
LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast (LogRocket)
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Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
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02 Apr 2024 | Product vision and alignment with Sandy Huang | 00:25:21 | |
Today, our guest is Sandy Huang, Vice President of Product Management at GoodRx.
Sandy has worked in tech for most of her career, beginning at small startups such as MusicNow, which was later acquired by AOL, as well as WeddingChannel, which was acquired by The Knot. She then moved on to companies including Shutterfly, Minted, Jive Software, and Flipboard.
Before joining GoodRX, Sandy worked at Amazon as Head of Product, where she led the global visual search and discovery team for Amazon Shopping, and led the Alexa team developing experiences and content.
In this episode, LogRocket's CEO and Head of Product, Matt Arbesfeld, talks to Sandy about the importance of alignment in product management, ways to collaborate with stakeholders, and insights from her experiences at Amazon working on projects like Alexa and Global Search and Discovery.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandyhuangproduct/
https://twitter.com/SandyHuangPM
Leader Spotlight: Finding your superpower, with Sandy Huang (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-sandy-huang/)
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Sandy Huang.
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28 Jan 2025 | How to build a $1M ARR startup (x3) | Adam Schoenfeld (Keyplay) | 00:36:44 | |
Today, we’re talking with Adam Schoenfeld, CEO at Keyplay, a SaaS solution to help B2B marketers make GTM more efficient.
In this episode, Adam talks about:
How he built 3 startups to over $1m ARR
His process that’s allowed him to reliably reach Product Market Fit again and again
And the critical mistakes founders always make...and how you can avoid them
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamschoenfeld/
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:19 Adam Schoenfeld's Journey to Keyplay
01:59 How to Build A Startup
02:33 Building a Product Audience and Discovering Problems
02:50 From PeerSignal to Keyplay
03:17 Monetizing the Discovery Process
04:05 Finding Product Market Fit
07:11 The Role of Design Partners
13:36 Early Product Traction and Validation
17:49 Challenges in Scaling
19:12 Challenges of Founding a SaaS Company
21:34 Adapting Sales Processes and Proving Value
23:29 Understanding Market Changes and Effective Marketing
28:59 Lessons from Past Ventures and Scaling Challenges
34:19 Insights on Product Market Fit and Distribution
36:57 Navigating Acquisitions and Future Outlook
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Adam Schoenfeld.
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21 May 2024 | Risk-taking with tech giants with Steve Chazin, VP | 00:30:30 | |
Today, our guest is Steve Chazin, Vice President of Products at Alarm.com, a technology company that focuses on intelligently connected property. He has been in product since his first job building technology for Raytheon.
Steve then became Senior Director, Marketing & Account Executive and Systems Engineer at Apple, where he worked for nearly a decade. He’s remained in tech since then and has worked in various leadership roles at companies such as Avid, Ellucian, Salesforce, Symantec, Cisco, and more.
On today's episode, LogRocket's CEO, Matt Arbesfeld, talks to Steve about his experience working at Apple, competing with Final Cut Pro, and his current role at alarm.com. They discuss the importance of user-centered product design, the impact of AI in home security, and the value of staying intellectually curious in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.
Links
Leader Spotlight: Helping turn Apple’s business around, with Steve Chazin (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-steve-chazin/)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chazin
https://twitter.com/stevechazin
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Steve Chazin.
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10 Dec 2024 | Playbook: PM like a GM | Lauren Creedon, VP of Product (Goldcast, Drift, Hudl) | 00:31:38 | |
On today’s episode of LaunchPod, Jeff Wharton talks to Lauren Creedon, VP of Product at Goldcast, who formerly led product at Drift and Hudl.
In this episode, we talked about:
How to be a PM who thinks like a GM
Her 1-5-50 product launch process, going from friendly alpha to open beta
And the real-life lesson of what happens when you launch a product no one’s ready to sell—or buy
Chapters
00:00 Intro: Meet Lauren Creedham
01:29 Lauren's Career Journey and Insights
02:50 The Importance of AI in Product Management
04:20 Revenue-Driven Product Management
14:06 The 1-5-50 Product Launch Process
17:26 PM Lessons from the Field
21:28 Building the Right Operating Culture
24:20 Measuring Success and Future-Proofing Your Career
32:25 Outro
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurencreedon/
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@log.rocket) for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
Special Guest: Lauren Creedon.
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11 Jun 2024 | Digital transformation in fleet management with Fatima Howes, VP | 00:42:44 | |
Today, our guest is Fatima Howes, Vice President Of Product Management and CX Design for Fleet Telematics at Azuga, a subsidiary of Bridgestone.
Before joining Bridgestone, Fatima served in product leadership roles at Assignar and Procore Technologies, both construction management software companies. She didn't always work in software, however; Fatima started as an analyst in public affairs and transitioned to software and product through a sales development representative role.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Fatina about her strategies for managing by exception, prioritizing customer needs, and finding common denominators among different stakeholders such as drivers, fleet managers, and insurance companies. The discussion also highlights the shift from traditional product management to a more holistic approach involving co-creation, risk modeling, and design management.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatimahowes/
Managing by exception, with Fatima Howes (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-fatima-howes/)
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Fatima Howes.
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13 Aug 2024 | Perfect is not the answer with Shira Gershoni | 00:26:46 | |
Today, our guest is Shira Gershoni, seasoned product management executive, with 15 years of experience in eCommerce and SaaS product development across North America and Europe. Shira started her career in web development and later transitioned to technical product management while at Eternity-IT, followed by leadership positions at NeoGames, Soluto, and Asurion.
On today’s episode, Jennifer talks to LogRocket’s CEO and Head of Product, Matt Arbesfeld, about the significance of focusing on creating omnichannel experiences, why using AI enhances user experiences and making data-driven decisions, and how a culture of iteration in product is more impactful than aiming for perfection.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shira-gershoni-vp-product/
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-shira-gershoni/
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:05 Omnichannel in practice
01:51 Understanding personas
02:56 Challenges in omnichannel transition
04:22 Managing digital and physical products
06:24 The role of product managers
13:00 Kickoff meetings and iteration
22:04 Leveraging AI in product management
26:27 Outro
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Shira Gershoni.
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19 Mar 2024 | Revolutionizing small business banking with Herman Man, CPO | 00:25:41 | |
Today, our guest is Herman Man, Chief Product Officer at Bluevine, where he’s building the next-generation digital banking platform for small businesses.
Originally a computer scientist and engineer by trade, Herman quickly earned a reputation as “one of the few developers with a personality,” throwing himself headfirst into solving complex technical problems for business users who crave simplicity in their fintech solutions. In addition to leading the product function at Bluevine, he also oversees design, which he says ensures a seamless experience for customers and empowers the wider organization to approach problem solving from a user-centered perspective.
On today's episode, LogRocket's CEO and Head of Product, Matt Arbesfeld, talks to Herman about how he used his background in engineering to build his career in product, what it's like building a product for the banking industry and the challenges that come with that industry, and how startups can use feedback to disrupt bigger competitors.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hermanjman/
https://twitter.com/herman_man
Leader Spotlight: Sweating the details, with Herman Man
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Herman Man.
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26 Nov 2024 | Manage product like P&G | Prabhath Nanisetty, Global Head of Industry for Retail Data, Technology, and Quick Commerce (Snowflake) | 00:39:30 | |
On today’s episode of LaunchPod, Jeff Wharton talks with Prabhath Nanisetty, Global Head of Industry for Retail Data, Technology, and Quick Commerce at Snowflake, about how his career started from working as an engineer at Proctor and Gamble where he transitioned into product and worked his way up to leadership at P&G, InfoScout/Numerator, and Snowflake.
We got Prabhath’s take on:
Why it’s not the model, it’s the inputs you use to get the model that’s important why you have to dig into the core details of the most important inputs
How to look beyond just ROI to what really drives the business
The packaging lesson every product manager should know
Why honing his product skills at P&G, where PM was invented, set him up for his whole career
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prabhathnanisetty/
Leadership Spotlight: Bottling the benefits of failure, with Prabhath Nanisetty: https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-prabhath-nanisetty/
References
Run product like sales runs sales with Justin Anovick: https://youtu.be/QIF0qpr1G_8
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@log.rocket) for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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30 Apr 2024 | Navigating B2B and B2C dynamics with Matt DiBari, CPO | 00:29:29 | |
Today, our guest is Matt DiBari, CPO at SpotHero. He has spent the majority of his career working in the automotive industry, the first decade of which was at CDK Global. Matt also served in senior product management and leadership roles at Cars.com before transitioning to SpotHero in 2019.
