Products That Count Podcast

How is technology making a difference in your life today? On today’s episode, my guest Selina Tobaccowala discusses her newest startup Gixo and how she plans to help consumers lead healthier lives. You'll hear Selina compare and contrast her experiences with Evite, the company she co-founded; SurveyMonkey, the company she helped grow and scale to 200 million users; and Gixo, her current-day startup that she co-founded with Al Lieb. Selina also shares insight into what makes a great Product Manager and how to take your career to the next level. It starts with carving your own path, a lot of success starts with you taking on more responsibility—be proactive and ask for more from your manager instead of waiting for them to come to you. Selina also tells me that PMs are the glue that makes all the pieces work and it’s important to know the answers to the following: What are the important areas of feedback that helps drive your product? What are the business metrics? What are the strategic goals? How do you make

What are the qualities you look for in a great product manager? Today, my guest David Fradin shares his thoughts on what makes a successful, innovative product leader. David is a classically trained Product Manager, now coach, that worked with Steve Jobs at Apple and worked for David Packard at HP—all in all, he’s been in the product management industry for over 47 years across 27 different organizations and verticals. On the podcast, you’ll hear David’s mnemonic “S.P.I.C.E S.” and you’ll learn the six keys to building insanely great products which stands for: strategy, process, information, customers, employees, and systems & tools David tells me one of the most important things that a product manager should do is to start as a leader to assess the product lifecycle. David Fradin’s Influencers Steven Johnson   Innovation Tools: The most successful techniques to innovate cheaply and effectively    

How can “game thinking” help strengthen long-term engagement with your users? Today, on this episode, my guest Amy Jo Kim discusses how she helps entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life with game thinking to help accelerate early product design.

What are three words you would use to describe yourself to help build your personal brand? On today’s podcast, you’ll hear Dorie Clark discuss her books, what keeps her committed to helping people get their ideas heard, how she uses the 3-word exercise to start the branding process, and much, much more.

Are you telling the big-picture story that’ll influence change? What is the structure of belonging in the digital age? These are just a few questions the CEO and Founder of Get Storied, Michael Margolis, asks on today’s episode. Michael has a background in cultural anthropology, and he works with people who are changing history; people who are doing things that have never been done before. On this episode, you’ll hear his insights on why storytelling is more crucial than ever in our age of disruption and innovation. First and foremost, it’s all about the human experience. Emotion starts first. As consumers, we buy on emotion and justify with logic. On this podcast, you’ll hear about Michael’s story and how he got into his role as a Narrative Strategist and what keeps his passion for storytelling alive. You’ll also hear great advice on why online comes first when it comes to your personal story and brand. Michael mentions how you write your about page and bio is one of the most important skills we don’t get ta

Founder and CEO of Product School, Carlos González de Villaumbrosia, talks about his insights into what makes a great product manager in this episode. Carlos started his career in software development in Spain—but he knew he always wanted to be in Silicon Valley because he was very excited about technology. Carlos mentions to me that in addition to engineering, he also went to business school. Both career paths were great in their own respect—but he wanted to find something in the middle. Engineering, as he recalls, was very low-level and technical and business school was very high-level and strategic. That’s where he found product management—his passion and dream. On the show, you’ll hear how Carlos found the formula with Product School where people can learn the latest and greatest with product management and tech while keeping their life. He also provides advice to companies who are looking to hire for their first product role and beyond. His top three product management qualities to look for in any produc

Founder of Portigal Consulting, Steve Portigal, talks about user research, books, and how much there is to learn about people on today’s episode. Located just outside of San Francisco in Pacifica, CA, you'll find Steve's consultancy. Here, he aims to help companies harness the strategic power of user research. In this episode, Steve provides his expertise and thoughts on how to uncover compelling insights with customers. He mentions how important it is to leave your worldview at the door when you’re studying other people. Steve also explains the “art” of asking the right question and how it’s both a science and art form. Finally, you’ll hear practical product manager career advice to get you to the next level.     Click the link to find out more about Steve’s most recent book Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries: User Research War Stories. Use coupon code: PTCfriends for 20% off at checkout.   To get more user research advice, or to connect with Steve, visit his website http://www.portigal.com/ or find him

Founder and CEO at WorkFusion, Max Yankelevich, talks about his desire to build products people use. Max provides his thoughts on the AI revolution and its future. He also gives advice to entrepreneurs who want to work in the B2B space, provides a glance into a typical day at WorkFusion, and stresses the importance of being a customer-focused business. His advice: don’t postpone the first contact with the customer; be iterative with your product.

