The CTO Show with Mehmet Gonullu #349 Decoding Product Success: Karthik Suresh’s Journey from Wall Street to Tech Entrepreneurship
In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, we welcome Karthik Suresh, co-founder of Ignition, an AI product success platform. Karthik shares his remarkable journey from Wall Street’s high-frequency trading to product management roles at Facebook, and ultimately to co-founding Ignition. He discusses the pivotal moments that led him to focus on product management and startup growth, highlighting the differences between working in large corporations and startups. Karthik explains the market gap that Ignition addresses, particularly in the go-to-market process and product launches.
The conversation delves into the importance of understanding user needs and differentiating between must-have and nice-to-have features. Karthik emphasizes the role of a product manager in balancing user-centric design with business objectives and identifies common bottlenecks in product launches, offering strategies to overcome them. He also shares insights on the impact of AI on software and product development, the future potential of AI in various industries like healthcare and finance, and the intersection of AI and blockchain technology.
Karthik sheds light on common misconceptions about startup growth and venture funding, stressing the reality of founding a company. He provides valuable advice on when to seek venture capital, the importance of having a clear product launch strategy, and understanding the target market. Karthik underscores the significance of risk-taking and following one’s passion, offering tips for those starting their careers in product management or looking to launch their own ventures.
As the episode concludes, Karthik shares his final thoughts and advice for listeners, along with information on how to connect with him and learn more about Ignition.
More about Karthik:
Karthik Suresh is the Co-Founder of Ignition, the first Go-to-Market Ops Platform which ensures every product launch or feature release drives revenue impact, via tighter alignment with GTM teams.
Karthik is a product and a technology leader with experience as a founder, an early startup hire, and a key player in defining product strategy, and finding a market fit. He has extensive experience building products in consumer and enterprise domains across early-stage and established companies like Meta.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karthiksureshlbs
01:07 Karthik Suresh's Background
02:18 Transitioning Between Roles
02:54 Startup vs. Large Company Dynamics
06:31 Founding Ignition: The Story and Vision
09:00 Product Management Insights
13:52 B2B vs. B2C Product Strategies
17:30 Building Zero to One Companies
23:48 AI and Emerging Technologies
26:37 Startup Growth and Venture Funding
38:11 Product Launch Challenges
43:14 Final Advice and Closing Remarks