On today's episode, LogRocket's CEO, Matt Arbesfeld, talks to Matt about the differences between B2B and B2C approaches, the importance of strategic investment, personalization projects, and provides valuable advice for aspiring product managers.
Links
Leader Spotlight: Catching up to consumer expectations, with Matt DiBari (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-with-matt-dibari/)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewdibari/
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Matt DiBari.
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11 Mar 2025 | How to tell your CEO they’re wrong about product centricity | Steve Nash, Dir. of Product (GumGum) | LaunchPod | 00:31:50 | |
Today, we’re talking with Steve Nash, Director of Product for GumGum, an ad-tech platform that matches brands and consumers through AI-powered data and media solutions.
In this episode, Steve talks about:
How to tell your CEO that they’re wrong — and not lose your career
The story behind Playground’s transition to a product-centric culture, and the pace of innovation it unlocked for the team
Why unifying behind Playground’s mission of being “the attention company” led to their successful exit and acquisition by GumGum
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenash/
GumGum: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gumgum/
Resources
Navigating a digital reckoning in art | Elizabeth Van Bergen, Product Experience Lead (Phillips): https://youtu.be/Rf-7r3PMVuo
Unlock revenue with the zone of benefit | Oji Udezue, CPO (Typeform, Twitter, Calendly): https://youtu.be/2WuAGcRwdv0
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:04 Product challenges and shifts at Playground XYZ
04:38 How to implement product centricity
05:18 How to navigate conversations with CEOs
09:23 How to empower product teams and drive innovation
11:05 Adapting during COVID-19
20:08 Attention tracking and creative Insights
27:33 The role of design and raste in product development
33:01 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Steve Nash.
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25 Jun 2024 | The zone of benefit with Oji Udezue, Principal (Part 2) | 00:25:21 | |
Today, we continue our conversation with Oji Udezue, Principal at ProductMind, product expert, author, and an innovation-focused, multi-disciplined business leader.
Oji has had an extensive and successful career, spanning his time as CPO of Typeform, Head of Product for Creation and Conversation at Twitter, CPO of Calendly, and Head of Product at Atlassian.
On today’s part two of Oji’s two-part episode, we talk about his experience working on Twitter's creator initiatives, the concept of 'forest time,' a practice of stepping back to gain strategic perspective, and Oji's insights on product-led growth (PLG), emphasizing the importance of solving customer problems and adaptive business strategies.
So here it is, the second part of our conversation with Oji Udezue.
Links
Pre-order link for Oji’s book, “Building Rocket Ships” (https://shop.damngravity.com/products/building-rocketships-udezue)
Writing: https://ojiudezue.substack.com/
Consulting: https://productmind.co
Twitter: https://x.com/ojiudezue
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/in/ojiudezue
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Oji Udezue.
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03 Dec 2024 | From product leader to founder | Arman Javaherian, CEO & Co-Founder (Home AI, Shortcut, Crunchbase) | 00:39:34 | |
On today’s episode of LaunchPod, Jeff Wharton talks to Arman Javaherian, CEO & Co-Founder at Homa, about how he went from leading product at Shortcut, Zillow, and Crunchbase to then pivoting to a founder role at Homa AI.
In this episode, we cover:
Why product people should always be selling
Why he says investors should only invest in founders that are product people
Where AI can help product people today - and where it’s a dangerous distraction
And A framework to avoid falling into a world of bad product decisions
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armanjavaherian/
Homa AI: https://www.tryhoma.com/
Leadership Spotlight: https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-arman-javaherian/
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@log.rocket) for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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16 Jul 2024 | Driving B2B SaaS innovation with Josh Schoonmaker, Global VP | 00:41:13 | |
Today, our guest is Josh Schoonmaker, Global Vice President, Product Management, Commerce at Optimizely. Josh started his career at HP, where he worked for just over a decade, and then transitioned to working at eBay as a program manager. He served in product leadership roles at Tozny and Consolidated Supply Co. before joining Optimizely in 2020.
On today’s episode, Josh discusses Optimizely’s recent achievements, including their recognition by leading analysts and their $400 million ARR milestone; the importance of composability in their products; the integration of B2B sales experience into product excellence; and the significance of a holistic customer experience.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshschoonmaker/
Leader Spotlight: The balance between assertive and kind leadership, with Josh Schoonmaker (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-josh-schoonmaker/)
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Josh Schoonmaker.
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17 Dec 2024 | No BS eComm Analytics | Julie Acosta, Dir. of eComm & Analytics (NOBULL, AutoZone) [Repeat] | 00:38:56 | |
Today, our guest is Julie Acosta, Director of eComm and Marketing Analytics at NOBULL, a fast-growing Boston-based footwear and apparel brand.
For Julie, curiosity has a funny way of making you change course. As she originally set out to avoid numbers by going to university for marketing, but as she began developing her career, she found that understanding and working with data made her more effective at understanding her customer base.
It was at AutoZone, where her path really changed, as Julie went from merchandising to building AutoZone’s first eCommerce Analytics team from the ground up.
By bridging the digital and in-store experiences, her team altered the company’s understanding of how the two were linked, including how new product lines can grow existing lines and how online customer behavior influences in-store purchases.
Other key takeaways:
How to balance data with usability and how analytics can’t always tell you everything
How B&M and e-commerce are inextricably linked and by synchronizing the two you can create a cohesive customer journey strategy
How to solve perceived customer cannibalization
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-acosta-89846b11/
Spotlight interview: https://shorturl.at/Md6SR
Chapters
00:00 Intro
03:31 From AVL Boeing to AutoZone
04:09 Merchandising and Marketing at AutoZone
05:33 Building AutoZone's E-commerce and Analytics Team
07:05 The Importance of Curiosity and Team Building
16:23 Balancing Data and Customer Insights
20:43 Understanding the Human Element in Data
21:02 Hands-On Experience at AutoZone
22:07 Challenges and Innovations in E-Commerce
25:14 Performance Parts and Customer Insights
30:19 Balancing Online and Offline Metrics
35:38 Transition to NOBULL and New Challenges
40:30 Outro
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@log.rocket) for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Julie Acosta.
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07 Jan 2025 | Navigating a digital reckoning in the art industry | Elizabeth Van Bergen, Product Experience Lead (Phillips) | 00:30:28 | |
Today, LogRocket’s VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Elizabeth Van Bergen, who leads product experience at Phillips, a global high-end auction house.
In this episode we talked about:
Creating a product experience for both tech novices and early adopters
“One of our big things is always creating parity between experiences. We always want to create the journey for the client, we want to show people what they can do, not force them. We've really been able to also bring that online and offer them the digital space from a product standpoint.
Some people just always prefer that personal high touch. But the idea for us is to be able to create an experience where for 80% of the clients it’s not necessary. So the 20% of the market that we're looking towards, the ultra-high net worth individuals, we will always be able to service them.
But by being able to solve for the 80%, it gives our team the bandwidth and ability to focus on the ultra-high net worth individuals, whereas our tools help those early adopters."
How the traditional auction industry went digital overnight
“[The pandemic] was a reckoning for the whole world, but I think for an industry that is so rooted in tradition, like the auction world, it was the catalyst that drove everyone to really be interested in the change. It wasn't that people didn't know that it needed to happen, that we didn't need to change our digital offerings; it just wasn't the core of what we were doing.
Changing something within the auction world can sometimes be like trying to move a mountain. You're trying to explain something that is maybe very foreign to what our specialists are used to doing; this is how we've done it for 20, 30 years. So the pandemic was great because it changed everybody's minds and it rerouted how people were thinking about things like 'What can I do for this client or what can I offer them digitally?'”
And why the digital experience is as important as the functionality itself
“Relationships within our industry are key. So you want people to keep coming back because, whether someone is a consigner or a buyer, both are clients. Either way, the company is making money and it's important to service both of those clients.
So you always want people to be coming back. If you have a happy buyer, they come back, let's say maybe five, 10 years later and they sell, you have a happy consigner. So you also develop a brand loyalty and that trust is really key.
So even though some of what we do is still, and will always be, in person, that digital aspect of it, if someone's trying to WhatsApp someone after a meeting and now all of a sudden that share option isn't providing the correct metadata that's supposed to be there, that can be really frustrating, and can also not always look as nice, and sometimes it just needs to look nice too."
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethvanbergen/
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:54 Elizabeth Van Bergen's Background and Career Journey
02:15 The Art of Productizing Taste
03:22 Digital Transformation in the Auction Industry
05:17 Creating Seamless Digital Experiences
12:10 Navigating the Pandemic and Embracing Change
16:29 Leveraging Social Media and Data
21:36 Balancing Functionality and Experience
28:27 Collaborative Efforts and Future Directions
32:09 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Elizabeth Van Bergen.
