Behind the Craft

Latest Episodes:

Building the World's Most Wearable AI | Dan Siroker (CEO Limitless) Apr 23, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Dan Siroker, CEO of Limitless.

In just 24 hours after launch, Dan and team sold over 10,000 AI pendants to help people augment their memory with what they’ve seen, said, and heard - making Limitless arguably the fastest growing AI wearable in the market.

In this short interview, Dan and I talked about:

- His journey to create the world’s most wearable AI

- How the team ships fast without compromising quality

- How he manages his time with 3 kids

Dan also co-founded Optimizely and is one of my favorite entrepreneurs to follow. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Why Dan started Limitless
(02:19) Dan’s experience of losing his hearing
(03:12) Exploring the idea maze of personal AI
(04:55) Why the team decided to build an AI wearable
(06:40) How someone’s life could change with Limitless
(11:10) How to ship fast but still keep a high quality bar
(13:34) How to decide what scope to focus on
(15:45) How to attract and hire great talent
(17:47) Why you should hire slow
(19:12) Dan’s thoughts on product management
(20:55) Balancing entrepreneurship and family

Where to find me:

Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon

Build Your Spiky Point of View to Stand Out | Wes Kao (Co-Founder, Maven) Apr 19, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Wes Kao, co-founder of Maven, a very popular online course platform.

Wes and I talked about how to create, market, and teach an online course and make $20,000 or more per cohort. I especially love Wes’ frameworks about how to:

Build a spiky point of view to stand out with real examples

And use the state change method to keep people interested

Timestamps:

00:00 Spiky point of view

01:11 Introducing Wes Cao and the Power of Online Courses

01:42 Wes Cao's Journey: From Marketing to Maven Co-Founder

04:00 The Rise of Cohort-Based Learning with Maven

06:16 Empowering Operators to Share Their Expertise

10:03 Creating Your Course: Market Demand Meets Passion

13:51 The Essence of a Spiky Point of View

18:51 Leveraging Spiky Points of View for Course Creation

21:31 Unlocking Creative Writing: Beyond Traditional Controls

22:00 The Power of Risk in Sharing Bold Ideas

22:07 Content Creation: The Unpredictable Success of Authenticity

22:20 Decoding the Secret Formula of Viral Content

22:26 A Decade of Blogging: The Evolution of a Writer

22:50 Marketing First, Building Later: A New Approach

23:03 Case Study: Shivani Berry's Path to Course Success

24:24 Expanding Reach: Leveraging Other Audiences

27:39 Selling While Teaching: The Subtle Art

29:38 Engaging Cohort Courses: The State Change Method

32:18 Simplifying the Creator's Journey: Focus and Strategy

38:33 Closing Advice and Resources for Aspiring Creators

Where to find me:

Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

How the Best AI Products Grow | Brian Balfour (CEO Reforge) Apr 12, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Brian Balfour, CEO of Reforge. Brian and I did a deep dive into how 4 of the best AI products grew so fast.

We spoke about:

Why ChatGPT is investing in custom GPTs

How Midjourney grew to $200M ARR despite an interface that relies on Discord

How Perplexity is competing with Google Search

How LinkedIn collaborative articles combine AI and user growth loops

Brian is one of the best growth leaders out there so I hope you enjoy our conversation. Consider subscribing for more great interviews every week.

Timestamps:

[00:00] The decline of Google Search [02:13] Why no one should try to copy ChatGPT's growth [04:33] Many AI products struggle with retention [07:39] Why OpenAI is investing in custom GPTs [13:56] How Midjourney grew to $200M ARR off Discord [21:22] Hardcore AI users vs. casual AI users [21:49] Perplexity's challenge to Google Search [25:12] The SEO industry is a mess [29:22] Growth loops fueling LinkedIn's collaborative articles [35:08] How AI will impact the growth profession

Where to find me:

Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

How to Crack Your Product Strategy | Jackie Bavaro (PM Author) Apr 05, 2024

Show notes

My guest today is Jackie Bavaro, author of Cracking the PM Career and Cracking the PM Interview, two of the most popular books on product management out there. Jackie was also head of PM at Asana.

I spoke to Jackie about:

1. How to be more strategic

2. How to define a great vision and strategy for your team

3. How to communicate your strategy to the rest of the company

There are so many misconceptions about strategy, but Jackie makes everything crystal clear. Consider subscribing for more great interviews every week.

Chapter timestamps:

[00:00] Three parts of a great product strategy

[02:56] A personal story on why strategy matters

[07:05] Vision, strategic framework, and roadmap

[10:29] When to start thinking about strategy

[13:35] How to bring your vision to life

[16:47] Breaking down the strategic framework

[17:13] Master the framework for market domination

[22:04] Think of a roadmap like a charcuterie board

[25:09] A checklist is not a strategy

[29:11] How to get exec buy-in for your strategy

[31:54] Communicate principles to guide decisions

Where to find me:

Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

How the PM Role is Changing in 2024 | PM Expert Panel Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

My guests today are Sanchan (ex-general manager at Airbnb), Nickey (Product Director at Duolingo) and John (Senior Director at Toast).

We talked about:

1. How the PM role is changing

2. Our favorite PM use cases for AI

3. How to avoid PM title envy to pick your own path

Over 200 people tuned into this conversation live so I think you’ll love it too.

