LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast

Today, we’re talking with Aleks Bass, CPO at Typeform. In part one of this two-part episode, Aleks talks about: The exact methodologies for user research that she used to develop a complete product strategy in just 45 days Their discovery of “feature constellations” - sets of features that are worth 10x more when combined than just the sum of the parts How to break the rules of user research for even faster results Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleksbass/ Resources How To Say "Not Yet" To Enterprise | Deepti Mendiratta, VP Of Products (HungerRush) | LaunchPod: https://youtu.be/WHapWGbuS0Q Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:54 Aleks Bass’ Unique Career Path 02:07 Challenges at Typeform 06:49 Research-Driven Product Development 11:35 Understanding Customer Needs 33:07 Feature Constellations and Their Impact 40:05 Outro Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Aleks Bass.

Today, we’re talking with Deepti Mendiratta, VP of Product at HungerRush, an all-in-one POS system for restaurants. In this episode, Deepti talks about: Why you have to just “make the pizza” - meaning experience the day-to-day of your users, not just your buyers, to build software that solves key issues for the business getting her biggest UX wins from fixing the paper cuts that users run into all the time, not just the sporadic gaping wounds And, how to say “not yet” to the allure of going upmarket to Enterprise too soon...because, as she says, once you catch that elephant, you have to feed it Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deeptim13/ Resources Build product like Linear | Nan Yu, Head of Product (Linear, Everlane, BOA) | LaunchPod: https://youtu.be/7ISWLoQtNOc How to A/B test your product to millions in ARR | Eric Metelka, Head of Product (Eppo) | LaunchPod: https://youtu.be/3u5vovkAtXc Grow $50 million in revenue in one year | Vaarrun Bimbhat, Head of Product (Jiffy.com) | LaunchPod: https://youtu.be/SNZWHt0Zu-I Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:07 Understanding the Customer Experience 05:35 Challenges and Insights from the Product Field 14:31 Balancing Enterprise and SMB Markets 26:07 Innovations in Hospitality 32:37 The Future of AI in Service Industries 36:40 Outro 25:48 Building a Pricing Experimentation Platform 27:20 Challenges and Successes in India 36:30 Insights on Prioritization and Growth 38:40 Outro Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.

Today, we’re talking with Vaarrun Bimbhat, Head of Product at Jiffy.com, an online retailer of customizable clothing. In this episode, Vaarrun talks about: Humanizing the sale of high-commit items, like furniture, at Wayfair - which led to $50m in additional sales How he built a repeatable process to expand into new countries at Shopify - adding almost 100k new merchants and $50m in additional revenue in India in the first year alone And why developing a billing experimentation platform drove over $26m in gross profit annually at Shopify Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbimbhat/ Resources (Ethically) cheat your way to $250M+ | Mikal Lewis, Product Exec. (Whole Foods, Nordstrom): https://youtu.be/5txeT2U_YQo Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:25 Challenges of Selling Furniture Online 02:07 Implementing Product Solutions at Wayfair 06:58 Leveraging AI and User Research 15:45 Exploring Wayfair's B2B Segment 20:10 Managing Product at Shopify 21:02 Scaling Shopify's FinTech Arm 23:12 Expanding Shopify Globally 25:48 Building a Pricing Experimentation Platform 27:20 Challenges and Successes in India 36:30 Insights on Prioritization and Growth 38:40 Outro Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Vaarrun Bimbhat.

Dan McCarthy, VP of Product at Cyvl, shares insights from his experience with an AI-powered mapping tool for transportation infrastructure. He discusses how digital product strategies can improve real-world environments and unveils his playbook for entering new markets. McCarthy highlights how reduced data ingestion costs have transformed Cyvl's approach and emphasizes the importance of a solid go-to-market strategy alongside product development. The conversation also explores challenges in infrastructure management and the role of AI in shaping the future of the sector.

Sowmya Sundararagavan, Senior Director of Product at Freshworks, shares her expertise in product leadership through acquisitions. She highlights the pitfalls to avoid post-acquisition and emphasizes the importance of integrating different product visions. Sowmya also discusses bridging the gap between legacy and new teams, ensuring a customer-centric focus during transitions. Additionally, she dives into evaluating M&A opportunities and the role of FinOps in managing cloud expenditures, showcasing how AI can enhance product management and user insights.

Steve Nash, Director of Product at GumGum and an early team member at Playground XYZ, shares insights on managing product-centricity in a challenging environment. He discusses strategies for effectively communicating with CEOs when disagreements arise, without jeopardizing your job. Nash reveals how Playground’s shift to a product-focused culture fueled innovation and led to its acquisition by GumGum. Additionally, he delves into the evolution of attention tracking in advertising and the critical role that design plays in improving user engagement.

