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Ship Something

Ship Something

By: Sean Hilton
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About this listen

Ship Something: The Unstuck Product Show is a practical podcast for founders, indie hackers, and product people who feel stuck or scattered and want momentum without the chaos.

Each episode takes one common stuck point, like scope creep, fuzzy positioning, weak validation, perfectionism, or “too many options,” then turns it into a simple framework and a small, do it this week action plan. The goal is not inspiration. It’s relief plus a next step you can actually finish.

The vibe is calm coach with a little spark. Clear decisions over hustle. Tiny experiments over giant plans. Ship something real, learn fast, repeat.

Product Kit OS. All rights reserved.
Episodes
  • Episode 6: Validation Without Building: The Easiest Smoke Test

    Episode 6: Validation Without Building: The Easiest Smoke Test
    Jan 17 2026
    Episode SummaryMost founders waste months building products nobody wants. This episode shows you how to validate any idea in 24 hours with just one page and 20 people—no code, no design, no MVP required. You'll learn the one-page smoke test: a simple three-step framework to get real behavioral signal (not opinions) before you build anything.Resources MentionedFree Resource:One Sentence Product Snap Worksheet - Write your problem description and simple CTARecommended Kits:Kickstart Kit ($19) - Turn ideas into testable hypothesesBeta List Builder Kit ($39) - Recruit testers and collect useful feedbackShip List (Do This Week)Write your problem description - One paragraph. Format: "If you're a WHO struggling with PROBLEM, you know how PAINFUL DETAIL feels." Make it specific enough that your target person says "that's me."Add a simple CTA - Not "sign up" or "join waitlist." Use: "I'm building something to solve this. Want to talk? Book 15 minutes here." Or even simpler: "Reply with your email and I'll reach out."Share it with 20 people - DM 20 people directly. Post in one community. Email your list. Get it in front of exactly 20 people and track who responds.Measure ListMetric 1: Response RateSuccess: 5+ people (25% or higher) book a call or reply → Strong demand. Build it.Weak signal: 1-2 people respond → Have the conversations, learn more, refine your problem description and try again.Fail: 0 responses → No demand. Don't build. You just saved three months. Try a different problem.Metric 2: Conversation QualitySuccess: When you talk to people who responded, they're excited. They ask "when will this be ready?" They describe the pain in their own words. This is real validation.Fail: Polite interest only. "That's cool." But no urgency. No follow-up questions. This is not enough signal to build.Key Takeaway"Behavior beats opinions. If someone won't spend 15 minutes talking about your solution, they definitely won't spend $15 buying it."Validation isn't about asking "would you use this?" It's about watching what people do when you offer them something real. A conversation is real. A waitlist signup is not. If 5 out of 20 people will talk to you, you have demand. If zero will, you just saved yourself months of building the wrong thing.Worked Example: Content Repurposing ToolThe Problem Description: "If you're a content creator who writes long-form posts, you know how tedious it is to manually break them into Twitter threads. Copy, paste, edit for length, adjust tone, add hooks. It takes an hour per post. And if you don't do it? Your best writing stays buried in your blog. Nobody sees it."The Offer: "I'm building a tool that turns blog posts into threads automatically. If you'd use something like this, I'd love to show you a quick demo and get your feedback. Book 15 minutes here."The Test: Shared with 20 content creators. 6 people booked calls (30% response rate). Strong demand confirmed. Built the product informed by those 6 conversations. Had 6 ready testers on day one.About Ship SomethingShip Something: The Unstuck Product Show helps founders turn stuck into shipped. Each week, we take one common product problem and turn it into a simple framework and a real action plan.New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.Subscribe:AmazonSpotifyYouTubeRSS FeedFollow Product Kit OSWebsite: ProductKitOS.comTwitter (X): @SeanHiltos (founder, Product Kit OS)Instagram: Product Kit OSYouTube: @ProductKitOSEpisode produced: January 2026Hosted on: RedCircleSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/ship-something/donations
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    8 mins
  • Episode 5: The 7-Day Thin Slice Plan for Any Idea

    Episode 5: The 7-Day Thin Slice Plan for Any Idea
    Jan 16 2026
    Episode Summary

    What if you could ship something real in seven days for almost any idea? This episode shows you how to take any product idea—no matter how big—and cut it down to a shippable thin slice using a five-step framework.


    Resources MentionedFree Resource

    Build Something Smaller Cheatsheet (7-12 min PDF)

    Scope scissors prompts, MVP definition rules, and a simple version 1 boundary line.