On this podcast, I interviewed Adam Lasinky about his bestselling book,“Wild Ride, Inside Uber’s Quest for World Domination“. He discusses why he chose to take a close-up look at Uber's rise as a global tech business phenomenon. Adam reveals his brief stint as an Uber driver and how the drivers have made the company what it is today. He talks about the brilliance of Uber capitalizing on driver's assets (i.e. their cars), why no entrepreneur should try to be Travis Kalanick, and the future of technology.

Head of Product at Amplitude, Justin Bauer, talks about his non-traditional path to becoming a rising star in Silicon Valley's Product Management scene. Justin provides some insightful advice on analyzing data to make an outstanding product. He also talks bout being distinctive in your product management career, a typical day at Amplitude, and the importance of listening to customer needs.

In this episode, Gaurav Hardikar talks about the future of e-commerce. He discusses how to design products that provide an efficient shopping process for consumers, how he drives engagement at Shopkick, and the need to balance stakeholders needs with needs of consumers. He also talks about the qualities needed to be a great Product Manager and what it is like being a minority in Silicon Valley.

In this compelling conversation, Jules Walter discusses his role at Slack to drive user growth. He talks about Slack's unique, transparent culture and how Slack uses its own product within the company. He reveals how Slack makes decisions and increases productivity by communicating internally with their own product. He also discusses his perspective on the future of mobile, the best qualities of a Product Manager, and his experience being a minority within Silicon Valley.  

In this interview, Katherine Kornas talks about Pandora's commitment to both culture and innovation. She talks about the importance of using simplicity and inspiration to inspire growth. She also delves into how Pandora listens deeply to its consumers to understand their habits through qualitative and quantitative measurement techniques. By doing so, Pandora is committed to personalization of their products.

I've had the chance over the past few months to interview 5 product gurus: Marty Cagan, Teresa Torres, Jeff Gothelf, Rich Mironov and Dan Olsen. This podcast compiles the best moments of those interviews including their views on what makes a great product, what makes a great product manager and more

Patricia Roller talks about balancing the art + science of product management based on her experience as Co-CEO at frog design inc. In this conversation, Patricia delves into the importance of teamwork as a product manager. She also explains how to navigate the balancing act of handling so many moving parts by focusing on the end goal of meeting customer needs.

On this episode, former FBI High Stakes Negotiator Chris Voss shares the nine effective principles to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life. He discusses how to gain a competitive edge by using counterintuitive strategies and tactics including emotional intelligence. He also emphasizes the need for highly effective communication (which includes highly effective listening) to become a successful negotiator. On this compelling episode, you will learn why it is important to look at the long-term benefits of any business deal and focus on the greater good.

Joyce Solano talks about her experience learning how to reinvent of Adobe from a software co. to marketing co. She also talks about empathy, brand positioning, and how defining company goals to create your brand story.  

Jeff Gothelf talks about the shift in mindset needed to scale your business. He makes the case that you must think about yourself in the software business. Secondly, he says we need to shift into thinking about how to manage all the departments and roles within a software business. He discusses why leaders need to rethink the way that tech businesses are managed so they can innovate and drive their companies forward.

In this podcast, Anneka talks about understanding the art and science of customer relationships, risk/reward ratio for businesses, and how to build your network through leveraging the people around you.

Clara Nam talks about her passion for product design. She speaks about her job in Silicon Valley as a Product Designer on the Growth team at Yelp. She shares her experience on iterating the Yelp mobile app and finding design solutions to make a successful product. She also discusses using metrics to predict product growth and what it's like being a women in tech.