Getting2Alpha

Jeff Patton is well-known as the father of story-mapping - a visual way of mapping out and prioritizing your product backlog. Jeff is someone who deeply understands how teams come together to build products - and where that process can go off the rails. If you’re a product manager - or aspire to be one - Jeff’s work is fundamental background knowledge. Listen in and learn how to navigate around the common obstacles of corporate life that keep your product from succeeding

Steve Hoffman is a force of nature - and an amazing human. Known affectionately as “Captain Hoff” Steve is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and CEO of Founders Space, an one of the world’s leading incubators with over 50 partners in 22 countries. Steve’s book on innovation, “Make Elephants Fly: The Process of Radical Innovation,” is required reading for entrepreneurs worldwide. Listen in and learn what Steve has learned about getting companies ready for takeoff.

Karl Kapp, an Instructional Technology Professor and expert in learning technology and gamification, discusses the transformative power of failure in education. He emphasizes how embracing challenges can enhance motivation and foster deeper learning. Through personal stories, Karl highlights the difficulties of promoting innovative, game-based learning amid traditional methods. He also stresses the need for understanding employee needs before creating training programs and explores the evolution of learning through serious games and technology.

Lee LeFever and his wife Saachi pioneered a form of visual communication called “explainer videos.” They run Common Craft, an animated video production company - and a training spinoff, the Explainer Academy, that empowers anyone to create better, clearer explanations. Lee has a refreshingly clear way of looking at the choices a small business owner has to make when things start to take off. Join us and learn more about how Lee transitioned his successful business to support the life of his dreams.

Jeremy Liew is a managing partner at Lightspeed, a global investment firm. Jeremy specializes in the consumer segement - including investments in Snapchat and The Honest Company. Join us and discover what a top-tier SIlicon Valley VC thinks about the current state of consumer tech - and what’s coming next.

Merci Victoria Grace, a talented product manager who recently led growth at Slack, shares her journey from journalism to the game design industry. She discusses the importance of collaboration in product management and how addressing user needs drives innovation. Merci reflects on the toxic workplace culture at EA that led her to shift towards consulting and product management. She emphasizes the necessity of a clear vision and proactive engagement in successful product strategies, while also highlighting the value of writing and mentorship in personal growth.

Gina Bianchini discusses the evolution of online communities and the shift towards intimate networks that foster genuine connections. She shares insights on crafting productive daily routines and the importance of prioritization in leadership. Her journey from political science to tech emphasizes the value of meaningful human connections. The conversation also dives into how passionate interest networks empower communities and enhance user engagement, using real-world examples to illustrate the power of collaboration and support for career growth.

Jeff Atwood is the co-founder of Stack Overflow - he played a major role in bringing that influential Q&A network to life. Jeff now brings his community-building prowess to Discourse, a fast-growing community SAAS company. Jeff knows all about the fear, discomfort and iterative experiments that pave the way to success in the digital world. He's one of my favorite people to talk with - listen in and enjoy his stories and insights.

If you want to get a feeling for Josh Elman’s career, just trace the history of modern social networks. Josh held increasingly senoir roles at RealNetworks, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Now he’s now supporting the next generation of breakthrough entrepreneurs at Greylock Ventures. In his VC role, Josh sees a lot of pitches -- and he’s got a keen eye for the tricky balance that successful entrepreneurs need to strike: Listen in and take a journey through the recent past and exciting future of networked social experiences.

In this engaging discussion, Steve Vassallo, a General Partner at Foundation Capital and former IDEO product designer, shares insights from his journey in design and investing. He emphasizes the importance of intentional feedback in product development and the balance between vision and customer input. Steve discusses the evolution of design thinking, the critical role of AI in innovation, and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in creating transformative products. His passion for user experience shines through as he highlights tools for emerging designers.