D2C is becoming the new way we buy anything. From groceries to furniture, brands are cutting out the middleman and selling their products directly to the end consumer.  Next-level products are what make this D2C transformation possible. In this series, we’re talking to the people behind a few of those products: Melanie Cummings, VP of Product at Fabletics Ben Clark, CTO of Casper Sleep Tsega Dinka, VP of Digital Product at Dollar Shave Club Liana Herrera, President & Co-founder of Bottomless We also take an inside look at building products at a company that doesn’t identify as a tech company. And of course, Christian and Meghan will share the mic in exploring the brand implications of a D2C strategy.  How does this impact the retail industry as a whole? We’ll explore that too. But mostly, this series will make you want to open up your phone and start shopping.

Meghan continues our The Minute conversations around how to start with design. Kate Donahue, Head of Product Marketing at Pitch, talks about how they were rigorous about the design decisions before they even had a product in the market.

You’ve probably seen consumer brands drop a new line of footwear or clothing, but have you considered using the same approach  with your product? We’re exploring the impact ‘product drops’ can have on your business   in this episode of Better Product. When it comes to fashion brands, these product drops generate excitement and create exclusivity helping brands break through the noise. .  Meghan and Christian explain the phenomenon while sharing examples of how brands  can apply it for themselves. Resources Product ‘Drops’ Aren’t Just for Sneaker Brands: https://builtin.com/marketing/product-drops-digital

Our last series may have been about the future of work, but another theme emerged: how to start with design. Dominik Zane, CEO & Founder of Around, shares they are a design-focused team putting an emphasis on the seemingly insignificant details. But those are the details that add up to create the delightful experience they’re known for.

In this episode, Christian & Meghan review a new app called Postdates. You read that right: It's like Postmates, the food delivery app, but with the twist of gathering all the stuff you left with your ex. That's a huge difference between the products—but the brands are nearly identical. We're calling this phenomenon of new products trailing existing brands "brand skitching," named after the skateboard maneuver made famous in Back to the Future. Listen now to hear Christian & Meghan's take on what a world of pop-up tech could look like, what happens when you take an idea too far, and how Newton's law creates interesting product opportunities.

Organizations around the world are figuring out what work will look like now and in the future. No one has the answer, but everyone is trying to crack the code to create the ideal work environment.  We’re wrapping up our Future of Work series, where we explored products that transform  the way we work, collaborate, and communicate.  In this final episode of the series, we look back on our conversations with these trailblazing leaders: Chris Byers, CEO of Formstack Kate Donahue, Head of Product Marketing at Pitch Alexander Embiricos, CEO and Co-Founder of Remotion Dominik Zane, CEO and Founder of Around Paige Costello, Product Lead at Asana We reflect on what we’ve learned and share some of the themes that stood out across conversations.

In a crowded space with established players, it can be hard to differentiate your product. Add in managing user expectations with your own innovative product vision, and you’ve got a real challenge on your hands. This is the challenge Kate Donahue, Head of Product Marketing at Pitch, has tackled. She joins us to share her journey to help shape the future of work by focusing on the entire presentation creation experience. Kate explains that her team fights inertia. They go after people who use multiple tools now and show them it’s possible to use just one. Pitch aims to be a complete presentation tool. They think about design from the start, focusing on the full user experience, from gathering assets to receiving feedback. Kate shares how user research helps determine whether feature parity or an innovative approach will be most valuable. She also explains how, by creating a minimal UI.

We’ve all felt the exhaustion of back-to-back video calls. We know studies explain some of this fatigue: seeing ourselves on camera for hours at a time, for example. But is there more to the problem? Alexander Embiricos, Co-founder of Remotion, believes that the problem is work isn’t meant to revolve around scheduled meetings. Teams need to build relationships, collaborate, and do solo work on their own time. Taking call after call can suck the creative energy out of the best of us. So, what can we do? Alexander thinks we need to focus on meeting at the right times — and not at the wrong times.  He also believes that we need to prioritize strong relationships and geographic diversity to grow sustainable teams. Remotion helps remote teams connect better, and Alexander shares the journey he experienced with his co-founder — the problems they confronted first-hand and the solution they built to solve them.

The future of remote work is playful. Introducing play into a work environment doesn't make you less productive. It opens the space to be creative and it leads to better output. It’s exactly why Dominik Zane built Around. He joins our Future of Work series to share how his team identified problems with remote work and how they built a solution to fit the new wave of collaboration. It means allowing for playful, frictionless teamwork that keeps all participants engaged. Dominik explains how Around solves the pain he and many remote teams experience. His story of innovation will leave you looking for opportunities to develop solutions for new use cases.

Tim Salau is the self-anointed, Mr. Future of Work. We had him on awhile back to spotlight his product, Guide, a B2B learning and talent development app, helping remote teams and knowledge workers learn the skills they need to succeed on the job and in their careers. One thing we wanted to bring back to our community is his point on how the future of work is really all about the future of living. Take a listen.