My guest today is Shishir Mehrotra, co-founder and CEO of Coda. Shishir is the co-founder and CEO of Coda and was YouTube's Chief Product Officer. We had a great chat about what I think is the best framework to grow your career, how a PM applied it to build a 0 to $1B product in 18 months, and other rituals to level up your strategy and leadership.Brought to you by: - Amplitude: Get their North Star playbook for free: https://bit.ly/4fPxUmg Timestamps: (00:00) From 0 to $1B in just 18...

My guest today is Jon Lax, former VP of Design at Meta. Jon is a 25-year design veteran who most recently led design for Meta’s Reality Labs (e.g., Ray Ban glasses, Quest, and more). Before Meta, Jon ran his own design firm for 12 years. He’s got many hot takes on product development and design that I’m excited to dig into. Brought to you by: - Amplitude: Get their north star playbook for free: https://bit.ly/4fPxUmg Timestamps: (00:00) Why delight comes last (01:31) Introducing...

My guest today is Sharmeen Chapp, Head of Product for Revenue and Finance Automation at Stripe. In 2021, Sharmeen was diagnosed with breast cancer after becoming a Senior Director at Meta and a new mom. She shared lessons on leading with empathy through cancer, growing from IC to VP in 6 years, and Stripe’s unique product culture. Brought to you by: - Amplitude: Get their North Star playbook for free https://bit.ly/4fPxUmg Timestamps: (00:00) Empathy starts with leaving your ego at the...

My guest today is Mihika Kapoor, product lead at Figma. Mihika and team built Figma Slides from just an idea to a featured product at Config this year. She shared with me how anyone can build 0 to 1 products inside large companies - from building internal excitement to getting leadership buy-in to shipping on time. She also shared why she no longer writes any PRDs. Timestamps: (00:00) What it really takes to build 0-1 (01:42) How Figma Slides came from Figma and Figjam (04:23) Convincing...

My guest today is Lee Robinson, VP Product at Vercel. Lee has built products and great developer experiences for over a decade and has written some of the most clear-sighted content about how to get developers to adopt your product that I’ve ever read. We chatted about what makes a great developer experience, what resonates with developer marketing, and how to appeal to this no-b******t customer segment. Timestamps: (00:00) A cycle to guarantee developers love your product (01:15) How...

My guest today is Chris Jones, partner at Silicon Valley Product Group. Chris and Marty Cagan wrote the best-selling book Empowered based on their 30+ years of experience working with 200+ companies. Their definition of “empowered vs. feature product teams” has created controversy, so I knew I had to chat with them. Chris and I had a heart-to-heart chat about empowered vs. feature teams, how to avoid becoming a feature factory, and how to take back control of your career. Timestamps:...

My guest today is Miqdad Jaffer, ex-head of AI products at Shopify. Miqdad leads enterprise products at OpenAI and was previously Head of AI Products at Shopify. He also teaches Maven’s #1 AI PM course on building AI products inside companies. Miqdad and I spoke about: -- Why traditional product development doesn't work for AI - How to build product principles early to manage AI's infinite edge-case problem - The unconventional ways that Shopify "gets shit done" and ships products...

My guest today is Dan Shipper, co-founder of Every. Dan co-founded Every and hosts a podcast called AI & I, where he has interviewed 25+ AI experts. He also recently launched Spiral, a new AI tool to help writers and creators save time and get more done. We had a great chat about how Dan uses AI to write, the traits that top AI experts have in common, and why “managers of AI models” could be a new career path. Timestamps: (00:00) Using AI to turn rambling thoughts into writing (00:57)...

My guest today is Siqi Chen, co-founder and CEO of Runway. Siqi is a 3x founder who’s an expert at using AI to scale his business and life. We discussed his favorite AI prompts and workflows, building a company where people "give a shit," and how to raise your kids and cheat death in an AI-first world. Timestamps: (00:00) Can AI solve death? (00:55) Introducing Siqi (01:08) The #1 startup lesson after 2 successful exits (04:09) What Runway's "give a shit" value means (06:25) Why "raising...

