How to Build Things Faster as a Product Team | Maria Cuasay, Director of Product Growth @ Ancestry
Nov 2, 2024
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Maria Cuasay, Director of Product Growth at Ancestry, brings her rich experience from Lyft and OpenCare to the table. She discusses how to enhance product team velocity by emphasizing quick iterations and prioritizing experimentation. Listeners learn about the importance of effective communication for user onboarding and how to balance quantitative and qualitative insights in product development. Maria also shares innovative strategies for fostering collaboration and adaptability within teams, along with unique job-search tactics to land top growth roles.
A product team's velocity relies heavily on culture, emphasizing that a fast-paced environment encourages quicker decision-making and execution.
Streamlining processes and reducing bureaucratic hurdles are essential to enhancing team efficiency and minimizing delays in product development.
Networking directly with hiring managers through cold emails is a more effective job search strategy than traditional online applications, enhancing candidates' chances of success.
Innovating through numerous small-scale experiments rather than seeking a perfect product allows teams to discover impactful solutions while maintaining adaptability in a fast-evolving market.
Deep dives
Driving Product Team Velocity
The discussion highlights three primary factors that influence the velocity of product teams: culture, process, and bureaucracy. Culture is emphasized as the most vital element, suggesting that a fast-paced environment encourages teams to move quickly; for example, a cultural shift can be illustrated by comparing slower walking in Nebraska to the hustle of New York City. Process improvements are also crucial, particularly in streamlining approval procedures to minimize delays. Additionally, reducing bureaucratic red tape by limiting the number of necessary approvers can enhance team efficiency and overall speed.
Job Search Strategies
A unique approach to job searching is shared, emphasizing the importance of networking over conventional online applications. The speaker advocates for cold emailing hiring managers directly instead of applying through standard channels, as this strategy has proved successful in securing roles in competitive environments. This method involves identifying the hiring manager and presenting relevant achievements succinctly, along with a clear call to action for a brief conversation. By focusing on personal outreach and standout qualifications, candidates can enhance their chances of landing desired roles.
Maintaining Growth in a Competitive Market
The podcast addresses current challenges faced by Ancestry's competitor, 23andMe, particularly a recent data breach that impacted customer trust. This situation underscores the importance of privacy measures in customer-facing businesses, which Ancestry prioritizes, reflecting its commitment to user protection. Despite external market struggles, Ancestry is thriving by focusing on both pre-purchase and post-purchase experiences, highlighting the need to clarify their dual offerings in DNA testing and family history. Building customer understanding of its comprehensive services remains vital to driving growth.
Fast and Flexible Growth Strategies
The philosophy of speed as a core metric for the growth team is elaborated upon, focusing on the belief that innovation doesn't require a perfect product. Instead, the emphasis is placed on running numerous small-scale experiments to identify what drives success, where even minor changes can yield significant results. The approach contrasts with traditional methodologies, encouraging a portfolio of ideas rather than a few perfect plans, thus increasing the likelihood of hits. This strategic mindset informs the team's adaptability in a fast-evolving industry environment.
User-Centric Product Development
The speaker underscores a nuanced understanding of differentiating between customer needs and company objectives. This is particularly evident in the approach to experimenting with product features—prioritizing user experience and engaging in continuous customer feedback loops. A key takeaway is the value of conducting user interviews both pre- and post-experimentation to gather qualitative insights that can refine product iterations. This practice ensures that customer problems inform decision-making rather than strictly relying on data, fostering a more holistic product development process.
Empowering Creative Experimentation
The dynamics of a successful product growth environment hinge on fostering creativity and empowering team members to contribute ideas regardless of their formal roles. A culture of openness, where anyone in the organization can propose and test experiments, promotes innovation and collaboration. This creates a sense of ownership and investment across teams, which is further aided by clear communication and the encouragement of diverse perspectives. In maintaining agility, the team does not just react to problems but actively seeks opportunities for improvement through collective input.
Utilizing Tools for Enhanced Productivity
The discussion highlights the importance of leveraging tools and technologies that enhance productivity and streamline workflows for product managers. SQL proficiency is deemed a vital skill, empowering PMs to derive insights independently through data analysis tools like Mode. User testing platforms facilitate qualitative research, while project management and experimentation tools such as Statsig enable teams to efficiently track metrics and outcomes. Emphasizing a well-rounded tool stack not only aids in decision-making but fosters a growth-oriented environment.
Maria Cuasay breaks down the three pillars of velocity in growth teams and shares her contrarian approach to experimentation, user research, and landing top growth roles.
Maria has been in tech since 2012 as a venture capitalist and has product growth at places like Lyft and OpenCare. Currently, she is the Director of Product Growth at Ancestry.