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30 Jul 2024 | Paper to pixels: navigating product regulation and UX with Carolyne Moran, VP | 00:20:11 | |
Today, our guest is Carolyne Moran, VP of Product Management and UX at OneSpan, a digital identity and anti-fraud solutions company.
Carolyne began her career in logistics and product management at Airborne Entertainment, where she managed direct-to-consumer mobile promotions. Carolyne then transitioned to managing mobile apps and UX at Yellow Pages/Pages Jaunes – Canada, a digital media and marketing company. She later joined eSignLive by VASCO, which was acquired by OneSpan in 2015.
On today’s episode, Carolyne talks to LogRocket’s CEO and Head of Product, Matt Arbesfeld, about the importance of collaborating across product and UX teams; why being customer-obsessed and incorporating customer feedback is crucial; and the challenges of developing product in a highly regulated industry.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynemoran/
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Carolyne Moran.
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31 Dec 2024 | Build product like Linear | Nan Yu, Head of Product (Linear, Everlane, BOA) | 00:39:36 | |
Today, our guest is Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, a purpose-built tool for planning and building products. Prior to working at Linear, Nan worked at Mode, Abstract, Everlane, and Bank of America.
On today’s episode, Nan talks to LogRocket’s VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, about:
Why the only thing that matters is the next category launch — even if it’s held together with duct tape
"You can have everything held together with duct tape and it's okay. And I think that's an uncomfortable sort of mindset for people to adopt really.
At Everlane, the only thing that was important was the next category launch launch. You can sacrifice everything else. If the next category launch goes well, numbers go up, we raise more money, we get more customers. That's the only thing that matters."
Why it’s important to have conviction in making decisions — even if the market slaps you in the face
"But at the end of the day, you know, as a leader, you own the decisions that they're making. As a leader saying, 'Here's where we're going to be great and really differentiate and rise above the market.' And I could be wrong, right? I could be aggressively, tragically wrong, and that's fine.
That's actually probably better, right? You want to know for sure that you're wrong and that you can switch directions; failing fast is a thing that we want to do. It's not like, 'Oh, well, we're gonna wait and see.' No, have some conviction around something, focus on it, and let the market slap you in the face if it's not correct."
Why engineering teams can sometimes suffer from learned helplessness, and why it’s detrimental to product innovation
"You see teams where there's a product manager per five or six engineers. And engineers will tend to check out a little bit from understanding how the product actually works, understanding the customer, because, well, we got this PM senior right here. It's not out of laziness necessarily, it's more like, well, this is someone's job description, so it wouldn't feel right for me to do that. And then you start having this learned helplessness.
So I think that dynamic is probably way more dangerous than a product manager being overworked. If you end up in a state where your engineering team is like disengaged and they have learned helplessness, good luck trying to unwind that. That is a cultural change that you're not going to observe until it's too late, and it's very difficult to to reverse and it takes a long time."
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thenanyu/
Twitter: https://x.com/thenanyu?lang=en
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:09 Essential Tools for Product Managers
03:19 Career Highlights and Organizational Design
03:49 The Heirloom Tomato Analogy
04:18 Conway's Law and Communication Structures
06:11 Focus and Prioritization in Startups
06:53 Lessons from Everlane
13:23 Challenges in Organizational Design
24:02 The Dangers of Learned Helplessness in Engineering Teams
25:19 High Output Management: Key Principles
27:32 Team Structure and Soft Boundaries
31:07 The Aladdin Principle: Breaking Social Boundaries
31:49 Balancing Core Business and Checkbox Requirements
34:45 Linear's Unique Approach to Project Management
43:42 The Concept of Work Trials at Linear
47:00 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Nan Yu.
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23 Apr 2024 | Redefining product development in SMB fintech with Alo Mukerji | 00:36:56 | |
Today, our guest is Alo Mukerji, VP of Product at WaveHQ, which develops money management software for small business owners.
Driven by a genuine love for small and midsize businesses, Alo has worked in product leadership roles at Constant Contact, Buildium (acquired by RealPage), Toast, and Privy (acquired by Attentive). Alo’s specialties include creating frictionless product experiences and increasing revenue through pricing models and new product lines.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Alo about driving innovations at a fintech company, focusing on SMBs, and the importance of rapid innovation.
Links
Leader Spotlight: Making a tangible impact for SMBs, with Alo Mukerji (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-alo-mukerji/)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alo-mukerji-9a7154
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Alo Mukerji.
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29 Oct 2024 | The business of re-branding poop | Isabel Petty, Head of Digital Product at TUSHY (Pattern, GritWell, Walmart) | 00:34:45 | |
Today, our guest is Isabel Petty, Head of Digital Product at TUSHY, a modern and sustainable bidet company.
Isabel received her Masters of Technology Management degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, after which she became a category manager at Walmart and then joined Gritwell, a virtual health clinic, in growth and product development. Before her current role at TUSHY, she served as a senior product manager at Pattern Brands.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Isabel about:
How important digital leadership is in product and the problem-solving strategies she’s employed to grow product
How TUSHY uses humor as a marketing strategy to tackle and normalize bathroom taboos and solidify customer trust
How TUSHY’s poop-tracking app was created to detect early sins of colon cancer and promote gut health as a way to continue to scale TUSHY’s product offerings.
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelpetty/
TUSHY website: https://hellotushy.com/
Isabel Petty’s LogRocket Spotlight interview: https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-isabel-petty/
Poop Tracking App announcement: https://www.tiktok.com/@hellotushy/video/7355545782986018090
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:08 What is TUSHY
01:38 Isabel’s role as Head of Digital Product at TUSHY
03:59 Going to school for product management
14:51 User feedback and research in product development at TUSHY
17:32 Challenges in customer research around taboo topics at TUSHY
19:14 Market and consumer product education
21:38 Addressing customer product issues and finding solutions at TUSHY
22:27 Growth strategies and product expansion
27:13 Building a poop tracking app
31:37 Balancing humor and health to reach customers and foster loyalty
33:51 Outro
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@log.rocket) for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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03 Sep 2024 | The end of MVPs and prioritizing accountability with Jason Penkethman, CPO (Repeat) | 00:42:08 | |
On today's repeat episode, our guest is Jason Penkethman, Chief Product Officer at Simpro Group, business software for trade professionals.
Prior to working at Simpro group, Jason worked in product management, engineering, and leadership roles through a range of industries, including mobile devices, data services, SaaS, and automotive IoT.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Jason about emphasizing the importance of a go-to-market perspective, customer interaction, the importance of accountability, and leadership challenges like team alignment and data-driven decisions.
Links
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-jason-penkethman/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpenkethman/
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Jason Penkethman.
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12 Nov 2024 | Bridging in-store and digital with analytics | Julie Acosta, Dir. of eComm & Analytics (NOBULL, AutoZone) | 00:38:56 | |
Today, our guest is Julie Acosta, Director of eComm and Marketing Analytics at NOBULL, a fast-growing Boston-based footwear and apparel brand.
For Julie, curiosity has a funny way of making you change course. As she originally set out to avoid numbers by going to university for marketing, but as she began developing her career, she found that understanding and working with data made her more effective at understanding her customer base.
It was at AutoZone, where her path really changed, as Julie went from merchandising to building AutoZone’s first eCommerce Analytics team from the ground up.
By bridging the digital and in-store experiences, her team altered the company’s understanding of how the two were linked, including how new product lines can grow existing lines and how online customer behavior influences in-store purchases.
Other key takeaways:
How to balance data with usability and how analytics can’t always tell you everything
“I have always had really smart people on my team, like data scientists that were just phenomenal at modeling and just doing some more advanced analytics. That team would be more focused on transactions and the other half of my team was more focused on behavior. And that was leveraging things like Adobe Analytics to go and understand what's going on from a customer journey standpoint. And so there was a lot of reading between the lines and mix of like art and science.”
*** How B&M and e-commerce are inextricably linked and by synchronizing the two you can create a cohesive customer journey strategy**
“Online was supplemental to our overall business; our true core business was brick and mortar. AutoZone has been very successful at that. Online is, a crucial part because you can't ignore it, but also knowing that from a conversion standpoint, we know a lot of customers are going online and then they're buying in-store.”
“You need to cut through all the bullsh*t to get them to their end goal. And the only way to do that is going back to that consumer behavior, really understanding what was their intent of their journey. Do you really understand that as an owner of the website, whether you're a product owner, analytics, or a a merchant, do you understand why your customer is engaging with that product or engaging with that part of your site? If you do, great, make sure you've got a good vision on how to make it the best experience possible.”
