Narrow Niches Scale and Expand

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If you’ve ever wondered whether you could teach a course, how to validate demand for your expertise, or how AI is reshaping learning and personal brand building, this episode is for you.

In this conversation, Marc and Ben sit down with Claire Chen, leading Growth at Maven and the person who originally recruited Ben to teach on the platform. Together, they unpack the real mechanics behind becoming a successful instructor - how to choose a topic, validate demand, build credibility, and grow a sustainable “portfolio career” alongside a full-time job. Claire shares the signals she looks for when sourcing new instructors, the biggest misconceptions operators have about teaching, and why course-based learning is booming right now.

Whether you’re thinking about launching your first lightning lesson, building a personal brand, diversifying your income, or simply want an inside look at how Maven finds and supports world-class instructors, you’ll walk away with actionable frameworks, candid insights, and plenty of clarity on what it really takes to teach in the AI era.

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Interviewing at Uber, Figma, Stripe, or DoorDash?

If you’re a PM preparing for interviews at Uber, Figma, Stripe, and DoorDash… we think you’re going to love Insider Loops. You can read about it in Ben’s LI post, Marc’s LI post or check out the site directly below.

In this episode, we covered the following topics:

* (02:24) What Maven looks for when identifying strong instructors across functions

* (05:00) Understanding topic–market fit and spotting demand before platforms do

* (13:13) The rise of portfolio careers, fractional work, and diversified income streams

* (19:55) The two levers that matter most: topic positioning and basic marketing instincts

* (25:31) Lightning lessons: why they’re the highest-performing awareness tool

* (30:10) How Claire discovers emerging ideas and standout operators

* (37:01) Using AI for writing while preserving voice, taste, and human judgment

* (47:06) Why humans must stay in the loop for hooks, taste, and direction

* (56:37) How to choose the right course topic using expertise and emerging demand

* (01:05:10) How to validate demand with posts, early signals, and lightning lessons

* And more!

Links:

* Maven: https://maven.com/

* Claire’s Substack: Claire Is Working

* Claire’s email:  claire@maven.com

* Claire Chen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairechen56/

* Ben’s Maven course: https://maven.com/ben-erez/pm-interview

* Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaselga/

* Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/

If you’re a new subscriber, we encourage you to check out some of the recent episodes you might have missed:

To support the podcast, please check out the links below:

* Supra has teamed up with Maven to bring you something special – courses that our own community members have personally curated. And because you’re part of the Supra family, you can get up to 35% in some of these handpicked selections with code SUPRAxMAVEN.

* Preparing for Meta-style Product Sense & Analytical Thinking interviews? Check out Ben’s 🤖 AI Practice Copilot for Meta-Style PM Interviews and self-paced course, Product Sense & Analytical Thinking Bootcamp for Meta-Style PM Interviews (25% off with code `fast25` until EOD Nov 24th). Featured in Lenny’s Newsletter 🔥

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suprainsider.substack.com