33. Mastering Product Decisions with Napkin Math with Gaurav Hardikar

Gaurav Discusses the Power of Napkin Math for Product Management

In this episode, Gaurav Hardikar, VP of Product at HomeLight, talks about his journey through the real estate and startup scenes at companies like Zillow, Trulia, and now Homelight. He dives into the concept of 'Napkin Math' for Product Managers, advocating for quick and efficient decision-making over extensive financial modeling. Gaurav explains how this approach informs product prioritization and testing hypotheses swiftly. He also discusses his course on Maven, which aims to equip PMs with actionable growth strategies. Throughout the conversation, Gaurav emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and adapting new approaches within various business processes.

00:00 Introduction and Background

01:53 The Concept of Envelope Math

03:46 Practical Applications of Napkin Math

05:46 Failing Forward and Iterative Testing

06:25 Prioritizing Features and Roadmapping

12:17 Training and Mentoring Product Managers

15:19 Integrating AI in Business Processes

19:33 Collaboration with Engineering Teams

29:10 Course and Educational Initiatives

32:34 Lightning Round and Final Thoughts

Bio: 

Gaurav is a Product Executive with over 10 years of experience building digital products. He started at Trulia and Zillow Group with a reach of 50MM+ monthly users, grew an established mobile commerce app (Shopkick), and helped take Brilliant Smart Home 0 to 1 across SaaS, embedded hardware, and mobile app platforms. He's currently VP of Product, Consumer at HomeLight where he owns Product, Ops, and Growth. 

Gaurav’s course - https://maven.com/insider-growth/pm-impact

Link to Gaurav’s original post that inspired this conversation: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ghardikar_as-a-product-manager-using-data-in-every-activity-7206363910474506242-BFxr