The Product Experience features conversations with the product people of the world, focusing on real insights of how to improve your product practice. Part of t...
What product people can learn from mergers and acquisitions - Vincent Jong (CPO, Dealfront)
Mergers and acquisitions are often seen as boardroom strategy – but it's becoming ever more important for product leaders to be key stakeholders in the process. In this live interview recorded at #mtpcon London 2025, Randy sits down with Vincent Jong, CPO at Dealfront, to explore the real, unfiltered lessons of product leadership during M&A.Vincent shares stories from inside two major integrations offering tactical insight into what product teams need to know, how to spot risk before it's too late, and why defining success early is critical. Featured Links: Follow Vincent on LinkedIn and his website | Join Vincent at Saas on The Beach event in May | Buy Vincent's book 'Product-Led Sales: Combine the Best of Product-Led Growth and Sales' | 'What we learned at #mtpcon London 2025' feature by Kent McDonald and Louron PrattOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath. Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.
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How to set up your product org for success - Trisha Price (CPO, Pendo)
Featured Links: Follow Trisha on LinkedIn | Pendo | Trisha's 'The future of product management' talk at #mtpcon roadshow Amsterdam 2024Our HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath. Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.
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How Duolingo built an AI conversation bot - Zan Gilani (Principal Product Manager, Duolingo)
In our latest conversation on The Product Experience podcast, Zan Gilani, Principal Product Manager at Duolingo, discusses the innovative use of AI in language learning, particularly through the video call feature with their character, Lily. He shares lessons on creating the new video feature and highlights the principles that guide Duolingo's product management approach. Featured Links: Follow Zan on LinkedIn and his website | Duolingo Lily feature | 'What we learned at Pendomonium and #mtpcon Raleigh: day 2' feature by Louron PrattOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath. Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.
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From Co-op CPO to Co-Founder - Adam Warburton (Co-Founder, Rove)
In this conversation on this week's podcast, Adam Warburton, Co-Founder of Rove, shares his journey from being a Chief Product Officer at large firms like Co-op and Travelex, to co-founding his startup, Rove. He discusses the challenges and learnings from transitioning to a startup environment, the importance of prototyping and user feedback, and the balance between being product-led and sales-led.Featured LinksFollow Adam on LinkedIn Rove Co-op Marty Cagan's book 'Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love'Chapters 00:00 Expectation vs. Reality in Happiness05:08 Transitioning from Corporate to Startup Life10:05 The Importance of Prototyping and User Feedback14:58 Navigating Product vs. Sales-Led Strategies20:00 The Value of Co-Founders in Entrepreneurship25:13 Learning from Experience: Shaping Product Practices29:46 Pragmatism Over Theory in Product Management35:08 Coaching and Training: Evolving PerspectivesKey takeawaysHappiness is expectation divided by reality.Transitioning from corporate to startup life brings unexpected challenges.Prototyping and user feedback are crucial in early stages.Navigating product vs. sales led strategies is essential for growth.Co-founders significantly enhance the entrepreneurial experience.Pragmatism often trumps theoretical frameworks in product management.Learning from experience shapes product practices.The importance of being adaptable in product strategies.Building a prototype can lead to significant traction.Coaching should focus on maximizing impact with available resources.Our HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath. Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.
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How to use conflict to solve product problems - Yorai Gabriel (Author, The Innovators' Drama)
In this week's conversation on The Product Experience podcast, Yorai Gabriel discusses the concept of 'drama' in the context of innovation and product management. He explores how drama arises from tensions and conflicts within teams, particularly in diverse and creative environments. Gabriel highlights the importance of understanding these dynamics to turn drama into a productive force rather than a hindrance.Key takeaways Communication can escalate tensions and conflict.Understanding the roots of drama can help manage it.Diversity in teams can lead to creative tensions.Drama often arises from people trying to do good.Identifying the causes of drama can reduce its intensity.Engineers and designers approach problems differently.Drama can be an opportunity for learning and growth.Misalignments in teams can lead to overwhelming drama.Effective communication is key to resolving conflicts.Workplace drama can be managed through understanding and communication.Graph thinking helps visualize problems for better clarity.The fulfillment graph articulates goals and necessary conditions.The price of innovation highlights common misalignments.Mindfulness towards drama can enhance productivity.Effective communication can reduce workplace tensions.Visual tools can accelerate conversations and decision-making.Understanding the source of drama can lead to better outcomes.Embracing different perspectives can foster collaboration.Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Innovation and Drama00:59 Background and Experience01:56 The Innovator's Drama: Overview and Insights05:06 Understanding Drama in the Workplace08:59 The Nature of Drama: Escalation of Tensions12:03 The Role of Diversity in Drama14:56 Engineering vs. Design: Approaches to Problem Solving20:39Our HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath. Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.
The Product Experience features conversations with the product people of the world, focusing on real insights of how to improve your product practice. Part of the Mind the Product network, hosts Lily Smith (ProductTank organiser and Product Consultant) & Randy Silver (Head of Product and product management trainer) “go deep” with the best speakers from ProductTank meetups all over the globe, Mind the Product conferences, and the wider product community.
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