How to solve perceived customer cannibalization
“At the end of the day, what it did show is that there really wasn't cannibalization happening. We were able to show through the numbers, through this additional offering, something that nobody thought something as simple as a lead time would draw up that much business. And it was significant.”
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-acosta-89846b11/
Spotlight interview: https://shorturl.at/Md6SR
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:28 From merchandising to marketing analytics
05:30 Building AutoZone’s e-commerce and analytics team
09:08 Balancing data and leadership
11:30 Understanding customer behavior through data
21:38 Bridging the online and offline customer experience
24:57 Leveraging new product lines to sell legacy products
35:35 Transition to NOBULL
40:35 Outro
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@log.rocket) for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Julie Acosta.
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04 Jun 2024 | Navigating product teams and tech stacks with Nancy Wang, SVP | 00:41:20 | |
Today, our guest is Nancy Wang, Senior Vice President, Product Operations at Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV), a market leader in the vacation ownership industry.
Nancy spent the last decade of her career working at Alert Logic, a comprehensive cybersecurity portfolio now owned by Fortra, beginning as a lead system engineer. Nancy worked her way up to principal engineer before taking on product management responsibilities and, ultimately, becoming Vice President of Technical Product Management. In her tenure, Nancy led the Alert Logic MDR product’s scale from 0 to 80 million MRR within two years.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Nancy about how she leveraged her engineering background to excel in product roles, her strategic approach to building and leading a comprehensive product operations team at HGV, and the importance of planning, transformation, open-mindedness in acquisitions, and continual improvement.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-wang-9a20a014/
Enabling a cultural mind shift, with Nancy Wang (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-nancy-wang/)
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Nancy Wang.
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04 Feb 2025 | How to launch your ugly MVP in high-velocity markets | Kevin Wang, CPO (Braze) | 00:40:26 | |
Today, we’re talking with Kevin Wang, Chief Product Officer at Braze, a platform that enables businesses to build meaningful, personalized relationships with their customers across multiple channels.
In this episode, Kevin talks about:
How you can pair high-velocity market innovation with a long-term, consistent vision to beat competition year after year
Why you should build durable teams, over agile org structures, to drive long-term success
And, a process to partner with early adopters to get the best market insights for your product
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-wang-96131916/
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:56 Kevin Wang’s Career at Braze
03:11 Understanding Selling to Marketers in SaaS
03:37 Braze's Customer Engagement Platform
08:03 The Evolution of Marketing Teams’ Product Needs
13:25 Braze's Future-Forward Product Vision and Strategy
37:04 The Role of Durable Teams in Startups
39:07 AI and the Future of Customer Engagement
44:12 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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05 Nov 2024 | How to build product at Linear with Nan Yu (Repeat) | 00:39:36 | |
Today, we're re-running one of our favorite episodes with Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, a purpose-built tool for planning and building products. Prior to working at Linear, Nan worked at Mode, Abstract, Everlane, and Bank of America.
On today’s episode, Nan talks to LogRocket’s VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, about being intentional with organizational design, prioritizing tasks that make product special while minimizing unnecessary complexity, and what is so important about heirloom tomatoes.
Links and references
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thenanyu/
https://x.com/thenanyu
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:25 Essential tools for product managers
02:07 Career highlights and organizational design
05:27 Everlane's growth strategy
08:03 Focus and prioritization in startups
11:10 Challenges in organizational setup
15:23 Team dynamics and management
20:30 The importance of hiring based on need
20:52 High output management principles
22:46 Team structure and communication
26:31 Balancing core and non-core tasks
29:13 The Linear approach to project management
33:48 Challenges with legacy project management tools
35:45 The philosophy behind Linear's design
37:40 Work trials at Linear
40:44 Outro
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com. Special Guest: Nan Yu.
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27 Aug 2024 | How to build product like Linear with Nan Yu, Head of Product | 00:39:36 | |
Today, our guest is Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, a purpose-built tool for planning and building products. Prior to working at Linear, Nan worked at Mode, Abstract, Everlane, and Bank of America.
On today’s episode, Nan talks to LogRocket’s VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, about being intentional with organizational design, prioritizing tasks that make product special while minimizing unnecessary complexity, and what is so important about heirloom tomatoes
Links and references
https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-anovick-a837053/
Product Operations: How successful companies build better products at scale by Melissa Perri
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:25 Essential tools for product managers
02:07 Career highlights and organizational design
05:27 Everlane's growth strategy
08:03 Focus and prioritization in startups
11:10 Challenges in organizational setup
15:23 Team dynamics and management
20:30 The importance of hiring based on need
20:52 High output management principles
22:46 Team structure and communication
26:31 Balancing core and non-core tasks
29:13 The Linear approach to project management
33:48 Challenges with legacy project management tools
35:45 The philosophy behind Linear's design
37:40 Work trials at Linear
40:44 Outro
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com.
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23 Jul 2024 | Building iconic customer experiences with Susan Stavitzski, Principal PM | 00:36:55 | |
Today, our guest is Susan Stavitzski, Principal Product Manager at CarMax, and was previously the director of product at Hatch, a small software startup.
Susan's career didn't follow a straight trajectory in product management, however — she originally started in marketing, where she developed an obsession with talking to customers.
On today's episode, Susan talks to LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, about the importance of creating an iconic customer experience, both online and in-store; engaging in continuous customer feedback and field research, including practical examples and strategies her team employs, such as self-service appraisal models and rapid prototyping; and the significance of product marketing.
Links
https://linkedin.com/in/susan-stavitzski/
https://medium.com/@susan_ski
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-susan-stavitzski/
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Susan Stavitzski.
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26 Mar 2024 | Outcomes over outputs with Karla Fiske, VP | 00:36:13 | |
Today, our guest is Karla Fiske, Vice President of Product Management at Tebra.
Having previously led customer-centric product orgs at Experian, Arbonne, and Chipotle, Karla stepped in as the first VP of Product for Tebra’s Patient Experience division in June 2022 and quickly garnered cross-functional support for a unified product roadmap designed to mesh two merging companies into an end-to-end SaaS healthcare solution for SMBs.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Karla about her experience with mergers, particularly her role in integrating platforms at Tebra; the significance of communication, objective setting, and focusing on outcomes over outputs; and the 'product placemat' strategy to prioritize and communicate projects effectively across departments to minimize escalations and align organizational objectives.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlafiske/
Leader Spotlight: Flattening the learning curve, with Karla Fiske (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-karla-fiske/)
References
“The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter” by Michael D. Watkins
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Karla Fiske.
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24 Sep 2024 | Build a company, not a T-Rex | Rich DiTieri, Sr. Dir., EF (Startup Institute, Pintley, Stack Education) | 00:41:33 | |
Today, our guest is Rich DiTieri, Senior Director of Digital Product at Education First.
Rich has a broad-spanning career from working in tech, founding startups, and managing product. He founded the company Pintley, one of the fastest-growing craft beer communities that was hailed by the New York Times as “the Pandora of Beer.” He continued on to become CEO of the Startup Institute, a professional training and coaching program in Boston, and co-founded Stack Education, a marketplace that promotes more efficient, productive, and speedy clinical trials.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Rich about the importance of fostering a passionate work culture with the concept of “go slow to go fast”; what he learned founding a successful craft beer startup to address a key market need; and why aligning mission, roles, and teams is critical for career success.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/richditieri/
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Rich DiTieri.
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08 Oct 2024 | Building Product School from boostrapped to 2M members | Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, Founder & CEO, Product School | 00:45:51 | |
Today, our guest is Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, Founder and CEO of Product School.
A seasoned startup founder and CEO, Carlos founded NetDay and Floqq before founding Product School in 2014. Since founding Product School, Carlos has grown his product training community to over 2 million product professionals, produces ProductCon, a multi-city product conference hosted every year, wrote the Amazon best-seller, The Product Book, and hosts the Proddys, an annual awards event honoring the best software products.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Carlos about how he went from a software engineer to successful founder; the changing dynamics of product roles, including strategies for scaling a business and the future potential of AI in product management; and why community engagement and continuous learning is beneficial to success.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/villaumbrosia/
https://productschool.com/product-leaders/carlos-gonzalez-de-villaumbrosia
https://x.com/villaumbrosia
https://villaumbrosia.medium.com/
https://x.com/ProductSchool
https://productschool.com/?utmsource=twitter&utmmedium=social&utmcampaign=dailywebsite-tw_homepagel
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia.
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15 Oct 2024 | Survive & thrive in the product growth revolution | Aakash Gupta, CPO, Product Growth (Apollo.io, threadUp, Epic Games) | 00:41:36 | |
Today, our guest is Aakash Gupta, the author of Product Growth, the world's largest newsletter on product growth, with over 140K subscribers.
