Next Gen Builders Launching Startups from Within featuring Edik Mitelman, SVP & General Manager of AppsFlyer Privacy Cloud
Today on Next Gen Builders, Francois speaks with Edik Mitelman, SVP & General Manager of AppsFlyer Privacy Cloud, the trusted open platform for ecosystem collaboration and innovation with a clear mission: Enhancing end-users experience, while preserving their privacy.
Their conversation covers the challenges and strategies for building a startup within a larger organization, and why you would even do it in the first place. Edik highlights how a smaller, resource-limited team can align themselves much closer with their users, ensuring each line of code they produce serves a clear purpose.
Francois & Edik also touch on the role Product Managers should be serving within organizations and how they compare and contrast across various company sizes. One glaring similarity in Edik’s mind? The importance of maintaining a beginner’s mindset. In his words “ experience is important…but we as product managers must assume that we don't know and we need to test our hypotheses.”
Finally, Edik shares his thoughts around risk and failure. He stresses that more organizations should be comfortable with potential failure in order to foster an environment full of experimentation. Through each iteration, your team will gain learned experiences that will lay the groundwork for your next big success.
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AppsFlyer Update
Since we recorded this episode, the journey Edik discusses of building what's essentially a startup within AppsFlyer is bearing fruit, with AppsFlyer's Data Collaboration Platform being used across several industries -- including quick commerce, consumer packaged goods, and financial services. The results for early adopters are impressive: marketing campaigns for brands using the product have seen up to 400% return on their ad spend and significant performance uplifts for their businesses. The partnerships embody what we talked about regarding the advantages of building a startup within an established company — leveraging AppsFlyer's resources, credibility and relationships while maintaining the innovative spirit and customer focus that drives true product-market fit. It's a real-world example of transforming concept into practice, process into product, and experience into measurable success.
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Guest Bio
Edik Mitelman is the General Manager of Privacy Cloud at AppsFlyer, an ecosystem collaboration and innovation environment which preserves end-user privacy. Edik is an experienced executive with previous leadership roles at Autodesk, Wochit, and Conduit. He also runs the Venture Creation and Product Innovation program as part of the GMBA at Reichman University.
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Guest Quote
”As product managers, we must do what customers need. So if you sold it and you don't care anymore, you will never care for that customer any longer, until maybe the renewal time comes up. I want my PMs to constantly worry about their customers, and to constantly deliver value throughout the year. So that people use our products more and more.” – Edik Mitelman
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Time Stamps
00:00 Episode Start
01:45 When Edik left engineering for product
03:50 Maintaining a beginner's mindset
05:20 How the role of product varies between organizations
08:25 Building multiple startups within a single orga nization
10:15 Edik's work on AppsFlyer Privacy Cloud
13:45 The advantages that come from a startup mentality
17:05 Measuring success
20:55 Ensuring your team is rowing together
24:40 Failure breeds success
32:45 Are GMs for everyone?
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Links