes, <\/span>Elio believes that, as a founder, you always need to create space so that people can develop, grow, and multiply their impact.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Power of Working Backward<\/b><\/h3>\n

In between his startup ventures, <\/span>Elio spent nearly half a decade at Amazon where he co-founded and managed the <\/span>AWS Global Startup Program<\/span><\/a>. The program\u2019s mission is to power the go-to-market potential of fast-growing enterprise technology startups. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>A key to Elio\u2019s success in launching this program was focusing on the simple idea of putting a product idea down on paper to pressure-test it. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>\u201cAmazon has a process of innovation based on the working backward methodology. In this context, working backward from what your customer needs are and then building something that satisfies those needs,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elio\u2019s method for pressure-testing products is one he recommends before writing any single line of code.<\/span> While the approach can take shape in many ways, his favorite exercise is that of crafting a PR FAQ.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith this method, you start with a \u2018mock\u2019 press announcement, which is endlessly debated by the product team. By the time the process is done, only the most valuable pieces are left including the problem statement, audience and inspiration behind the product,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor my program at AWS we did about 25 revisions of my PR FAQ over 6 months before getting the \u2018OK\u2019 of our vertical\u2019s CEO. While that’s a big effort, that’s nothing compared to if you start building something for which you don’t have clear ideas,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elio\u2019s customer-focused approach is one he used for years at Amazon and at his own companies. It\u2019s one he challenges all founders to utilize for building innovative products.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>For entrepreneurs, this test can be critical. Once hiring begins, and product development is started, course correcting an idea that is not well vetted can turn out to be costly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Building A High-Bar Team Culture<\/b><\/h3>\n

Once a founder has thoroughly vetted their idea, it is essential that they build the right team and culture. When Elio founded his first company, he admits that he made clear mistakes when forming its culture. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>\u201cWe were completely all over the place. We were never clear about what we believed in, and allowed people that had the wrong instincts to ‘corrupt’ the culture. Despite the financial success of the company, the product development was very patchy and some great ideas never materialized,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause of this I think that you need to be very purposeful about culture, even at the young, early age of the company.\u201d<\/span>
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\n<\/span>In his subsequent ventures, Elio became more purposeful with how he created culture. He eventually refined his recipe for cultural success when working at Amazon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amazon has a core set of leadership principles that are applied at a massive scale. Although they may change over time, once defined, leaders must stick to them, hire against them, and use them as a bar to evaluate employees.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>\u201cIf you do not define your culture well, it’s very difficult to hire well. If your hires are off, it can impact your growth,\u201d says Elio. \u201cCulture is not like a static thing. It evolves, but it’s important to make sure it\u2019s clearly defined at every stage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During his keynote, Elio covered his startup journey and keys to success along with:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  • How to vet your product idea before writing any code<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The power of putting pen to paper to align teams<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Building products that solve consumer problems<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The steps needed to define, hire against, and stick to your culture<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    To learn more about building innovative products, see if you qualify for membership<\/a> and check out our video<\/a> from Elio’s event.\u00a0<\/p>\n