Episode 139: Why Startups Fail and How You Can Avoid That with Tom Eisenmann, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School

In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, Melissa Perri speaks with Sean Solme Kim, former head of product at TikTok and previously at Amazon Prime. They discuss key insights from his time at both companies, including how Amazon's metrics-driven approach influenced his work at TikTok and the development of the Stitch feature. Sean shares his perspective on empowering product teams, fostering ownership among product managers, and navigating the challenges of hypergrowth environments like TikTok. They also explore the importance of creating frictionless user experiences and scaling product features to drive engagement and retention.

Host Melissa Perri enjoys a far-reaching conversation with Brian Fugere in this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast. Brian is the Chief Product Officer at Symplr, with extensive experience in transforming businesses through AI-powered automation and robotics. They discuss the impact of AI and automation on supply chain innovation, the balance between operational efficiency and creativity in product leadership, and how to scale product teams effectively. Brian also shares insights into aligning teams with business outcomes, fostering innovation while managing risk, and navigating the challenges of working with cutting-edge technology.

Host Melissa Perri sits down with Blake Morgan, in this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast. Blake is a seasoned expert in customer experience, best-selling author, and someone with a career spanning major companies like Coca-Cola and AT&T. They discuss the evolution of customer experience, the key principles of customer-focused leadership, and how to effectively measure success beyond mere metrics. She also shares insights on avoiding common pitfalls, the power of storytelling in advocating for customer-centric practices, and best practices for gathering valuable customer feedback.

In this episode of the Product Thinking Podcast, host Melissa Perri welcomes Shruti Patel, Executive Vice President and CPO Business Banking at U.S. Bank, to share her expertise on navigating the complexities of product development within large financial institutions. Shruti delves into the intricacies of balancing innovation with legacy systems, the importance of focusing on high-impact products, and strategies for aligning teams around customer-centric goals.

Vijay Pitchumani is the esteemed guest of Melissa Perri on this episode of the Product Thinking podcast. Tune in to hear Vijay, a renowned expert in product strategy and Director of Product at Okta, share his insights on the essential role of product managers in platform teams and the unique challenges they face. The discussion covers the importance of defining success metrics, experimenting with API-first approaches, and balancing short-term experiments with long-term goals. Vijay also highlights strategies for innovating within platform teams and managing PM rotations to foster diverse experiences and drive impactful outcomes. Listen now to explore how platform PMs can effectively navigate the complexities of scaling and evolving their products.

In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, Melissa Perri sits down with Tamar Yehoshua, President of Product and Technology at Glean, to explore the transformative role of AI in modern enterprise search and productivity. Tamar shares her journey from leading product teams at Google to driving innovation at Glean, discussing how AI and retrieval-augmented generation are reshaping how organizations access and utilize information. She dives into the challenges of scaling AI-driven products in a fast-paced startup environment and the strategies her team employs to maximize impact and drive user adoption.

Melissa Perri welcomed Vrushali Paunikar, Chief Product Officer of Carta, to this episode of the Product Thinking podcast. In this engaging conversation, Vrushali delves into the dynamic world of product management and innovation, sharing insights on how to balance subject matter expertise with fresh perspectives. She discusses the challenges and triumphs of building a custom general ledger from scratch and how her team's approach to innovation and validation has led to significant business growth.

Melissa Perri sat down with Christopher Li, SVP of Product at Xactly on this episode of the Product Thinking podcast. In this enthralling episode, Christopher shares his journey from engineering to product management and the challenges his company faced in adopting the Scaled Agile Framework. Christopher has spent the past 15 years in product management, working through different functions and eventually becoming the SVP of Product at Xactly, an enterprise software provider.

Melissa Douros is the guest on this episode of the Product Thinking podcast and she sat down with our host, Melissa Perri, to discuss her career journey and role as the Chief Product Officer at Green Dot, a modern fintech company. The pair explore the challenges and excitement of working in the banking-as-a-service model, the importance of adopting a product model in organizations undergoing digital transformation, and the role of effective communication and collaboration in driving successful customer experiences.

In this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, Melissa Perri sits down with Trisha Price, Chief Product Officer at Pendo. They explore the evolving landscape of product management, including the shifting role of product operations and the integration of tools like Pendo in enhancing productivity. Trisha shares insights on how product managers can navigate the balance between immediate demands and long-term strategy, as well as the impact of recent developments in product management practices.