We got married in 2021. A product manager marrying an engineering manager. No small task.
Our wedding was a self-imposed series of exhausting days and meticulous planning marathons. The product manager decided what needed to be done. The engineering manager decided how we’d pull it off. Timelines, dependencies, stakeholders, risks, last-minute changes—typical stuff for software teams, just with more glitter and a lot more relatives. I am very proud to say it was a huge success.
Life moved on. But don’t mistakenly assume the household of two very ambitious managers was even remotely ordinary. It was as well coordinated as a Swiss watch.
We fell into a rhythm that felt… oddly natural. Not quickly, but through identifying anti-patterns and working together to overcome them. We realised –
The engineering manager did an amazing job of:
- managing groceries
- curating menus
- balancing nutrition
- making sure the system didn’t break when 6 people showed up unannounced
- Managing bonfires and barbecues
And the product manager excelled at organizing the home—almost obsessively
- deciding what needs deep cleaning, when
- setting up the space so it “works” (and looks like it works)
- managing social and familial expectations
- keeping the experience smooth for everyone walking in
- Being the plant parent
That became our operating model: do what you do best. And interestingly, neither of us questioned the dynamics. Who “should” manage what never became a debate. It simply became… the most efficient division of ownership based on strengths and interest.
Then something bigger happened.
When the engineering manager decided to quit the job, neither one of us questioned how we would survive. We did the math. We looked at the runway. We talked about risk. We planned for the downside. And we realised: what mattered the most was that the decision was made with clarity—and we were aligned. Alignment. Not the typical stuff for most software teams.
But there we were. No ego. No theatre. No silent resentment.
Just a mutual understanding that we’re building a life (and now a company) together, not performing one.
Most people would call this a sign of a good marriage: open communication. And yes—there’s been plenty of it. Sometimes even a borderline obsession to “execute life well.”
Because life doesn’t come with a handbook. But good execution is still a choice you make every day imperfectly, repeatedly.
And that’s where the parallel hits home for me. Like life, software bugs don’t come with a handbook.
For us, as founders and life partners, this same open communication is the foundation of what we’re building in our personal life and why we are building our company. To help navigate life and bugs. Especially between the product manager and the engineering manager. Because that’s who we are.
Because collaboration isn’t just “being in sync.” It’s:
- knowing who owns what
- knowing what “done” actually means
- surfacing hidden dependencies and risks before they explode
- making tradeoffs without turning them into personal battles
- keeping context alive so you’re not re-litigating decisions every week
In a team (or any relationship), if context management is poor, you don’t just ship slower—you drift. You start solving the wrong problems. You misinterpret intent. You build stories in your head. Small gaps become big fractures. Not because people don’t care, but because the system doesn’t protect clarity.
When people ask me, “Who is your Ideal Customer Profile?” I don’t have a definitive answer. Not yet.
But I do know this:
Somangshu Goswami and I are building:
- For the teams that want smooth execution, not through heroics, but through shared understanding.
- For the PMs and EMs who don’t want collaboration to be luck.
- For the people trying to build something meaningful without burning out in ambiguity, rework, and missed expectations.
Because the best collaborations – personal or professional, aren’t the ones without conflict. They’re the ones where you can look at the same messy situation and say: “Okay. Let’s get clear. Let’s align. Then let’s move.” That’s the kind of collaboration Brew.Studio aims to make easier every single day.
