Product Sense: Build a Seller Tool for Running a Shop Through Instagram

You are a product manager asked to design a product, on the web, on mobile or both, that helps people sell their products through Instagram. Decide whom the product serves, which of their problems it solves, what the first version includes, and how you would judge whether it works. ```hint Follow one sale Trace a single sale from the post that catches a buyer's eye to the package arriving at the buyer's door, and note each step where a small seller loses time or loses the sale. Let the costliest steps decide what you build first. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Are the "people" individuals and small businesses selling their own goods, established brands, or creators who earn commissions on other brands' products? - Is the product built inside Instagram by Meta, or is it an independent product that connects to sellers' Instagram accounts through official integrations? - Is choosing between web and mobile part of the task, or must one platform come first? - Should success be judged by how many sellers adopt the product, by the sales it helps them make, or by the revenue the product itself earns? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A chosen seller segment, justified against the alternatives, with a clear picture of how that seller works on Instagram today - Ranked pain points across the whole sale: being discovered, answering inquiries, taking orders and payment, shipping, and winning repeat buyers - A focused product with a defined first version and a reasoned choice between web and mobile - Success metrics for sellers and for the product, plus a guardrail that protects buyers - Risks specific to building on Instagram, such as changes to its rules and integrations, spam, and payment fraud ### Follow-up Questions - Instagram changes its rules and your product can no longer read sellers' direct messages. What still works, and how would you have designed for that risk? - How would you make money from the product without losing sellers who make only a few sales a month? - How would the design change for creators who promote other brands' products for a commission instead of selling their own?