Productized Podcast

Get to know Mathilde Caron, very passionate person both at and outside of work. As a former high-level gymnast for most of her youth, she learned early on to be perseverant, to never give in, to try over and over again and to turn failure into fuel for success. She developed a certain fascination early on her career for e-commerce companies, where the focus is on customer-centricity and data-driven decision-making, which has allowed her to make use of her analytical skills. Now, she is living in Berlin, working as a Product Manager for personalized recommendations at Zalando. If you can’t find her at her desk, you will probably find her on the other side of the planet hiking a mountain (her true happy place!).

How to work from home during the pandemic? What are the biggest obstacles for women in Product Management? Where can product creators find a safe place? In this special edition of #GirlsWhoProduct, we chatted with Catherine Louis, a co-founder of #PoDojo in Berlin and a Scrum trainer. As the COVID-19 outbreak urged for virtual collaboration, Catherine and her team continue to give creative training and design sprints for product people in online mode. In this interview Catherine shared with us some insights on her life, on her career journey and on the new product reality we now are living.

"Inbal Arieli fostered her entrepreneurial skills during her mandatory military service, serving as a lieutenant in Unit 8200 (reads: 8–2 hundred), the Israel Defense Forces' elite intelligence corps. This elite technology unit's alumni who enter into the civilian market have earned a reputation for their unique entrepreneurial skills and for creating outstanding, successful, and innovative startups. After completing her military duties, and for the past twenty years, she embraced leading executive roles in the flourishing Israeli tech sector and has founded a series of programs for innovators, where she currently holds board seats. Let me just tell you that Inbal's most recent book is already on sale, and as mentioned it's called Chutzpah: Why Israel Is a Hub of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. As you might have heard, despite its small size, Israel has the highest concentration of start-ups per capita worldwide and attracts more venture capital per capita than any other country on the planet. What factors have led to these remarkable achievements, and what secrets do Israeli tech entrepreneurs know that others can learn? By the way, if you're wondering what Chutzpah means, it's a noun and t's pronounced (/ˈxʊtspə, ˈhʊt-/) and according to Inbal's own dictionary (http://www.chutzpahdictionary.com/) is being brutal honesty, usually at the price of sounding presumptuous, arrogant or rude. e.g "It takes chutzpah to tell your boss he's wrong." Let's get started with this conversation, shall we?" Read more at: https://medium.com/@Productized/girlswhoproduct-inbal-arieli-58500139893f

Our next guest of #GirlsWhoProduct series is Lauren McKinlay. With an academic background in Product & Furniture design from an art school in Scotland, she found her perfect match in Product Management. Today, Lauren is a Senior Product Manager at Outfits team at Zalando who really knows how to sharpen up your look. Her passions are storytelling and communication as she believes that we are absolutely better “when we are in it together.” Check out this interview and discover how the power of listening can help you become a great product manager! Read the entire podcast here: https://medium.com/@Productized/girlswhoproduct-lauren-mckinlay-2ad45e7d3ea9

Tanja is an entrepreneur, product leader and working mum based in Switzerland. After co-founding and scaling several start-ups in Madrid, Munich and Zurich, she is now leading her own company Product Academy as part-time CEO (40%) while also taking care of her two toddlers. Like Alice in Wonderland, Tanja usually thinks of "as many as six impossible things before breakfast" and can't go one day without eating chocolate. Listen to this interview and discover how Tanja balances part-time entrepreneurship and family time in order to find a sustainable work-life balance.

Passionate Product Leader and entrepreneur Katerina Suchkova has worked across various B2C and B2B product areas during her 10+ year career in both startups and large organizations. Applying design thinking in Product Management has become her passion and expertise. When she is not thinking design and product, Katerina advises at #BUILTBYGIRLS, coaches Product Managers at HireClub, explores the world, reads books, appreciates cinema, teaches yoga, and enjoys sunsets. Listen to this interview and discover how we can help the product community in an inclusive way.

Be inspired by Lilly and her experience of taking a sabbatical. She was Managing Director and has co-established the Pioneers Festival for its first 5 years. In 2017, after her sabbatical, she found out she wanted a different thing and decided to launch her own business... Listen to Lilly Beyond, Confidence Coach & Strategy Consultant @ BEYOND Consulting

Heather Samarin, Rebel Leader for ProductRebels.com, has over 17 years of experience in the trenches; delighting customers through the design, development, and management of kick-ass customer experiences within both B2B and B2C marketing and product management. She's held the customer flag from both senior and C-Level roles at start-ups within the social gaming and healthcare markets where she led product strategy and new product development. In this interview to Productized, Heather shares her experience in coaching product managers and opens the secret doors to a successful career. Listen to this interview and discover why change is better than stability.

Elize has been working in tech for over 10 years and currently leads the product team at Spideo. She has directed the development and launch of rumo.co - the first SaaS recommender system for creative industries. A natural speaker, she likes to empower other women to share the stage with her. She is one of The Inspiring Fifty Netherlands 2019, an initiative that aims to increase diversity in technology by making female role models more visible. Listen to this interview and discover how surfing, DJ-ing and creative writing help Elize become a better leader.

After having worked on several projects that delivered outputs, yet no tangible outcomes, Melanie has decided to move into a Product role at Zalando, Berlin. A mother of 6-year old twin girls, Melanie manages to balance together a happy motherhood with her personal passions and new challenges in the product profession. Listen to this interview and discover how achieving balance in a family can help you become a good professional.