Podcasts

Ramesh Johari

Guest: Ramesh Johari - Stanford Professor. Ramesh Johari is a renowned academic specializing in data science methods, particularly in the design and operation of online marketplaces. He has advised major companies like Airbnb, Uber, and Bumble. Key Takeaways: Marketplace Dynamics: Marketplaces often involve shifting attention and inventory, creating winners and losers. It's crucial to assess whether the winners are more beneficial to your business than the losers. Data's Role: Data science is central to reducing transaction costs in marketplaces by improving match-making, search, and feedback systems. Experimentation Culture: Encourage a culture of learning rather than just focusing on winning experiments. Recognize that learning from "failed" experiments is valuable. Rating Systems: Avoid simple averaging in rating systems to prevent unfair disadvantages to new entrants. Consider renorming ratings to reflect expectations and past experiences. AI's Impact: AI expands the scope of hypotheses and potential solutions, making human judgment more critical in filtering and prioritizing these options. Topics Covered: Marketplace dynamics, data science in marketplaces, experimentation and decision-making, rating systems design, AI's impact on data science.

Chip Conley

Guest: Maggie Crowley - Director of Product Management at Toast. Maggie has a rich background in product management, having worked at companies like Drift and TripAdvisor, where she honed her skills in developing product strategies and leading teams. Key Takeaways: Product Strategy: Focus on understanding the core problem your product solves and align your team around this mission. Regularly revisit and refine your strategy as the market and customer needs evolve. Customer Engagement: Engage directly with customers to gather insights and validate assumptions. This helps in building products that truly meet user needs and enhances product-market fit. Career Growth: For PMs looking to advance, focus on building cross-functional skills, understanding the business side of products, and developing leadership capabilities. Team Dynamics: Foster a culture of collaboration and open communication within product teams to drive innovation and efficiency. Adaptability: Embrace change and be willing to pivot strategies when necessary. This flexibility is crucial in the fast-paced tech environment. Topics Covered: Product strategy, customer engagement, career growth for PMs, team dynamics, adaptability in tech.

Bill Carr

Guest: Bill Carr - Co-author of "Working Backwards" and former VP of Digital Media at Amazon. Bill spent 15 years at Amazon, launching and managing Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Amazon Studios, and now runs a consulting firm helping companies implement Amazon's practices. Key Takeaways: Working Backwards: Start with the customer's needs and work backward to develop solutions, focusing on lasting customer problems without constraints. Single-Threaded Leadership: Assign a single leader with dedicated resources to own a project, enhancing ownership, speed, and agility. Disagree and Commit: Encourage team members to voice disagreements, but once a decision is made, commit fully to its success. Input vs. Output Metrics: Focus on improving input metrics that drive the desired output metrics (e.g., revenue), ensuring long-term success. Bar Raiser Program: Implement a hiring process where a neutral party ensures candidates meet high standards and fit the company culture. Topics Covered: Working backwards, single-threaded leadership, disagree and commit, input and output metrics, Bar Raiser program, Amazon's unique processes, product innovation, decision-making, hiring practices.

Eric Ries

Guest: Eric Ries - Founder and Executive Chairman of the Long-Term Stock Exchange. Eric is renowned for creating the Lean Startup methodology and has significantly influenced startup culture with concepts like MVP and pivot. Key Takeaways: MVP Misconceptions: MVPs are not about low quality but about efficiently testing hypotheses. The "minimum" is context-specific, and founders should aim for the least necessary to validate assumptions. Pivoting Insights: A pivot involves changing strategy while maintaining the vision. Often, the vision evolves through the startup journey, and recognizing when to pivot is crucial. AI's Impact: AI is reshaping management by enhancing summarization and decision-making capabilities. It requires organizations to rethink governance and alignment structures. Dealing with Uncertainty: In high uncertainty, like with AI, ethical action involves understanding the wide range of possible futures and focusing on empirical learning. Mental Health in Startups: Building a company you hate is worse than failure. Founders should prioritize alignment with their values to avoid long-term dissatisfaction. Topics Covered: Lean Startup methodology, MVP misconceptions, pivoting strategies, AI's impact on startups, ethical action in uncertainty, mental health in entrepreneurship.