Aakash has held an extensive array of product leader roles, spanning from Director of Growth at threadUp, Lead Product Manager at Epic Games, Head of Product Growth at Affirm, to most recently serving as VP of Product at Apollo.i.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Aakash about the different archetypes of product leaders and how those leadership types influence the teams around them; what Aakash's three big wake-up calls were throughout his career that drove him to become a better product leader as his career progressed; and how product growth has become an increasingly imperative role within an organization and how to optimize it.
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aagupta/
Product Growth website: https://www.news.aakashg.com/
Substack: https://substack.com/@aakashgupta
Medium: https://aakashgupta.medium.com/
Shreyas Doshi on The Three Different Types of Product Leaders and How To Hire Them: https://bit.ly/4eZxvwl
Founder Mode by Paul Graham: https://www.paulgraham.com/foundermode.html
Law of Shitty Click-Throughs: https://andrewchen.com/the-law-of-shitty-clickthroughs/
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Aakash Gupta.
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20 Aug 2024 | Run product like sales runs sales with Justin Anovick | 00:39:31 | |
Today, our guest is Justin Anovick, experienced product leader who has served in senior product roles at Episerver, Optimizely, Syndigo, and many more.
On today’s episode, Justin talks to LogRocket’s VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, about the importance of bridging the gaps between sales and product teams; adopting data-driven methodologies to optimize product development; and why constant communication is imperative to aligning with sales.
So, here it is, our conversation with Justin Anovick.
Links and references
https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-anovick-a837053/
Product Operations: How successful companies build better products at scale by Melissa Perri
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:13 The story behind the suits
02:17 Diving into product operations
10:34 Running Product like Sales
16:48 The future of AI in product management
20:55 The importance of hypothesis testing
21:33 Balancing experience and data
22:00 Complexities of experimentation
25:47 Transitioning from sales to product
28:55 Prioritization in product management
32:13 Navigating sales and product tensions
36:10 Lessons from pre-sales challenges
40:22 Outro
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Justin Anovick.
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19 Nov 2024 | Building an award-winning ad experience at WSJ | Caroline Albanese, Product Director, Data Products & Capabilities (Dow Jones) | 00:37:01 | |
Today, we’re talking with Caroline Albanese, Product Director of Data Products and Capabilities at Dow Jones.
In this episode, we cover:
Breaking down stakeholder groups into editorial, reader, and advertiser segments and how that drove her award-winning innovations in digital advertising products
Why she asked Slate’s editorial team to break down where their paychecks come from and how it transformed the team’s understanding of advertising
Her big “reality check“ moment when an ambitious project early on at Wall Street Journal didn’t go as planned
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolinealbanese/
Twitter: https://x.com/calbanese
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Caroline Albanese
01:06 Caroline's Journey from Journalism to Product Management
05:43 Transition to Ziff Davis
09:11 The Importance of Cross-Functional Collaboration
15:06 Navigating Office Dynamics and Remote Work
24:04 Balancing Stakeholders at Slate
24:56 Revamping Slate's Website and Advertising Strategy
26:19 Understanding the Value of Advertising
31:21 Innovative User Research and Analytics
36:28 Joining Dow Jones and Achievements
44:20 Conclusion
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@log.rocket) for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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14 May 2024 | Navigating M&A decision-making with Ben Hackett, SVP | 00:28:34 | |
Today, our guest is Ben Hackett, Senior VP of Product Management at Accolade, a personalized healthcare company for employers health plans, government agencies, and consumers. He began his career as a product manager at Blacktee Systems, an integrated technology services firm, before transitioning to LabKey Software.
Prior to joining Accolade eight years ago, Ben co-founded jydo, an IoT platform that helped facility managers manage, monitor, and control thousands of conference room devices.
On today's episode, LogRocket's CEO, Matt Arbesfeld, Ben shares insights on decision-making in M&A deals, cultural alignment in acquisitions, and the role of AI in medicine.
Links
Leader Spotlight: How first principles tie into ruthless prioritization, with Ben Hackett (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-ben-hackett/)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bchackett/
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Ben Hackett.
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01 Apr 2025 | How to unlock $50 million in revenue in one year | Vaarrun Bimbhat, Head of Product (Jiffy.com) | LaunchPod | 00:37:42 | |
Today, we’re talking with Vaarrun Bimbhat, Head of Product at Jiffy.com, an online retailer of customizable clothing.
In this episode, Vaarrun talks about:
Humanizing the sale of high-commit items, like furniture, at Wayfair - which led to $50m in additional sales
How he built a repeatable process to expand into new countries at Shopify - adding almost 100k new merchants and $50m in additional revenue in India in the first year alone
And why developing a billing experimentation platform drove over $26m in gross profit annually at Shopify
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbimbhat/
Resources
(Ethically) cheat your way to $250M+ | Mikal Lewis, Product Exec. (Whole Foods, Nordstrom): https://youtu.be/5txeT2U_YQo
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:25 Challenges of Selling Furniture Online
02:07 Implementing Product Solutions at Wayfair
06:58 Leveraging AI and User Research
15:45 Exploring Wayfair's B2B Segment
20:10 Managing Product at Shopify
21:02 Scaling Shopify's FinTech Arm
23:12 Expanding Shopify Globally
25:48 Building a Pricing Experimentation Platform
27:20 Challenges and Successes in India
36:30 Insights on Prioritization and Growth
38:40 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Vaarrun Bimbhat.
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14 Jan 2025 | Managing product ahead of its time | Sean Lorenz, Senior Director of Product (Altoida, LogMeIn, Neurala) | 00:31:45 | |
On today’s episode of LaunchPod, Jeff Wharton talks to Sean Lorenz, Senior Director of Product at Altoida, using augmented reality and AI to radically improve neurologic diagnostics
In this episode, we talked about:
How to adapt product to find viable markets
The importance of matching product capabilities with market timing and realistic go-to-market strategies
How to deal with a product that is ahead of market readiness
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thenanyu/
Twitter: https://x.com/thenanyu?lang=en
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:09 Essential Tools for Product Managers
03:19 Career Highlights and Organizational Design
03:49 The Heirloom Tomato Analogy
04:18 Conway's Law and Communication Structures
06:11 Focus and Prioritization in Startups
06:53 Lessons from Everlane
13:23 Challenges in Organizational Design
24:02 The Dangers of Learned Helplessness in Engineering Teams
25:19 High Output Management: Key Principles
27:32 Team Structure and Soft Boundaries
31:07 The Aladdin Principle: Breaking Social Boundaries
31:49 Balancing Core Business and Checkbox Requirements
34:45 Linear's Unique Approach to Project Management
43:42 The Concept of Work Trials at Linear
47:00 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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02 Jul 2024 | Big bets, tech giants, and design North stars | 00:24:17 | |
While those of us in the US are taking time this week away from work, we're bringing you some of our favorite snippets from LaunchPod.
On today's episode, you'll hear from Kristin Dorsett about prioritizing big bets, Steve Chazin about how working at Apple in the 90s with Steve Jobs transformed how he managed product, and Roman Gun about workback plans focused on a design North star.
Links
Kristin Dorsett
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristindorsett/
Leader Spotlight: Matching talent to problems, with Kristin Dorsett (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-kristin-dorsett/)
Steve Chazin
Leader Spotlight: Helping turn Apple’s business around, with Steve Chazin (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-steve-chazin/)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chazin
https://twitter.com/stevechazin
Roman Gun
https://www.linkedin.com/in/romangun/
Leader Spotlight: Right-sizing processes, with Roman Gun (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-roman-gun/)
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guests: Kristin Dorsett, Roman Gun, and Steve Chazin.
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22 Oct 2024 | Scaling zero to $25M product growth lessons | Michael Park, Product Coach & Advisor (BombBomb, Rendi) | 00:43:53 | |
Today, our guest is Michael Park, Product Coach and Advisor who previously served as CPO of BombBomb, a video messaging software company.
Michael began his career in product design at Havoc, where he transitioned into product management and eventually became VP of product. Michael then served in leadership roles at Danielson Designs and Rendi, a customizable frames and signs company. Most recently, he spent nearly nine years at BombBomb, where he oversaw the product life cycle, managed a 20-person product team, and expanded the customer base from SMB to enterprise.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Michael about his six lessons from scaling product from zero to $25M ARR; the nuance that comes with the “founder mode” discussion in relation to best leadership practices; and what a self-imposed sabbatical taught Michael about product leadership.
