Catalyst

Latest Episodes:

Irrational Magic: The Trade of Making New Things with Roy Bahat Apr 05, 2022

Show notes

No founder should be all-consumed with work, and that is why Head of Bloomberg Beta Roy Bahat is no longer a founder. This week Roy joins Gina Trapani and Michael Shane to discuss how workplace boundaries are becoming normalized and why providing VC support in a company’s irrational phase excites him more than a later, safer bet. He also stresses the importance of language in a large and diverse workforce and questions whether metaphors and analogies are useful or alienating.

Links:

‘It’s All Just Wild’: Tech Start-Ups Reach a New Peak of Froth - Erin Griffith

'My company is not my family': Fed up with long hours, many employees have quietly decided to take it easy at work rather than quit their jobs - Aki Ito

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Too Many Monkeys: Handing Back Responsibilities With Tony Haile Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

From polar expeditions to Twitter’s Longform team, Tony Haile knows how to lead — and when to step back. Former CEO of Chartbeat and Scroll, Tony is now Senior Director of Product at Twitter. This week, he joins Gina and Paul to share wisdom on managing the managers, knowing your weaknesses, and successfully integrating a team after being acquired by a bigger player.

Links:

Tony Haile on Twitter

Chartbeat

Scroll

On Grand Strategy - John Lewis Gaddis

Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey? - William Oncken, Jr. and Donald L. Wass, Harvard Business Review

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The Price Tag for Climate Change: With Probable Futures Mar 22, 2022

Show notes

How do you build a bridge between climate science and culture? This week, Alison Smart, Executive Director of Probable Futures, and Peter Croce, Lead Product Manager at Postlight, join Paul and Rich to talk about how to create accessible resources for understanding climate change. What tools has Probable Futures created to tackle this? How do they collaborate with clients that want to make a positive difference? And, what is the price tag for climate change?

Links:
Probable Futures

Postlight’s work with Probable Futures

The net-zero transition: What it would cost, what it could bring - McKinsey

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In the Jungle: On Leadership Metaphors Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

Recently, Gina Trapani shared this question on Twitter: What are good metaphors for running a company that aren’t about sports or war? To her surprise, her Twitter mentions exploded. This week, she and Chris LoSacco share some of their favorite responses. They also draw parallels between playing in a band and running a business and share why running a company can be like tending a garden.

Links:

Gina Trapani Twitter

Peloton’s New CEO on the Tough Road Ahead - The New York Times

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Securing Buy-In and Budget: Twitter Space Live Event Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

Gina Trapani, Chris LoSacco, and Michael Shane got together on Twitter Space to chat about how people with big ideas — but less authority — can get buy-in and budget for future tech projects. What kind of storytelling will be the most persuasive to get your project going? What will motivate your boss to support the change? In the live event, Chris, Gina, and Michael answer these questions and share strategies to talk to execs to get them to recognize the value of your idea.

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Incremental Revolution: On TypeScript With Orta Therox Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

TypeScript is now one of the top five programming languages, but what is it exactly? And why has everyone adopted it in recent years? This week, Paul and Rich sit down with Orta Therox, a former engineer on TypeScript at Microsoft. He breaks down what makes up a type system, how to migrate to Typescript, and why it could be considered “CTO Optimized.”

Links:

Orta Therox

Orta Therox Twitter

Typescriptlang.org

Why the World Is Adopting TypeScript

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User On Board: With Michael McWatters Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

As Director of Product Design at HBO Max, Michael McWatters knows a thing or two about welcoming people to a service. This week, Michael joins Paul and Rich to share why onboarding should be happening along every step of a user’s journey, not only as part of marketing. He draws parallels between online onboarding and in-store experiences and explains why you shouldn’t be training during onboarding — show, don’t tell.

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Doer to Delegator: On Scaling Postlight Feb 15, 2022

Show notes

In 2021, Postlight grew from a small-ish agency to a team of over 100 people. This week, Gina and Chris share how they helped scale Postlight since taking on their new roles. From establishing a senior leadership team, choosing better internal tools, and sending out employee surveys, they break down how to empower your team to help everyone (company included) grow.

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Data as a Language: With Postlight’s Reed Whitmont Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

So much of product management is about getting to launch, but what (and how) you learn when the product is live is when the data story begins. This week, Paul and Rich chat with data enthusiast — and Postlight’s Senior Product Manager — Reed Whitmont. Reed shares what goes into a solid analytics setup, what your funnel should look like, and how to use your data’s story to refine an even better product.

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Looking for Leadership: On Identifying and Building Up Leaders Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

How do you find new leaders? Is it better to promote from within or hire from outside? Do former practitioners make better leaders? As Postlight’s CEO and President, Gina Trapani and Chris LoSacco ask themselves these questions daily. This week, Gina and Chris share their thoughts on how to spot leadership qualities and empower new leaders.

Links:

How to Build for the Handoff - Gina Trapani

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