Paul Adams

Guest: Paul Adams - Chief Product Officer at Intercom. Paul has over a decade of experience at Intercom, previously serving as Global Head of Brand Design at Facebook and a user researcher at Google. Key Takeaways: AI Integration: Start by understanding the core problem your product solves and assess if AI can address it. This can lead to either replacement or augmentation of current solutions. Product Strategy: Align your product's capabilities with AI's potential to ensure you're not left behind. This involves re-evaluating your strategy and possibly making significant shifts. Organizational Change: Transitioning to AI requires structural changes within teams, emphasizing the need for machine learning expertise and integrating AI across all product teams rather than siloing it. Learning and Adaptation: Stay updated with AI advancements by dedicating time to read and experiment with new tools. Encourage a culture of learning and adaptation within your organization. Frameworks for Success: Utilize frameworks like "differentiation vs. table stakes" to balance innovation with essential features, and "swinging the pendulum" to avoid over-correcting strategic decisions. Topics Covered: AI in product strategy, organizational change, product differentiation, pricing strategy, frameworks for product management, learning and adaptation in AI.

April Dunford

Guest: April Dunford - Author of "Sales Pitch." April is a renowned expert in product positioning with over 25 years of experience as a VP of marketing and advisor to companies like Google and Epic Games. She is also the author of the bestselling book "Obviously Awesome." Key Takeaways: Understand Buyer Indecision: 40-60% of B2B purchase processes end in no decision, often due to buyers' fear of making a wrong choice. Help them make confident decisions by providing a clear market perspective. Sales Pitch Framework: Start with an insight into the market, discuss alternative solutions, and define the characteristics of a perfect solution before introducing your product and its differentiated value. Teach Buyers How to Buy: Educate potential customers on the market landscape and help them understand the criteria for making a good decision, reducing their stress and indecision. Involve Sales in Pitch Development: Ensure sales teams are involved in creating the pitch to increase adoption and effectiveness. Test the pitch with top sales reps and iterate based on feedback. Calm Confidence in Positioning: Be honest about your competition and focus on your unique strengths. This builds trust and helps guide customers to the right decision for their needs. Topics Covered: Sales pitch framework, buyer indecision, differentiated value, market insights, sales and marketing alignment, category creation, positioning, objection handling, teaching customers how to buy.

Gina Gotthilf

Guest: Gina Gotthilf - Co-founder and COO of Latitud. Gina is known for leading growth and marketing at Duolingo, helping it grow from 3 million to over 200 million users, primarily through organic channels. Key Takeaways: Mission-Driven Growth: Duolingo's success was significantly driven by its mission to provide free education, which attracted users and talent, and informed product and marketing strategies. Organic Growth Focus: Early-stage startups should prioritize organic growth and retention over paid acquisition to ensure sustainable and authentic user engagement. Brand and Voice: Developing a unique and memorable brand voice, as Duolingo did with its quirky and humorous communication style, can significantly enhance user engagement and word-of-mouth growth. Global Strategy: While cultural differences exist, focusing on universal human behaviors and keeping product offerings consistent across regions can simplify operations and accelerate growth. Resilience and Adaptability: Embrace failures and learn from them, as they are part of the growth journey. Duolingo's iterative approach to testing and learning was crucial to its success. Topics Covered: Duolingo's growth strategy, organic growth vs. paid acquisition, brand building, internationalization strategy, Latin America's tech ecosystem, resilience in startups, building a mission-driven company.

Katie Dill

Guest: Katie Dill - Head of Design at Stripe. Katie oversees product design, brand and marketing creative, web presence, user research, content strategy, and design ops at Stripe. She has previously led design at Lyft and Airbnb, building and scaling design teams at hypergrowth companies. Key Takeaways: Quality as Growth: Quality improvements directly lead to business growth. For instance, enhancing the checkout experience at Stripe resulted in a 10.5% increase in revenue for businesses. Operationalizing Quality: Stripe uses a process called "walking the store," where multidisciplinary teams regularly review and score user journeys to ensure high-quality experiences. Design and Functionality: Beauty and functionality are not opposites; beauty enhances functionality by making products more approachable and trustworthy. Team Structure: Embedding designers with product and engineering teams while maintaining a creative space for design fosters better collaboration and product outcomes. Vision and Execution: Establish a bold vision (reach for the stars) and execute incrementally (land on the moon) to achieve significant product improvements. Topics Covered: Importance of design in business, operationalizing quality, user journey reviews, team structure and collaboration, design hiring tips, lessons from flying, Stripe's design philosophy.

