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20Product: Nubank's CPO on Why Product is 90% Science and 10% Art, Why Execution is Overrated and Strategic Clarity is Under-Appreciated, Why You Should Never Fall in Love With Your Own Ideas & Nubank's Biggest Product Challenges Scaling to 80M Users

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Mar 29, 2023

Jag Duggal, Chief Product Officer at Nubank, shares insights from his journey in tech, transitioning from Silicon Valley to Brazil's fintech scene. He argues that product management is 90% science, emphasizing the importance of strategic clarity and effective customer feedback methods. Jag warns against falling in love with your own ideas and discusses the true challenges of scaling a product for 80 million users. His advice on hiring the right team highlights the crucial role of dynamics and strategic alignment in product success.

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ANECDOTE

Career Shift

Jag Duggal left a secure job at Facebook to join Nubank.
This was influenced by David Vélez and Doug Leone, and the opportunity to apply his skills to a different market.

INSIGHT

Product: Art vs. Science

Product management is 90% science, quantifiable and metrics-driven.
The final 10% is art—intuitive empathy with the customer, understanding unmet needs.

ADVICE

Understanding Customer Needs

Observe customers to understand unmet needs; do not simply take dictation.
Ask about their lives and routines, not just the product or problem directly.

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Jag Duggal is the CPO @ Nubank where he is responsible for product strategy and roadmap reporting to CEO David Velez. Jag leads over 200 professionals across different functions within his role. Before Nubank, he was the Director of Product Management at Facebook, leading monetization of video and third party content. Before Facebook, Jag spent close to 7 years at Quantcast as a Senior VP of Product Management & Strategy. Finally, pre-Facebook, Jag was at Google for 5 years as a Group Product Manager and Head of Strategy (Display).

In Today's Episode with Jag Duggal We Discuss:

1. From Cushy Valley Job to CPO @ Brazilian Startup:

Why did Jag leave the life of luxury in the valley at Facebook to join David as CPO @ Nubank?
What does Jag know now that he wishes he had known when he took the position?
What one piece of advice would Jag give to a product leader starting a new position today?

2. Product: The Playbook, Art vs Science:

Why does Jag believe that product is 90% science? What is the final 10%?
Why does Jag believe that you should not listen to your customers?
What is the right way to ask customers questions to determine their pains?
Why does Jag believe that you should not fall in love with your own ideas?

3. Building the Bench: Hiring the Best Team:

How does Jag approach the hiring process for all new product hires?
What are the single biggest mistakes Jag has made when hiring for the product team?
What are the must ask questions when hiring for product?
What hiring lesson did Jag learn from Kevin Systrom? How has he applied it today?
What did Jag believe about hiring that he now no longer believes?

4. Go Time: Build, Manage and Execute:

Why does Jag think execution is overrated and strategy deserves more credit than people give it?
How does Nubank utilise small teams to operate fastest? What have been lessons here?
What are the best ways to do product post-mortems? What works? What does not work?
What has been Jag's best product decision? What has been his worst?