Why UX and product strategy need to converge in the GCC
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Moe Hachem - October 15, 2025
The GCC startup scene is moving fast — but our habits around UX are lagging. Too many teams still treat UX as “make it pretty,” and product strategy as a spreadsheet exercise. In reality, they’re the same problem: how to reduce friction, increase willingness to pay, and capture more value with fewer wasted cycles.
The core problem in the region
We have an immature understanding and utilization of UX. There’s little research culture. Founders over-rely on outsourcing and short-term cost savings that, ironically, increase total costs and bleed value through missed opportunities.
The result: polished interfaces, weak adoption.
Where the split hurts you
When UX is boxed out — relegated to a feature factory — teams bias toward shipping more features instead of building the right ones. Costs climb, sprints multiply, and nothing meaningful changes for the user.
UX is more than UI. Extend it into service and customer experience design, and you can optimize the business itself: operations, handoffs, SLAs, acquisition, and retention.
This split exists because of a power struggle between UX and Product and because many designers haven’t been trained to speak the language of business.
The fix is simple to say, hard to do: embrace systems thinking and break down silos.
Proof that convergence works
On a B2B platform I led, we kept UX inside the product decision loop and let research guide every step. The outcome wasn’t viral DAUs (that’s not B2C) — it was sustained 250%+ adoption growth over two years within the target niche and the groundwork to disrupt that niche.
Not because of a “genius design,” but because we observed, learned, and adjusted relentlessly.
AI as the inflection point (and the trap)
AI lowers the cost of production — anyone can spin up wireframes and mockups.
That’s exactly why UX must converge with product strategy now.
If AI just accelerates output in a silo, you get faster waste.
If AI is used to amplify research, synthesis, and prioritization inside a single UX+Product function, you get clarity and speed where it matters.
My stance stays the same: don’t outsource your thinking. Use AI to accelerate learning loops, not to skip them.
A playbook for GCC founders
- Define outcomes, not outputs. “Reduce onboarding drop-off by 30%” beats “deliver 40 screens.”
- Hire for systems + strategy. If they can’t talk flows, service blueprints, and operational handoffs, you’re buying UI, not UX.
- Anchor fees to value, not screen counts. Paying per screen creates a principal–agent problem (you incentivize “more,” not “better”).
- Demand research-first behavior. Observe, learn, then design. If a consultant doesn’t spend 50–80% of early time observing and learning, walk away.
- Use AI for acceleration, not decision-making. Speed up analysis, synthesis, and prototyping — but keep humans in charge of trade-offs.
One sentence for the busy founder
Treat UX and product strategy as the same discipline: a systems function that turns user truth into business leverage, with AI as the accelerator — not the pilot.
What’s next?
Book a 30-min consult to align on a 90-day UX+Product plan.
Or connect on LinkedIn.