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gotothepark/
LogRocket Profile: https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-michael-park/
6 lessons in scaling a product from zerp to $25M ARR: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/540b2e54e4b029a48854f368/t/6700497bffe76e24dde73b84/1728072060103/6Lessons.pdf
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:40 The challenges of digital product management
04:51 The evolution and popularity of product management
08:27 The importance of focus and consistency in product leadership
13:22 Hiring and team dynamics in product management
17:53 Transitioning from founder to product leader
24:46 Finding the right leadership for scaling
26:21 The Importance of the “bounce back” factor
27:09 Navigating Founder Mode
37:19 Balancing rigid and flexible product roadmaps
45:37 Outro
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Michael Park.
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18 Feb 2025 | How to A/B test your product to millions in ARR | Eric Metelka, Head of Product (Eppo) | 00:42:51 | |
Today, we’re talking with Eric Metelka, Head of Product at Eppo, a next-gen A/B experimentation platform for product teams. With a background in A/B testing and data science, Eric has worked in building product at companies like Cameo, SpotHero, and G2.
In this episode, Eric talks about:
The process he used to cold start G2’s review product and turn it into a self-sustaining flywheel
His secrets to running great A/B tests that can really prove your impact on product growth
How he recovered from Cameo’s Engineering Director telling his entire exec team that all Eric’s test data was incorrect and what he learned from that
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericmetelka/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/eric3000
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/eric3000.bsky.social
Eppo: https://www.geteppo.com/
Build Product like Linear | Nan Yu, Head of Product (Linear, Everlane, BOA): https://youtu.be/7ISWLoQtNOc
Chapters
00:00 Intro
03:01 Strategies for Gathering Reviews
05:19 Automating the Review Process
07:54 Scaling and Growth at G2
16:38 Transition to Power Reviews
20:48 Challenges in Competing with Shopify
22:51 Product Lessons from Implementation Processes
24:03 Importance of Institutional Knowledge
25:05 Navigating Leadership and Learning
26:04 Understanding Revenue Recognition
27:56 Effective A/B Testing Strategies with Data Science
28:39 Product Experimentation Pitfalls at Cameo
38:33 Improving Digital User Experience at Cameo
41:52 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Eric Metelka.
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25 Mar 2025 | Vertical shift: How to navigate new product markets | Dan McCarthy, VP of Product (Cyvl) | LaunchPod | 00:33:03 | |
Today, we’re talking with Dan McCarthy, VP of Product at Cyvl, an AI-powered mapping tool for transportation infrastructure.
In this episode, Dan talks about:
Using lessons from building digital products to improve the physical world around us
Dan’s repeatable playbook for launching into new industries—and the pitfalls to avoid.
How a drop in data ingestion costs allowed Cyvl to open up a new, digitally enhanced way of looking at the world
Why nailing the entire go-to-market strategy is just as critical as the product itself
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-mccarthy-24543436/
Cyvl: https://cyvl.com/
Resources
Unlock revenue with the zone of benefit | Oji Udezue, CPO (Typeform, Twitter, Calendly): https://youtu.be/2WuAGcRwdv0
Build product like Linear | Nan Yu, Head of Product (Linear, Everlane, BOA): https://youtu.be/7ISWLoQtNOc
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:49 Understanding Digital Twin Architecture
02:40 Challenges and Opportunities in Infrastructure Management
04:27 The Role of AI and Machine Learning in Cyvl
08:24 Future Vision for Cyvl and Infrastructure Management
12:26 Navigating Vertical Markets and Go-to-Market Strategies
19:34 Learning from Industry Transitions
32:18 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Dan McCarthy.
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09 Jul 2024 | Managing product through an IPO and beyond with Charles Battle, Head of Product | 00:37:03 | |
Today, our guest is Charles Battle, Head of Product at Ibotta, a Denver-based performance marketing platform known for its cash-back offers and digital coupons.
Charles leads a 50-person product organization that oversees various disciplines, including product management, product design, product analytics, and UX research. Charles started his product management career at TouchTunes Interactive Networks and has since worked for several financial technology companies, such as American Express, LendingTree, and Guaranteed Rate.
On today’s episode, Charles shares his experience with Ibotta's recent IPO and their strategic pivot from a direct-to-consumer cashback app to a performance marketing company. He discusses the impact of the IPO on the team, the importance of prioritization and focusing on problem-solving in product development, and how the company validated and executed their new strategy.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cnbattle/
Leader Spotlight: Letting the customer decide, with Charles Battle (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-charles-battle/)
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Charles Battle.
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10 Sep 2024 | Less gas, more brakes, ship fast with Ben Newell, Product Executive | 00:42:07 | |
Today, our guest is Ben Newell, A product executive who has launched products into B2B and B2C environments for the last 25 years.
Ben spent the first 17 years of his career at Sabre, where he started as a software developer and later owned product portfolio strategy. He transitioned to VP product to launch LTK, before moving onto Stitch Fix. His latest role was VP Product at Miovision, a traffic management platform for cities.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Ben about the importance of psychological safety on product teams, how belief in success creates stronger teams, and how a foundation of solid product management principles is essential before graduating to more complex tactics.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennewelldallas/
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-ben-newell/
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Ben Newell.
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06 Aug 2024 | The success of fractional leadership with Jennifer Moore | 00:25:49 | |
Today, our guest is Jennifer Moore, a seasoned product executive who has built and launched customer-centric, data-inspired solutions for over 20 years within B2B SaaS and financial services. She currently currently runs a comprehensive consulting services firm, Strategies that Spark, and serves as the Chief Product & Growth Officer for her clients.
Jennifer began her career as a technical writer at a Series A startup, Oakley Networks. She then transitioned to project management at Wells Fargo and Zions Bancorporation before moving into product management and the B2B SaaS industry. Most recently, she led product and design teams at companies such as Workfront (acquired by Adobe), Pluralsight, and various startups.
On today’s episode, Jennifer talks to LogRocket’s CEO and Head of Product, Matt Arbesfeld, about what she learned about product moving between different industries like finance and SaaS; the significance of domain expertise; focusing on team dynamics and incremental process improvements; and how she uses consulting to help companies grow their product initiatives.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynemoran/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-r-moore/
https://calendly.com/jennifer-r-moore
https://productplusbyjennifer.substack.com/
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-jennifer-moore/
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:09 Journey from technical writing to product management
02:27 Transition to financial services and first exit
03:48 Challenges and innovations in financial services
05:50 Shift to software as a service (SaaS)
09:38 Consulting and fractional leadership
20:12 Impact of AI on product management
25:41 Outro
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket provides AI-first session replay and analytics that surfaces UX and technical issues impacting user experiences. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr). Special Guest: Jennifer Moore.
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04 Mar 2025 | How to build for customers— not stakeholders | Jonathan Sussman, CPO (Jebbit) | LaunchPod | 00:31:03 | |
Today, we’re talking with Jonathan Sussman, CPO for over 5 years at Jebbit, an enterprise experience platform for first-party data capture, which was recently acquired by BlueConic.
In this episode, Jonathan talks about:
Why Product Management is one of the hardest functions to master
How to use professional services - usually a cost center - as a source of product innovation that drives longterm growth
And, the time when they built to solve internal problems, not customer value, nearly caused an early key launch to fail
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-sussman-0a84462/
Jebbit: https://www.jebbit.com/
BlueConic https://www.blueconic.com/
Resources
Building iconic customer experiences with Susan Stavitski, Principal PM: https://youtu.be/TyA7d30ckNE?feature=shared
The end of MVPs and prioritizing accountability with Jason Penkethman, CPO: https://youtu.be/-vanNudmXMM?feature=shared
Chapters
00:00 Startups and ROI Challenges
00:24 Introduction
01:00 Building Product From Yahoo to Jebit
02:08 The Evolution of Programmatic Advertising
10:02 Transition to AT&T and Product Management Insights
13:55 Joining Jebit: Early Challenges and Learnings
21:46 Innovative Product Approaches and Managed Services
28:31 Balancing Tech Debt and Customer Needs
31:39 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Jonathan Sussman.
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09 Apr 2024 | Product success through community engagement with Michael Liss, VP | 00:44:00 | |
Today our guest is Michael Liss, Vice President of Product at the New York Post.
Michael has been at the Post for the last 10 years, and has worked in several sectors of media throughout his career, including book publishing, digital marketing, journalism, and media production. In his current position, Michael plays a leading role in all digital initiatives for New York Post, Page Six, and Decider.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Michael about product management in media, the importance of the user and editorial experiences, and how bolstering community engagement was successful for the Post.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mliss/
Michael Liss' New York Post archive (https://nypost.com/author/michael-liss/)
Leader Spotlight: Shaping the evolution of digital media, with Michael Liss (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-michael-liss/)
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Michael Liss.
