The Platform Playbook: Secrets to Agility, Ecosystems, and Growth

What does it take to build a platform that scales, delights customers, and powers entire ecosystems?

In this episode of the Intentional Product Manager Podcast, Shobhit sits down with Dilip Poluru, a seasoned platform product leader with experience at Informatica and ActiveCampaign, to unpack the strategies behind successful platform management.

Dilip shares actionable insights on:

• Turning deep customer insights into platform strategy
• Designing for extensibility and co-innovation
• Crafting billing models (like consumption-based and freemium) that fuel growth
• Balancing agility vs. stability in complex ecosystems
• Building impactful first-party apps that attract and empower partners

Along the way, Dilip reflects on his own career journey and offers personal growth lessons for aspiring and experienced product managers alike.

Timestamps
 00:00 – Introduction
 00:29 – Meet Dru: From ActiveCampaign to Informatica
 00:46 – What Defines a Platform?
 01:21 – Lessons Learned at ActiveCampaign
 01:47 – Insights from Building at Informatica
 02:14 – Crafting a Platform Playbook
 05:52 – Customer Success Stories
 06:25 – Metrics & Monitoring Platforms
 07:11 – Co-Innovation and Extensibility
 09:48 – Balancing Stability with Agility
 12:40 – API Management & Policy Design
 15:34 – Billing Models: Consumption & Freemium
 18:23 – The First “Aha” Moment with Free Offerings
 27:30 – Career Growth Lessons for PMs
 28:28 – Lightning Round + Closing

Connect with Shobhit at https://www.linkedin.com/in/shobhitchugh/

Connect with Dilip at https://www.linkedin.com/in/dilippoluru/

www.intentionalproductmanager.com