    → Download here

    Recommended Kits

    Scope Shrinker Kit ($39)

    Cut your product to something shippable with must-have filters, risk weights, and a scope trim canvas.

    → Get the kit

    MVP Map Kit ($59)

    Map v1, v2, v3 thin slices with stories and sequencing logic for a buildable plan.

    → Get the kit


    Ship List (Do This Week)
    1. Write your core job sentence: Use the format "This product helps [who] [do what] without [the thing they hate about current solutions]." Be specific.
    2. List all your features, then cut ruthlessly: Run the "would they still use it without this?" test. Move everything that fails to your "later list."
    3. Write your 7 daily milestones: Each day should have one concrete, finishable task. Day 7 is always "Ship."


    Measure List

    One metric: Did you ship something on day 7?

    Not "Did you finish everything?" Not "Did you build it perfectly?"

    Did you ship something—anything—that a real person could use?

    If yes → You succeeded. Learn and iterate.

    If no → Your scope was too big. Cut more. Try again.


    Key Takeaway

    Shipping a thin slice in seven days beats building the full product in seven months.

    Name the core job. Cut everything else. Define "good enough." Break it into 7 milestones. Ship on day 7 no matter what.


    Worked Example: Bug Tracker

    Core job: "This product helps engineering teams capture bugs from Slack and track them without manual copy-paste."

    Features cut: Assignments, priorities, GitHub integration, notifications, reports, search, filters

    Features kept: Capture from Slack, track status (open/in-progress/closed), add comments

    7-Day Build Plan:

    • Day 1: Slack listener captures messages
    • Day 2: Store bugs in database
    • Day 3: Display bug list
    • Day 4: Add status dropdown
    • Day 5: Add comment field
    • Day 6: Test with one real team
    • Day 7: Ship


    About Ship Something

    Ship Something: The Unstuck Product Show helps founders turn stuck into shipped. Each week, we take one common product problem and turn it into a simple framework and a real action plan.

    New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

    Subscribe:

    • Amazon
    • Spotify
    • YouTube
    • RSS Feed


    Follow Product Kit OS
    • Website: ProductKitOS.com
    • Twitter (X): @SeanHiltos (founder, Product Kit OS)
    • Instagram: Product Kit OS
    • YouTube: @ProductKitOS


    Episode produced: January 2026

    Hosted on: RedCircle



    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/ship-something/donations
    Show More Show Less
    17 mins
  • Episode 4: One Sentence Product Snap

    Episode 4: One Sentence Product Snap
    Jan 16 2026
    Episode Summary

    You know what your product does, but every time you try to explain it, you ramble. This episode gives you a simple three-part template to explain your product in one clear sentence—no jargon, no feature dumps, just clarity.


    Resources MentionedFree Resource

    One Sentence Product Snap Worksheet (5-8 min worksheet)

    A 1-page worksheet with the template, prompts for each part, and space for two alternate versions.

    → Download here

    Recommended Kits

    Persona Kit ($19)

    Define exactly who your product is for with triggers, motivations, and objections.

    → Get the kit

    Kickstart Kit ($19)

    Turn a fuzzy idea into a concrete product direction with a 1-page Product Snapshot.

    → Get the kit


    Ship List (Do This Week)
    1. Write your one sentence using the template: "This helps [who] do [what] so you can [outcome]." Be specific. Use simple verbs like "create," "track," "send," "organize."
    2. Test it on someone: Read them your sentence. Ask "What do you think this product does?" If they can repeat it back accurately, you nailed it. If they look confused, rewrite it.


    Measure List

    One metric: Can someone repeat your product back after hearing your sentence once?

    If yes → You have clarity.

    If no → Your sentence is still too complicated. Simplify it. Test again.

    You'll know you have it when people nod and say "Oh, got it."


    Key Takeaway

    Clarity beats cleverness.

    Use the template: "This helps [who] do [what] so you can [outcome]." Keep testing until someone can hear it once and explain it back. That's when you know it works.


    About Ship Something

    Ship Something: The Unstuck Product Show helps founders turn stuck into shipped. Each week, we take one common product problem and turn it into a simple framework and a real action plan.

    New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

    Subscribe:

    • Amazon
    • Spotify
    • YouTube
    • RSS Feed


    Follow Product Kit OS
    • Website: ProductKitOS.com
    • Twitter (X): @SeanHiltos (founder, Product Kit OS)
    • Instagram: Product Kit OS
    • YouTube: @ProductKitOS


    Episode produced: January 2026

    Hosted on: RedCircle



    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/ship-something/donations
    Show More Show Less
    9 mins
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