#25 Building products in different contexts: big tech, scaleups, and startups | Melissa Mills (Ardoq, Kahoot!, Google)

My guest today is Cecilie Skjong, Investment Manager at Skyfall Ventures - a Norwegian early-stage venture capital fund.As a founder, nailing your pitch, thinking big and challenging yourself to be more visionary, and quickly testing your ideas to get a sense of the market pull are crucial.And the same applies to a cross-functional team building a new product in a scale-up. The same applies to a product leader leading a new opportunity in a large organization.After being exposed to hundreds of pitches and investing in several early-stage ventures, Cecilie shared with me:* Characteristics of great founding teams* The importance of drive and resilience when testing ideas and building products* Early signs of market pull* Thinking big and the importance of Vision* How to craft a great pitch* The power of Founder-led Sales* The importance of understanding your macro trends (Waves)* The state of the Norwegian startup scene* And moreIf you’re a founder, I recommend pairing this episode with:* Episode 1: Testing Ideas with David Bland, co-author of the book Testing Business Ideas written together with Alex Osterwalder* Episode 9: Understanding Jobs to be Done with Bob Moesta, co-creator of the JTBD framework together with Clayton Christensen* Episode 19: Nailing your Positioning with April Dunford, bestselling author of one of the most well-known marketing books out there This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

Today's episode is with my friend Frederik Hansen - CPO at Ignite. Ignite is a leading sustainable procurement platform that enables companies to take control of their purchasing from suppliers, comply with regulations, and reduce costs, emissions, and risks - all in one place.Before Ignite, Frederik was CPO at Bookis. He is also the co-founder of Produktleder.no - the largest community for product managers in Norway - and a co-organizer of the ProductTank in Oslo. A true contributor to the product community in Norway. In this conversation, Frederik and I discussed: * Starting a CPO role with a 1-month grace period* Healthy principles in strong product teams* Cross-functional collaboration in practice * Making time for discovery at Ignite * Creating an environment for product teams to thrive* Examples from Frederik’s journey on how to test ideas fast using different techniques* What Frederik looks for in a PM (traits)* And moreEnjoy :) Hey there, Afonso here 👋I've interviewed more than 30 Product leaders in Scandinavia, and this is one of those conversations. Subscribe for free so you don’t miss out on future interviews! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

Today's guest is Melissa Mills, VP of Product at Ardoc, former Director of Product at Kahoot!, and former Global Product Lead at Google in San Francisco.Ardoc is a fast-growing scale-up in Norway, recognized by Gartner as a leading Enterprise Architecture Tool.Their Series D raise is one of the five largest private funding rounds by a Norwegian tech business.Many enterprise companies like Carlsberg Group are choosing Ardoc, and this episode will give you an insider view of how they build their products.Melissa and I talked about:- Ardoc's growth and product journey- Product management in big tech, startups, and scale-ups- Product Managers' valuable traits according to company stage- The importance of domain knowledge in B2B- How Product and Sales should partner- Onboarding product teams- Cultural differences between doing Product in Norway versus Silicon Valley- And so much more_💪 Companies I think you should know about:UX Signals - Don’t let your busy schedule stop you from talking to users.Automatically recruit interviews and user tests with people who are using your product. Talk to them while their user experience is still fresh in their mind.Used by big companies like DNB Bank, Vipps MobilePay, NAV, and many more.Tell them Afonso sent you, and get 50% off your trial!Know more here This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

Would you like to know how Norway's best mobile bank builds its products?Today's guest is Thomas Allan Nygaard - Product Leader at Sparebank 1, one of the largest banks in Norway and named Norway's best mobile bank.Thomas and his team are constantly trying to push their boundaries and this conversation walks you through their ongoing journey into adopting and continuously adjusting their product operating model.We covered:* Sparebank's journey from breaking the monolith* How their teams approach discovery and risk reduction* Balancing just enough discovery and risk-taking* The power of small autonomous teams* Why feedback from Beta users can be dangerous* Product Strategy as problem-solving* Using OKRs and other techniques to increase focus* Why organizational and team focus start with each individual* And moreListen now: Apple | Spotify | Youtube_💪 Companies I think you should know about:UX Signals - Don’t let your busy schedule stop you from talking to users.Automatically recruit interviews and user tests with people who are using your product. Talk to them while their user experience is still fresh in their mind.Used by big companies like DNB Bank, Vipps MobilePay, NAV, and many more.Tell them Afonso sent you, and get 50% off your trial!Know more here This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

My guest today is Beth Stensen.Beth is a gem in the Design world in Norway.She was Head of Design at Ruter (the company responsible for the plan, coordination, order and market of public transport in Oslo & Akershus), she then became the CEO at Netlife (famous for their Y Oslo Conference), and now she's the Head of Design at Posten Bring - the leading post company in the Nordics.Beth has a lot of experience with transformations and this conversation is packed with insights and advice from her journey - as well as reflections on the Product Movement and how it's impacting Design, and its future.We covered:* The “Product” Movement and its impact to Design* Making room for the intangibles* Reflections on “tension” between Design and Product* Ruter’s transformational journey* A practical example of what a great Product Vision looks like* Tips to navigate transformation as a Designer and Design leader* Insights from Beth’s journey at Posten Bring so far* The Future of Design* And moreI really loved talking with Beth. There’s so much wisdom here. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did :) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