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04 Mar 2024 | Real-world AI products with Roman Gun, VP of Product | 00:33:10 | |
Today, our guest is Roman Gun, vice president of product at Zeta Global, a cloud-based marketing technology company that focuses on multi-channel marketing tools.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing Jeff Wharton talks with Roman about addressing real customer problems with AI, utilizing a workback plan focused on a design north star, how Rick Rubin influenced Roman's own first-principles thinking, and how to create products that can be elegant enough to solve everyday problems, but flexible enough to also solve the advanced problems.
Before Zeta, Roman's eclectic background includes chief innovation officer at Fevo, senior product manager at Submersive Media, founder and head of product for GivingBell, and so much more.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/romangun/
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-roman-gun/
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Roman Gun.
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11 Feb 2025 | (Ethically) cheat your way to $25M+ | Mikal Lewis, Product Exec. (Whole Foods, Nordstrom) | 00:36:39 | |
Today, we’re talking with Mikal Lewis, a Digital Product Executive at Whole Foods who drove hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue over the course of his career.
In this episode, Mikal talks about:
Why you should absolutely (ethically) cheat to get outsized results for your product
His framework that drove a quarter of a billion dollars in additional revenue for Nordstrom’s online store
How to use four types of luck to optimize for opportunity
And, how to build a quiet portfolio so that you can choose your own career moves
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikalfm/
How Google Works by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg: https://www.amazon.com/How-Google-Works-Eric-Schmidt/dp/1455582328
The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs by Andrew Chen: https://andrewchen.com/the-law-of-shitty-clickthroughs/
Pretentiousness: Why it Matters by Dan Fox: https://www.amazon.com/Pretentiousness-Why-Matters-Dan-Fox/dp/156689428X
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:02 Learning Product from Windows to Whole Foods
03:53 The Four Types of Luck by Eric Schmidt
07:30 Applying Type Four Luck to Product
16:53 Breaking into Product Management at Microsoft
22:58 Transforming Nordstrom's Digital Product Experience
34:23 Professional vs. Non-Professional Product Management
37:06 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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04 Mar 2024 | Big product bets with Kristin Dorsett, CPO | 00:32:58 | |
Today, our guest is Kristin Dorsett, Chief Product Officer at Viator, a Tripadvisor company and online marketplace for travel experiences.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing Jeff Wharton talks with Kristin about how knowing her customer well helped her forge a path into product management, cultivating a portfolio of different strengths, how she plans and executes big-bet projects, and how she leveraged voice-of-the-customer data to drive impactful product changes.
Kristin was previously in product leadership at Tripadvisor and, earlier in her career, held several roles at HomeAway developing products and services for vacation rental owners and property managers.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristindorsett/
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-kristin-dorsett/
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Kristin Dorsett.
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21 Jan 2025 | Anti-silver bullets: Pioneering PLG at IBM | Andy Boyd, CPO (Appfire, IBM) | 00:37:42 | |
Today, we’re talking with Andy Boyd, CPO of Appfire, which provides a portfolio of over 100 collaboration solutions.
In this episode, Andy details:
His no-fail growth formula from driving product-led growth (PLG) at IBM Watson
Learn from Andy's product-lead growth examples from his book, Enterprise Growth Playbook
The ways he uses data to drive experimentation velocity and avoid decision paralysis
How he’s slingshotted his career by focusing on working with great people, rather than chasing titles or compensation - and why you should too!
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyfboyd/
Website: https://andyfboyd.com/
Appfire: https://appfire.com/
Enterprise Growth Playbook: https://andyfboyd.com/enterprise-growth-playbook/
Chapters
00:00 The Data Dilemma: Product Decision-Making
00:15 Intro
01:16 The Introduction of Product-Led Growth at IBM Watson
02:19 Driving Monthly Active Users: Strategies and Successes
03:16 Understanding Growth: Product vs. Marketing
04:01 The Early Days of PLG at IBM
05:20 From Developer to Product Manager
08:13 Launching Growth Teams Across IBM
11:39 Key Learnings from Developer-Focused Projects
14:51 The Power of Simplicity in Growth Strategies
16:46 Writing the Enterprise Growth Playbook
20:21 The Silver Bullet Myth in Growth Strategies
21:22 The Magic of Compounding Growth
22:31 Data-Driven Decision Making
26:29 Transitioning to Appfire
28:23 Scaling and Hypergrowth at Appfire
31:42 Effective Customer Feedback Mechanisms
35:31 Career Advice: From IBM to Appfire
40:23 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Andy Boyd.
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25 Feb 2025 | How to fail fast to unlock hypergrowth | Dane Molter, VP of Product (Navan) | 00:36:15 | |
When it comes to challenging the status quo in SaaS and product strategy, you can’t fundamentally disrupt an industry without failing fast and pushing boundaries.
On today’s episode of LaunchPod, we’re talking with Dane Molter, VP of Product and Strategy at Navan, an all-in-one travel and expense app for corporate travelers.
In this episode, Dane talks about:
His framework for driving product teams to “be brave,” ship faster, and attain huge goals
Why perfect is actually the enemy of progress, and when good enough is actually good enough
How to exceed the perceived boundaries of any solution, and deliver product that really disrupts the world
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dane-molter-6b937231/
Navan: https://navan.com/
Resources
(Ethically) cheat your way to $250M+ | Mikal Lewis, Product Exec. (Whole Foods, Nordstrom): https://youtu.be/5txeT2U_YQo
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:06 Dane Molter’s Journey From Amex to Grubhub
01:44 The Grubhub Experience: Embracing Imperfection
04:08 The Push for Hypergrowth in Product
05:19 Lessons in Product Risk and Innovation
06:59 The Bigger Picture: Product Beyond Technology
09:30 Focusing on Bravery in Product Innovation
12:12 Applying Product Lessons at Navan
17:50 Enterprise Travel Challenges and AI Solutions
19:53 Business Outcomes and Accountability
20:13 Learning Business Mechanics at Amex
26:15 The Importance of Small Tests in Product Testing
34:27 Navigating AI and Emerging Technologies
37:45 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Dane Molter.
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18 Jun 2024 | The zone of benefit with Oji Udezue, Principal (Part 1) | 00:30:38 | |
Today, our guest is Oji Udezue, AI product expert, author, and an innovation-focused, multi-disciplined business leader.
Oji has had an extensive and successful career, spanning his time as CPO of Typeform, Head of Product for Creation and Conversation at Twitter, CPO of Calendly, and Head of Product at Atlassian.
On today's part one of a two-part episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Oji about his upcoming book, 'Building Rocket Ships;' the complexity of product management due to its multi-disciplinary nature requiring skills in engineering, design, psychology, and economics; and the 'Zone of Benefit' concept, which helps assess market disruptiveness and emphasizes the need for a high value to price ratio to drive change in customers.
Links
Pre-order link for Oji’s book, “Building Rocket Ships” (https://shop.damngravity.com/products/building-rocketships-udezue)
Writing: https://ojiudezue.substack.com/
Consulting: https://productmind.co
Twitter: https://x.com/ojiudezue
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/in/ojiudezue
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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08 Apr 2025 | How To Say "Not Yet" To Enterprise | Deepti Mendiratta, VP Of Products (HungerRush) | LaunchPod | 00:35:34 | |
Today, we’re talking with Deepti Mendiratta, VP of Product at HungerRush, an all-in-one POS system for restaurants.
In this episode, Deepti talks about:
Why you have to just “make the pizza” - meaning experience the day-to-day of your users, not just your buyers, to build software that solves key issues for the business
getting her biggest UX wins from fixing the paper cuts that users run into all the time, not just the sporadic gaping wounds
And, how to say “not yet” to the allure of going upmarket to Enterprise too soon...because, as she says, once you catch that elephant, you have to feed it
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deeptim13/
Resources
Build product like Linear | Nan Yu, Head of Product (Linear, Everlane, BOA) | LaunchPod: https://youtu.be/7ISWLoQtNOc
How to A/B test your product to millions in ARR | Eric Metelka, Head of Product (Eppo) | LaunchPod: https://youtu.be/3u5vovkAtXc
Grow $50 million in revenue in one year | Vaarrun Bimbhat, Head of Product (Jiffy.com) | LaunchPod: https://youtu.be/SNZWHt0Zu-I
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:07 Understanding the Customer Experience
05:35 Challenges and Insights from the Product Field
14:31 Balancing Enterprise and SMB Markets
26:07 Innovations in Hospitality
32:37 The Future of AI in Service Industries
36:40 Outro
25:48 Building a Pricing Experimentation Platform
27:20 Challenges and Successes in India
36:30 Insights on Prioritization and Growth
38:40 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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07 May 2024 | Aligning the physical and digital with Christine Kuei, Dir. of Product Management | 00:29:37 | |
Today, our guest is Christine Kuei, Director of Product Management at Forever 21. Christine started her career in email marketing at Experian, and her natural curiosity about digital customer behavior propelled her transition into product management. Christine has since worked in a range of industries including B2B SaaS, ecommerce and fintech, and led product organizations at Chipotle and PetSmart before moving to Forever 21.