Chapter Timestamps

[00:00] Less internal shenanigans, more customer focus
[03:30] Why companies are tired of product managers
[07:44] Thoughts on Airbnb merging products with marketing
[10:25] How Airbnb builds products using narratives
[13:09] Designing the right incentives for PMs
[17:03] How Duolingo incentivizes PMs to focus on customer obsession
[18:34] Why more PMs should pursue building vs. manager
[22:01] How the PM and design relationship is evolving
[26:08] Getting hired in today's tough tech jobs market
[29:41] How to ramp up on AI and get your hands dirty
[32:55] Favorite AI use cases for PM
[36:25] How to think about what you want in the PM career ladder
[41:15] How to talk to users to get useful feedback
[42:25] How to be a great product leader in post-ZIRP era
[45:27] Your number one career skill is how to smell out orgs

Where to find me:

Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

The journey from SVP to solopreneur | Elena Verna (Dropbox) Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

Elena Verna is a solopreneur who has served as head of growth at Dropbox, Amplitude, Miro, and more. Elena and I talked about: 1. Why she left a full-time role to work for herself 2. The five laws of growth and how they can be applied to careers 3. Her advice for people who want to explore solopreneurship Elena is incredibly inspiring and I think you’ll love our conversation. Brought to you by: • Amplitude – Get the free product-led growth guide: https://bit.ly/498xoLz Chapter timestamps:

[00:00] Make imposter syndrome your superpower

[01:10] Elena's journey from entry-level to executive

[03:00] Finding exponential growth paths in your career

[07:00] What led Elena to explore solopreneurship

[09:59] The benefits of advisory roles

[12:33] Step by step on how to get started advising

[15:18] Pitching to a company why advising is better than full-time

[18:19] How Elena applies growth loops to her business

[22:18] The five laws of growth and how they apply to your career

[26:48] Learn how to fail to learn how to win

[28:31] Build career optionality to not be at the whim of companies

[31:29] Your business needs clear positioning ("why you?") Where to find Elena: X: https://twitter.com/ElenaVerna LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaverna/ Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/elena-verna-growth-to-solopreneur

How Shopify rages against meetings | Kaz Nejatian (COO) Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

Kaz Neyatian is the Chief Operating Officer of Shopify. Kaz and I spoke about about: 1. Why traditional career ladders are broken 2. Why strategy is the least important part of building products 3. Why Shopify canceled all recurring meetings. I think this interview will feel like therapy if you’ve worked at big tech companies. Brought to you by: • Figma–My favorite design suite for creators and teams https://psxid.figma.com/qyj56p0lygjt Chapter timestamps: [00:00] Nobody ever dreamed of sitting in meetings [01:15] The difference between crafters and managers [02:31] Traditional career ladders just don't work [04:36] Our job is to rage against being a big company [05:43] Strategy is the least meaningful aspect of product [07:15] People misunderstand how great products are built [09:57] We're not an OKR company [11:23] Why there are so few good product managers [12:25] Operation Chaos Monkey to remove meetings [15:26] Why managers need to value their personal craft time [16:06] Why there are always no meeting rooms available [18:22] How to reduce meetings on your calendar [21:02] Just because someone else does it is a bad reason [23:33] The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing Where to find Kaz: X: https://twitter.com/CanadaKaz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasranejatian/ Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/kaz-coo-shopify-craft-and-no-meetings Try Figma for free: https://psxid.figma.com/qyj56p0lygjt 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Focus on work that actually matters | Fareed Mosavat (Ex-Slack) Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

Fareed Mosavat is a growth veteran who has worked at Reforge, Slack, Instacart, Pixar, and other top companies. We had some real talk about how to: 1. Cross the chasm from product manager to product leader 2. Not confuse the work behind the work with the actual work 3. Look beyond traditional job titles to chart your own career path Fareed is one of my favorite product leaders and I think you’ll love our conversation. Brought to you by: Figma–My favorite design tool for creators and teams: https://psxid.figma.com/qyj56p0lygjt Chapter timestamps: 00:00 Focus on the work that actually matters 02:17 The PM to product leader chasm 06:21 The manager death spiral 08:49 Rethinking PM roles 10:44 How small teams can achieve big results 16:17 Why PM performance theater needs to end 19:29 Designing the right incentives for PM orgs 24:34 Why Fareed chose impact over titles 28:33 How to find work that you love 34:19 Why external exec hires often don't work out 39:00 How to be your own customer Where to find Fareed: X: https://twitter.com/far33d LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fareed/ Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/fareed-real-talk-about-the-pm-career 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Elevate the individual contributor | Claire Vo (CPO LaunchDarkly) Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

Claire Vo is the Chief Product Officer of LaunchDarkly and ex-CPO of Color and Optimizely. Claire believes that it’s never been a better time to be a strong IC PM and has built a career ladder where the best individual contributors report directly to the C-suite. We spoke about: 1. Why PM performance theater needs to end 2. How to pursue the super IC PM career path 3. How IC PMs can use AI to excel at their job Claire had so many hot takes throughout and I think you’ll love our interview. Chapter timestamps: 00:00 Welcome Claire 01:39 The Importance of the IC Path 04:08 The Limitations of Frameworks 05:20 Designing a Better Ladder for PMs 09:39 The Changing Landscape for PMs 11:55 Why Fast Beats Right 16:20 The Coaches, Captains, and Players Framework 19:16 Traits of Great ICs 23:55 Protecting Craft Time 28:48 The Chat PRD and AI Journey 33:13 The Future of PMs with AI Where to find Claire: X: https://twitter.com/clairevo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/ Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/claire-vo-why-its-time-for-ic-product-manager Try Figma for free: https://psxid.figma.com/qyj56p0lygjt 📌 Subscribe to this channel - more videos coming soon!

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