My guest today is Nat Eliason, one of my favorite writers online. Nat is the author of Crypto Confidential, a real-life thriller about how he made and lost millions in crypto. We also talked about how Nat uses AI to edit his writing, why he pushes himself to do hard things like writing a sci-fi novel, and his advice for aspiring creators on avoiding the dark side of the creator economy. Nat is a personal inspiration to me. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support...

My guest today is Chris Bakke, product lead at X (formerly known as Twitter). Chris Bakke has sold two companies for $100M+ and is also a master at shitposting. We spoke about: - The art of shitposting - What it’s like working with Elon Musk - How to stand out in today’s tough jobs market Chris is hilarious and you won’t be able to guess how many PMs X still has. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast. Get the takeaways:...

My guest today is Lane Shackleton, Chief Product Officer of Coda. Lane has interviewed hundreds of product teams from Figma, Uber, Spotify, and more as the chief product officer of Coda. He shared with me his favorite rituals from these interviews for crafting a vision, running product reviews, and making decisions. Timestamps: (00:00) Cathedrals, not bricks to craft a great vision (03:41) Moving beyond the 1-line vision with powerful artifacts (06:46) Translating vision to roadmap with...

My guest today is Robbie Crabtree, founder of Competitive Storytelling. Robbie is a top storytelling coach who has helped hundreds of founders raise $600M+ through this skill. Before that, he perfected his storytelling craft as a trial lawyer who oversaw 100+ criminal cases. We talked about: - How to craft a great story - The two stories that every leader must have - How to deliver your story in a compelling way I’ve struggled with storytelling myself, and Robbie’s tips were incredibly...

My guest today is Josh Miller, CEO of the Browser Company. Josh and his team built Arc, an AI-first browser that users can’t stop raving about. To take on Google Chrome, they’ve raised $550M from top investors such as LinkedIn’s Jeff Weiner and Figma’s Dylan Field. In our chat, Josh gives us an inside look at how the Browser Company crafts great products and hires top talent. Timestamps: (00:00) The #1 thing we look for to hire great talent (01:29) Why Josh wants to re-invent the...

My guest today is Dave Kline. David led teams at Bridgwater for 20+ years, working directly with billionaire Ray Dalio. Since then, he’s coached 1000s of leaders through his course and newsletter. We spoke about: - His journey from leader to solopreneur - How to manage up well - How to delegate and help others grow If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast. Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/dave-kline-how-to-manage...

My guest today is Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Design and Emerging Products. Scott has also advised 100s of startups and writes a popular newsletter called Implications. I spoke to Scott about: Why the talent stack is collapsing and what you can do about it How to improve the first-mile experience of your product The 4P framework for building generative AI products Scott is a leader who obsesses about customer empathy and keeping high...

My guest today is Ethan Evans, former VP at Amazon. Ethan rose to VP at Amazon over 15 years and then retired to make $700,000 teaching product leaders while only working 20 hours a week. Ethan and I talked about: The magic loop to level up at any company and how to get unstuck How to systematically build trust with leadership How to build a $700K+ business while working part time Ethan is an incredible career coach and product leader. If you enjoy our conversation, please like...

My guest today is Paul Adams, Chief Product Officer of Intercom. When ChatGPT launched, Paul and the Intercom team blew up their roadmap to go all in on AI. Since then, they’ve built an AI-first customer service suite that can provide accurate answers to customers 24/7. Paul and I spoke about: 1. How PMs and designers can skill up on AI and get hired to work on AI products 2. Why you may not want to start with the problem when building AI products 3. How Intercom blew up its roadmap to...

My guest today is Alex Cornell, Director of Design at Meta AI. Alex is one of the best product designers I’ve ever worked with. He helped design Facebook, Substack, Linear, and an app for family and friends called Cocoon. We talked about: - Lessons from designing at Meta, Substack, and Linear - How interface design will change with generative AI - How anyone can start learning design right now This interview is a must-watch if you’re interested in design at all. If you enjoy our...

My guest today is Yuhki Yamashita, Chief Product Officer of Figma. Yuhki and I talked about how Figma: - Created a culture where employees love their craft - Builds AI products to solve real user problems - Plans to make design accessible to everyone Yuhki is a great storyteller and shares an inside look at how Figma’s amazing product culture works. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast. Get the takeaways:...

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...

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...

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...