Kevin Yien

Guest: Kevin Yien - Leads product for merchant experiences at Stripe. Previously built teams at Square and was head of product and design at Mutiny. Known for his unique perspectives on product management and has a background in competitive eating. Key Takeaways: Decision Logs: Kevin emphasizes the importance of maintaining a decision log to improve product sense, which he defines as making good decisions with insufficient data. This practice involves documenting decisions, the rationale behind them, and reviewing outcomes to refine decision-making skills. Unsell Email: At the offer stage, Kevin sends candidates an email outlining potential negatives about the role or company. This approach ensures that candidates are fully aware of challenges and remain excited about the opportunity, leading to better long-term fits. Automating User Research: Kevin suggests using tools like Gong and userinterviews.com to automate the process of gathering user insights. This allows PMs to maintain direct contact with customers and gather raw data without extensive manual effort. Writing Skills: Kevin believes that great PMs need to be great writers as writing provides clarity at scale, essential for both internal alignment and external communication. Drawing the Perimeter: PMs should define the constraints and boundaries of a problem space, allowing engineers and designers to innovate within those limits, ensuring focused and efficient product development. Topics Covered: Decision logs, unsell email, automating user research, writing skills for PMs, drawing the perimeter in product development, hiring strategies, AI in product management, personal growth from failure.