Product Discovery Show

Listen now on Apple, Spotify and Youtube.Every startup wants to get to the elusive product-market fit. But unlike PMs at established companies, startup founders often have an extra layer of ambiguity to navigate — zeroing in on the target customer. In this episode, Ian O’Donnell (Director of Design & Validation at Menlo Labs) shares his practical process to help startup founders get to product-market fit. He shares how he conducts product discovery calls and quantitative ad testing alongside founders to hone in on the target industry, user and buyer. All of Ian’s advice is grounded in first-hand startup stories, in which he’s helped to shape their trajectory.Chapters:00:00Introduction to Product Discovery and Ian O'Donnell01:56Ian's Journey into Design and Innovation09:02The Role of Qualitative and Quantitative Research10:41Case Study: Squint's Journey in Manufacturing24:02Deep Dive into Manufacturing Needs and Insights34:31Adoption Challenges and the Role of AI36:49Squint's Journey to Success37:55The Menlo Labs Experience43:56Challenges in Manager Training47:10Exploring New Directions55:06Navigating Customer Discovery01:01:56Advice for FoundersWhere to find Ian:* Menlo Labs* Menlo Labs’ Fellows Program* Ian’s LinkedIn This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.jingjingtan.com

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.What can product management learn from video games?How to make dying more fun.In this episode, we talk to a household name in tech that you might already know — Aakash Gupta, founder of product-growth.com.Aakash has done it all: from founding his own companies, to working in game development, to becoming VP of product at a unicorn. He shares several case studies on how to do low-lift product discovery both as a founder and as an established PM. Because he knows what PMs are going through, Aakash has pragmatic advice on how to talk to customers as an overburdened, burnt out PM. :) We also talk about how we can apply video game psychology (e.g. dying gameplay) to everyday product development. Take a listen! Chapters00:00 Introduction to Product Discovery and Akash Gupta01:36 Akash's Journey into Product Management05:03 Defining Moments in Akash's Product Leadership09:09 User-Centric Product Discovery at Rap to Beats18:23 Impactful Features and Gamification in Product Development31:43 Insights from Epic Games and the Psychology of Gaming40:50 Enhancing Player Experience through AI and Matchmaking43:52 The Psychology of Failure and Game Design47:29 The Importance of Playtesting in Game Development51:04 Navigating User Research in Large Organizations54:13 Leveraging Data for Product Discovery58:21 Building Effective Customer Feedback Loops01:01:43 The Role of Research in Product Management01:05:01 Democratizing User Research for Product Managers01:09:18 Balancing Analytics and Customer Conversations01:13:49 Creating a Continuous Feedback Loop with CustomersWhere to find Aakash:* LinkedIn* Aakash’s newsletter at Product-growth.com * Aakash’s podcast* Book: The Ultimate Guide to Getting a PM Job This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.jingjingtan.com

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.Sometimes you can play all your cards right, and the product will still fail. We kick off 2025 with a New Years episode of the Product Discovery Show. In this episode, Stacey Feero, Director of Product at AgencyAnalytics, talks about a 0-to-1 product she built for Canada’s largest retailer.Stacey walks through how she identified the cause behind the product not taking off (spoiler alert: user insights), how she iterated on it, how it got to $20M ARR, and how it still got shut down. She shares valuable lessons throughout that journey on managing stakeholder expectations and matching the product to user mental models. Chapters:00:00 Introduction to Product Leadership06:05 Transitioning into Product Management13:03 Challenges in User Experience and Market Fit19:59 Adapting to User Needs and Market Changes25:48 Strategic Marketing and Product Positioning31:39 Navigating Product Development Timelines36:53 The Importance of Timing in Product Success44:25 Transforming User Mindsets for Product Success50:00 Lessons from Product Launch Failures56:46 The Role of Curiosity in Product ManagementWhere to find Stacey:* LinkedIn* No Fear Product Leadership - Coaching* Stacey’s Substack newsletter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.jingjingtan.com

SummaryWhat do you mean, that adding screens sometimes drives more user growth? In this episode of the Product Discovery Show, Maria Cuasay, Director of Product at Ancestry, shares how she did product discovery to discover why her growth experiments weren't working. Maria shares several case studies: one where she optimized the checkout flow at Ancestry and adding more screens actually solved more user pain points. She also shares an immersive way of de-risking physical mail marketing at Opencare. Throughout the episode, she shares practical tips for those looking to launch successful products. Chapters:00:00Introduction to Product Discovery01:10Maria's Evolution as a Product Leader03:17Defining Moments in Maria's Career07:44Building vs. Scaling: Maria's Preference09:47The Role of Product Discovery at Ancestry10:37Understanding Ancestry's Business Model11:29Optimizing the Checkout Flow12:55The Importance of Qualitative Insights19:14Transforming Insights into Action27:23Lessons Learned from Experimentation28:57Reducing Mental Friction for Better Conversion30:36Building Reputation and Expanding Remit31:50Innovative User Insights at OpenCare34:58De-risking Direct Mail Marketing39:15Rapid Iteration in User Research42:33The Importance of Clear Copywriting46:05Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Data50:59Structuring Insights with Opportunity Solution Tree54:45The Balance of Discovery and Execution This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.jingjingtan.com