Join Jonathan Sussman, CPO at Jebbit, as he delves into the complexities of product management, sharing insights from his experience in the ad tech industry. He discusses the importance of focusing on customer needs over internal problems, revealing how that misstep almost led to a failed launch. Jonathan also highlights how leveraging professional services can drive product innovation and long-term growth, advocating for a balance between tech debt and customer satisfaction in product development.

When it comes to challenging the status quo in SaaS and product strategy, you can’t fundamentally disrupt an industry without failing fast and pushing boundaries. On today’s episode of LaunchPod, we’re talking with Dane Molter, VP of Product and Strategy at Navan, an all-in-one travel and expense app for corporate travelers. In this episode, Dane talks about: His framework for driving product teams to “be brave,” ship faster, and attain huge goals Why perfect is actually the enemy of progress, and when good enough is actually good enough How to exceed the perceived boundaries of any solution, and deliver product that really disrupts the world Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dane-molter-6b937231/ Navan: https://navan.com/ Resources (Ethically) cheat your way to $250M+ | Mikal Lewis, Product Exec. (Whole Foods, Nordstrom): https://youtu.be/5txeT2U_YQo Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:06 Dane Molter’s Journey From Amex to Grubhub 01:44 The Grubhub Experience: Embracing Imperfection 04:08 The Push for Hypergrowth in Product 05:19 Lessons in Product Risk and Innovation 06:59 The Bigger Picture: Product Beyond Technology 09:30 Focusing on Bravery in Product Innovation 12:12 Applying Product Lessons at Navan 17:50 Enterprise Travel Challenges and AI Solutions 19:53 Business Outcomes and Accountability 20:13 Learning Business Mechanics at Amex 26:15 The Importance of Small Tests in Product Testing 34:27 Navigating AI and Emerging Technologies 37:45 Outro Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Dane Molter.

Today, we’re talking with Eric Metelka, Head of Product at Eppo, a next-gen A/B experimentation platform for product teams. With a background in A/B testing and data science, Eric has worked in building product at companies like Cameo, SpotHero, and G2. In this episode, Eric talks about: The process he used to cold start G2’s review product and turn it into a self-sustaining flywheel His secrets to running great A/B tests that can really prove your impact on product growth How he recovered from Cameo’s Engineering Director telling his entire exec team that all Eric’s test data was incorrect and what he learned from that Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericmetelka/ Twitter/X: https://x.com/eric3000 BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/eric3000.bsky.social Eppo: https://www.geteppo.com/ Build Product like Linear | Nan Yu, Head of Product (Linear, Everlane, BOA): https://youtu.be/7ISWLoQtNOc Chapters 00:00 Intro 03:01 Strategies for Gathering Reviews 05:19 Automating the Review Process 07:54 Scaling and Growth at G2 16:38 Transition to Power Reviews 20:48 Challenges in Competing with Shopify 22:51 Product Lessons from Implementation Processes 24:03 Importance of Institutional Knowledge 25:05 Navigating Leadership and Learning 26:04 Understanding Revenue Recognition 27:56 Effective A/B Testing Strategies with Data Science 28:39 Product Experimentation Pitfalls at Cameo 38:33 Improving Digital User Experience at Cameo 41:52 Outro Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Eric Metelka.

Today, we’re talking with Mikal Lewis, a Digital Product Executive at Whole Foods who drove hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue over the course of his career. In this episode, Mikal talks about: Why you should absolutely (ethically) cheat to get outsized results for your product His framework that drove a quarter of a billion dollars in additional revenue for Nordstrom’s online store How to use four types of luck to optimize for opportunity And, how to build a quiet portfolio so that you can choose your own career moves Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikalfm/ How Google Works by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg: https://www.amazon.com/How-Google-Works-Eric-Schmidt/dp/1455582328 The Law of Shitty Clickthroughs by Andrew Chen: https://andrewchen.com/the-law-of-shitty-clickthroughs/ Pretentiousness: Why it Matters by Dan Fox: https://www.amazon.com/Pretentiousness-Why-Matters-Dan-Fox/dp/156689428X Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:02 Learning Product from Windows to Whole Foods 03:53 The Four Types of Luck by Eric Schmidt 07:30 Applying Type Four Luck to Product 16:53 Breaking into Product Management at Microsoft 22:58 Transforming Nordstrom's Digital Product Experience 34:23 Professional vs. Non-Professional Product Management 37:06 Outro Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket combines frontend monitoring, product analytics, and session replay to help software teams deliver the ideal product experience. Try LogRocket for free today.Special Guest: Mikal Lewis.