Jason Feifer

Guest: Jason Feifer - Editor in Chief at Entrepreneur Magazine. Jason has an extensive background in media, having previously worked as an editor at Fast Company and other major magazines. He is also an author, podcast host, keynote speaker, and startup advisor. Key Takeaways: Understand the Media's Mission: Journalists care about their audience, not your product. Tailor your pitch to fit the publication's mission and audience needs. Strategic Pitching: Identify the right journalist or freelancer who covers your industry. Freelancers are often more receptive as they actively seek stories. Crafting the Pitch: Customize your email pitch to show relevance and understanding of the publication. Keep it concise and focus on a compelling story or unique insight. Alternative Strategies: Consider positioning yourself as an expert or creating context for your product within larger industry trends to gain media attention. Be Human: Authenticity and openness about challenges make for compelling stories that resonate with audiences. Topics Covered: Media pitching strategies, understanding publication missions, crafting effective pitches, role of PR agencies, leveraging freelancers, alternative press strategies, humanizing your story.

Karri Saarinen

Guest: Karri Saarinen - Co-founder and CEO of Linear. Karri was the founding designer at Coinbase, principal designer at Airbnb, and co-founder of two previous startups. He is recognized for his unique approach to building high-quality, opinionated software. Key Takeaways: Design as a Differentiator: In crowded markets, high-quality design becomes crucial for standing out. Early-stage startups should focus on design to set themselves apart and attract users. Opinionated Software: Linear focuses on providing opinionated solutions that reduce user decision fatigue, allowing teams to focus on their work rather than configuring tools. Cycles Over Sprints: Linear uses automated cycles to help teams focus on specific tasks, reducing distractions from an ever-growing task list. Hiring for Breadth: Linear hires individuals who can operate beyond their specific roles, looking for candidates with product sensibility and broader skill sets. Growth Strategy: Linear initially targeted early-stage startups, using a waitlist and selective onboarding to refine their product, gradually expanding to larger companies. Topics Covered: Design as a differentiator, opinionated software, cycles vs. sprints, product market fit, hiring strategies, growth tactics, Linear Method, building company culture.

Lane Shackleton

Guest: Lane Shackleton - Chief Product Officer at Coda. Lane has been with Coda for over eight years and previously worked at YouTube and Google, starting his career as an Alaskan mountain guide. He is known for his deep thinking and first principles approach to building product teams and culture. Key Takeaways: Seek Discomfort for Growth: Lane emphasizes the importance of seeking "oh shit" moments where you feel underqualified, as these are crucial for personal and professional growth. Systems Over Goals: Focus on creating systems that consistently drive outcomes rather than fixating on goals. For example, have a default system for customer interactions rather than sporadic goals. Cathedrals, Not Bricks: Ensure your team understands the bigger picture ("cathedral") rather than just focusing on individual tasks ("bricks"). Learn by Making, Not Talking: Instead of endless debates, quickly prototype and test ideas to gain insights and make informed decisions. Two-Way Writeups: Transition from one-way writeups to interactive, feedback-oriented documents to enhance decision-making and clarity. Topics Covered: Principles of great product managers, rituals of great teams, career growth, strategy and planning, customer focus, effective communication, product development processes.

Maya Prohovnik

Guest: Maya Prohovnik - Head of Podcast Product at Spotify. Maya was employee number one at Anchor, which Spotify acquired and turned into a leading podcasting platform, now powering over 75% of all new podcasts globally. Key Takeaways: Dogfooding Importance: Maya emphasizes the importance of dogfooding, encouraging her team to create their own podcasts to better understand user needs and improve product development. Balancing Data and Gut: While data is crucial, Maya believes in treating gut feelings as a type of data, advocating for a balance between quantitative insights and intuitive decision-making. Building Unscalable Solutions: Early on, Anchor used college interns to manually distribute podcasts to platforms, creating a seamless user experience that significantly boosted growth. Successful Integration Post-Acquisition: Anchor maintained its startup culture within Spotify by staying aligned with Spotify’s mission, building strong internal relationships, and adapting to strategic shifts. Public Speaking Tips: Maya suggests reframing anxiety as adrenaline, practicing extensively, and ensuring genuine passion for the topic to improve public speaking skills. Topics Covered: Dogfooding, data vs. gut decisions, unscalable solutions, post-acquisition integration, public speaking tips, productivity hacks, leadership frameworks.