Today’s guest is the one and only Christina Wodtke - Professor at Stanford and author of several bestsellers, including the famous book on OKRs “Radical Focus”.We covered:* Foundations and misconceptions about OKRs* Prerequisites for successfully use OKR* Why OKRs might not be for you* The importance of psychological safety and strategic context* Outcome-based key results vs. output-based results* Cross-functional team collaboration and shared objectives* Cadences and Principles* Exploratory OKRs* Challenges in large organizations with complex dependencies* And moreChristina is a legend and one of my biggest references.I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!_References:Article: Why context and culture matter in leading with objectivesAligned: Stakeholder Management for Product LeadersTeam Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast FlowThe Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

I've interviewed more than 30 Product leaders in Scandinavia, and this is one of those conversations.Subscribe for free so you don’t miss out on future conversations and related contentToday I'm talking with Marius Røstad - CPO at Aidn - and Espen Sundve - former CPO at Oda, who’s now a Senior Advisor at Schibsted.Marius used to head up product at Ruter before joining Aidn as Chief Product Officer.Aidn is one of the coolest healthcare scaleups in Norway, aiming to disrupt healthcare.Espen has also held product leadership roles before joining Oda as its CPO, where he thrived for 7 years.Oda is Norway’s leading online grocery store.How does Oda build products and organize itself? What are some of the principles behind their success?And how is Aidn doing that today, one of the most interesting tech scaleups in Norway in the healthcare space?You'll find out soon, as well as learn both Marius and Espen's perspectives on being more strategic, their views and approach to product strategy, team topologies, the importance of speed, how to foster alignment when you’re scaling fast - and so much more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

Today’s episode is particularly special.A 2-hour masterclass on discovery that every designer, product manager, founder, and product leader should hearWith bestselling authors Teresa Torres (Product Discovery Habits) and Petra Wille (Strong Product People) - two of my biggest references.My god, this was fun...!Is it the first long-format episode on discovery with 2 industry legends? Possibly...Will there be advanced lessons, golden practical nuggets, and plenty of spicy takes?Oh yes...The only thing I can say is: you're in for a treat :)Petra, Teresa, and I covered:* How to get support from your leadership to do great discovery* Main mistakes to avoid when doing discovery and what to do instead* How to frame business and product outcomes* How to set great strategic context and close the loop between discovery and strategy* Why user research is not the same as product discovery* The danger with the double diamond* How to translate discovery into a story CEOs want to hear* Beyond discovering products: business modeling* How to use KPI trees* Deep dive into Opportunity Solution Trees and main pitfalls* And so so much more_Show notes* Teresa's book: Continuous Discovery Habits* Teresa's blog and website* Teresa’s LinkedIn profile* Petra’s LinkedIn profile* Petra’s website* Petra's books* Strong Product People* Strong Product Communities* Richard Rumelt’s Good Strategy, Bad Strategy – mentioned by Teresa in the context of defining strategy and diagnosing market conditions.* Seven Powers, the foundation of Business strategy* Petra's article on KPI trees* Clayton Christensen’s Deliberate vs. Emergent Strategy* Bob Moesta’s Jobs to Be Done and interview methods* Gino Wickman’s book Traction* Rich Mironov's blog Product Bytes* Carlo Mahfouz episode and website* Moment Prisons article, recommended to me by John Cutler a while back_💪 Companies I think you should know about:UX Signals - Don’t let your busy schedule stop you from talking to users.Automatically recruit interviews and user tests with people who are using your product. Talk to them while their user experience is still fresh in their mind.Used by big companies like DNB Bank, Vipps MobilePay, NAV, and many more.Tell them Afonso sent you, and get 50% off your trial.Know more here This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

My guest today is the globally renowned marketing expert April Dunford.April has probably advised more B2B tech companies on positioning than anyone in the world.April's book Obviously Awesome is one of the biggest best-selling marketing books out there - and I'm so happy we had time to dig into everything you need to know to nail Product Positioning so that customers get it, buy it, and love it.Every founder, marketing, sales, and product person should listen to this episode!We discussed:* Why companies fail with positioning* Why positioning is a team sport* April's step-by-step process to nail product positioning* How to find your ICP (ideal customer profile)* Common pitfalls when defining positioning* Messaging vs branding vs positioning* How to align Product, Marketing, Sales, and Executive leadership on positioning and why it's important* How to translate your positioning to a killing Sales pitch—Afonso’s profileApril’s profile and websiteApril’s books:* Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It* Sales Pitch: How to craft a story to stand out and win This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com

My guests today are Itamar Gilad and Bruce McCarthy.Itamar is a former product leader for Gmail, Youtube, and Microsoft - and is the author of the bestselling book Evidence Guided.Itamar’s latest book is about creating high-impact products in the face of uncertainty, and he also has some strong views on roadmaps, roadmapping, common traps to avoid, and what to consider instead.But so does Bruce!Bruce is the author of the book Product Roadmaps Relaunched and, most recently, the book Aligned - a deep dive into stakeholder management for product leaders.The question is: do Itamar and Bruce agree on what a great roadmap looks like? Whether we need them at all?You’ll have to listen to find outAll I can say is: this was such a beautiful conversation, with two giants discussing their points of view and talking highly of each other’s work. Loved it, and I’m sure you will too.We covered:* The purpose of roadmaps* The dangers of output-based roadmaps and practical tips to avoid them* When to have dates on roadmaps* How to craft an outcome-based roadmap* Techniques to use instead of roadmaps* How to use OKRs and roadmaps* Deep dive on Itamar’s framework GIST* And so much more This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com