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20 Product: Twitter's Former Head of Product, Kayvon Beykpour on How to Structure and Manage the Best Product Reviews, The Core Set of Questions to Ask All Potential Product Hires and When To Continue vs Quit on New Products

Jun 8, 2022

Kayvon Beykpour, former Head of Product at Twitter, shares insights from his remarkable career, including his journey with Periscope. He discusses how to build effective product teams, including key traits to look for in hires and the right timing for delegating decisions. Kayvon delves into impactful interview techniques and the importance of balancing data with storytelling in product management. He also reflects on his experiences as an angel investor, emphasizing the need for passion and collaboration in product development.

43:00

Creator website

Episode guests

Kayvon Beykpour

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Role of a Product Manager: Scale-Up or Large Company

01:25

Periscope - The Biggest Mistake You Made With Periscope?

02:55

Intro

3min

Building Periscope: Vision and Storytelling

7min

The Art and Science of Product Management

8min

Effective Interview Techniques and Product Review Dynamics

18min

The Importance of Passion in Product Leadership

2min

Reflections on Angel Investing and Product Strategy Insights

3min

Enhancing Product Development with Collaborative Tools

2min

Kayvon Beykpour is one of the most prominent product leaders of the last decade. For the last 7 years, Kayvon has been at Twitter where he led all of the teams across Product, Engineering, Design, Research and Customer Service & Operations. Kayvon came to Twitter through Periscope, the live broadcasting app that raised from GV, Bessemer, Scott Belsky and was ultimately acquired by Twitter in 2015. If that was not enough, Kayvon is also an active angel investor today.

In Today's Episode with Kayvon Beykpour You Will Learn:

1.) Entry into Product:

How did Kayvon make his way into the world of tech and come to be Head of Consumer Product @ Twitter?
What were some of Kayvon's biggest lessons from the journey with Periscope?
What were some of Kayvon's biggest takeaways from working closely with Scott Belsky?

2.) Building Your Product Team:

How does Kayvon advise on your first product hires? Should it be Head of Product or more junior product team members?
When is the right time for the founder to hand off some core product decisions to these hires?
What are the core traits and characteristics of some of the best first product hires?

3.) Perfecting the Hiring Process for Product Teams:

How does Kayvon approach the hiring process for all new product team members?
What are the stages? What does he look to learn at each stage?
What questions reveal the most in product candidates? How do the best respond?
How does Kayvon use case studies and product demos in the process?

4.) Building Product: 101:

How does Kayvon approach product reviews? Who is invited? Who sets the agenda? How often?
What have been Kayvon's biggest lessons about what leaders need to do to get the most from their product teams? How do they communicate?
What has been one of Kayvon's biggest product mistakes? What did he learn?
How does Kayvon advise founders on when to give up on a new product vs when to iterate and persist?

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