On this episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Christine about the challenges and strategies involved in aligning digital transformations with physical customer experiences, using user research to enhance customer loyalty, tackling product management obstacles, and optimizing team dynamics for successful outcomes.
Links
Leader Spotlight: Growing the omnichannel market, with Christine Kuei (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-christine-kuei/)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinekuei/
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Christine Kuei.
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01 Oct 2024 | Ditch Founder Mode, go Team Mode | David LoPresti, Dir. U-Haul Apps (U-Haul) | 00:40:00 | |
Today, our guest is David LoPresti, Director of U-Haul Apps at U-Haul.
With experience in a wide variety of areas, including operations management, customer service, sales, and marketing, David has grown his career at U-Haul over the past two decades. He began his tenure as a service manager before transitioning to web sales and, later, program management. David then became director of Moving Help, a U-Haul service, before taking over the U-Haul Apps program.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to David about balancing operational excellence and innovation to maintain market leadership, why “founder mode,” coined by Paul Graham, isn't the end-all-be-all of creating the best product or solution, and how he has scaled and innovated multiple U-Haul programs to drive transformation and success as a leader.
So here it is, our conversation with David Lopresti.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-lopresti-475224179
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-david-lopresti/
https://myuhaulstory.com/tag/david-lopresti/
https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
| |||
12 Mar 2024 | Navigating regulations with customer-centricity with Sai Vishnubhatla, CFA | 00:36:33 | |
Today, our guest is Sai Vishnubhatla, Head of P&C Innovation at USAA, and, at the time of recording, previously VP of Product at Hippo Insurance, where he led the product management teams responsible for launching products across acquisition, growth, and activation, as well as for building best-in-class pre- and post-purchase customer experiences
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing Jeff Wharton, talks with Sai about how Sai decided to pursue his CFA and how it impacted how he looks at product, what it's like working in a highly regulated industry, and how to simultaneously and effectively serve customers and the business at large.
Before joining Hippo, Sai built and scaled product, engineering, marketing, and operations teams at various successful enterprises, including Yahoo, Microsoft, and Prudential.
Links
Leader Spotlight: Exceeding customer expectations with Sai Vishnubhatla (https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-sai-vishnubhatla/)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/saivishnubhatla
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Sai Vishnubhatla.
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16 Apr 2024 | The end of MVPs and prioritizing accountability with Jason Penkethman, CPO | 00:42:08 | |
Today, our guest is Jason Penkethman, Chief Product Officer at Simpro Group, business software for trade professionals.
Prior to working at Simpro group, Jason worked in product management, engineering, and leadership roles through a range of industries, including mobile devices, data services, SaaS, and automotive IoT.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Jason about emphasizing the importance of a go-to-market perspective, customer interaction, the importance of accountability, and leadership challenges like team alignment and data-driven decisions.
Links
Leader Spotlight: Applying an ROI model, with Jason Penkethman
(https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/vztaymyq8jb0q9mvgwqj7/ANOAc_iLPRI9rZ60bCUAiy8?preview=Jason+Penkethman%2C+CPO+at+Simpro+Software+V2+w+intro.mp3&rlkey=yb81fo5jbno9c6l120bm7v7i0&dl=0)
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jpenkethman/
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Jason Penkethman.
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18 Mar 2025 | A PM’s guide to mergers and acquisitions | Sowmya Sundararagavan, Sr. Dir. Product (Freshworks) | 00:39:14 | |
Today, we’re talking with Sowmya Sundararagavan, Senior Director of Product at Freshworks, an AI customer service, IT, and CRM software platform.
This episode with Sowmya was a master class in product leadership after an acquisition. She explains:
The worst thing you can do as a product leader post-acquisition
Her process to successfully integrate separate product visions
How to bridge the gap between old and new teams during M&As
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sowmya-s-ragavan/
Freshworks: https://www.freshworks.com/
Resources
The FinOps Foundation: https://www.finops.org/
How to A/B test your product to millions in ARR | Eric Metelka, Head of Product (Eppo): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u5vovkAtXc
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:08 Career Journey: From Banking to Tech
01:56 Navigating Post-Acquisition Challenges
04:47 Balancing Legacy and Innovation
07:44 Customer-Centric Focus in M&A
20:49 Evaluating M&A Opportunities
26:29 The Role of FinOps in Cloud Cost Management
33:26 AI in IT Operations and Asset Management
39:14 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr)
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17 Sep 2024 | Transforming and modernizing brands with Scott Lux, EVP | 00:38:52 | |
Today, our guest is Scott Lux, Vice President of Global E-commerce and Technology at Esprit, a retail apparel and fashion company.
Scott started his career in financial consulting at Fidelity before transitioning to program and product management at Infospace. From there, Scott moved into product management roles at companies like Chase, VML COMMERCE, L’Oreal, and American Express. Prior to joining Esprit, he led digital marketing and e-commerce initiatives at Diesel, John Varvatos Enterprises, Intermix, VIDEOSHOPS, and Eberjey.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, talks to Scott about the evolution of e-commerce and how it has effected commerce as a whole; how SaaS has both improved e-commerce but has brought with it complexities like site performance and tackling a new user experience; and how to build a cohesive brand in a competitive landscape, underlining the importance of adapting to new customer touchpoints.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottlux/
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-scott-lux/
Follow LogRocket on TikTok!
Love LaunchPod and the rest of LogRocket's great content? Follow us on TikTok for interview clips, UX tutorials, and more!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Scott Lux.
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04 Mar 2024 | Accelerated product innovation with Ryan Johnson, CPO | 00:37:52 | |
Today, our guest is Ryan Johnson, Chief Product Officer at CallRail, where he focuses on developing best-in-class technology solutions to solve real-world problems.
On today's episode, LogRocket's VP of Marketing Jeff Wharton talks with Ryan about how to continue listening to customers even when scaling quickly, how to manage and apply customer data, and how to balance accelerated innovation with quality.
Ryan previously held leadership positions at Banjo (now MiiM), a movement intelligence company, and Vitrue, a social marketing and engagement platform that was acquired by Oracle during his tenure. He has experience in a variety of sectors, including online marketing, education, legal, financial services, and retail.
Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandjohnson
https://twitter.com/rydavidjohnson?lang=en
https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-ryan-johnson/
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Ryan Johnson.
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24 Dec 2024 | Unlock revenue with the zone of benefit | Oji Udezue, CPO (Typeform, Twitter, Calendly) [Repeat] | 00:54:54 | |
Today, our guest is Oji Udezue, AI product expert, author, and an innovation-focused, multi-disciplined business leader.
Oji has had an extensive and successful career, spanning his time as CPO of Typeform, Head of Product for Creation and Conversation at Twitter, CPO of Calendly, and Head of Product at Atlassian.
Key takeaways:
The “Zone of Benefit,” which helps assess market disruptiveness and emphasizes the need for a high value to price ratio to drive change in customers
The concept of “forest time,” a practice of stepping back to gain strategic perspective
Insights on product-led growth (PLG), emphasizing the importance of solving customer problems and adaptive business strategies.
Links
“Building Rocket Ships”: https://shop.damngravity.com/products/building-rocketships-udezue
Writing: https://ojiudezue.substack.com/
Consulting: https://productmind.co
Twitter: https://x.com/ojiudezue
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/in/ojiudezue
Leader Spotlight: Taking advantage of how humans behave, with Oji Udezue: https://tinyurl.com/bdhwkj5t
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:19 The Multifaceted Role of Product Management
04:48 Importance of Frameworks in Product Management
06:36 Adapting Frameworks to Different Companies
11:15 Understanding the Zone of Benefit
17:12 The Unicorn Framework for B2B SaaS
21:30 Building Rocket Ships: A Book for Senior Product Managers
25:32 Calendly's Success Story
30:00 Discovery: Finding Big Problems in Workflow
31:12 Simplifying Solutions with Slack
33:27 The Creators Initiative at Twitter
40:26 Forest Time: Gaining Perspective
46:14 The Importance of Listening to Your Team
48:06 Product-Led Growth (PLG) in Today's Economy
55:14 A/B Testing: When and How to Use It
59:31 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube!
Did you know we have a new channel dedicated to LaunchPod? Check it out and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today. (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr) Special Guest: Oji Udezue.
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