podcast – Product Management Confabulation: Recent Episodes
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In this week’s conversation on The Product Experience podcast, we speak with Radhika Dutt about various product diseases that can hinder effective management and the need for organizations to adopt a more systematic approach to product development. Radhika shares insights on implementing this mindset within teams and the significance of balancing long-term vision with short-term Read more »
The post What are common product diseases? And how can you overcome them? appeared first on Mind the Product.
In this conversation, Karen Stroup, Chief Digital Officer at WEX, discusses her experiences with building an AI strategy at WEX, highlighting the importance of board alignment, experimentation, and employee engagement. She shares insights on setting bold goals, creating a culture of innovation, and the necessity of a robust AI governance framework, particularly in the financial Read more »
The post How to get alignment from the board with your AI strategy — Karen Stroup, Chief Digital Officer, WEX appeared first on Mind the Product.
Aniket Malvankar, Head of Product – IoT at Vantiva and juggling enthusiast, shares his top strategy for empowering your organization: make everyone think like a product manager.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniketmalvankar/
“How I PM” is a series where product managers, of all levels and experiences, share tips and tricks on their approach to product management. Stay tuned for more episodes and subscribe to the The Product Way channel to get notified of upcoming releases.
How I PM Playlist → https://tpg.li/tpw-howipm
Subscribe → http://tpg.li/subscribe-tpg
In this episode of “Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders,” we sit down with David Clements, the product lead for Wireless, home to major UK radio stations like talkSPORT and Virgin Media. David has a rich history in both media and finance, having also led product for The Sun newspaper and worked on mobile banking apps for the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays. Tune in as he discusses the unique challenges and rewards of building mobile apps for both industries, and how he’s navigated the evolving landscape of product management across multiple sectors.
What You’ll Learn:
- Leading Media Product Development: David’s role in mobile apps for national radio stations under Wireless and News UK.
- Experience with Global Media Brands: Insights from managing products for The Sun and other leading publications.
- Mobile Banking Expertise: How David applied product management skills at top UK banks like RBS and Barclays.
Subscribe for more expert insights from leading product managers: https://www.youtube.com/theproductway
P.S. Want even more?
Join The Product Way on Patreon for full-length discussions with David Clements and other award-winning product leaders, plus exclusive content you won’t find on any other platform. Unlock strategies, case studies, and more: https://www.patreon.com/theproductway
Connect with Us:
- https://linkedin.com/in/TheProductGuy
- Email: jhorn@theproductguy.com
About the Podcast:
| Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success | | “Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success” brings you behind the scenes with the top product management minds who have shaped some of the world’s most successful products. Each episode features award-winning product leaders sharing their real-world experiences, lessons learned, and the strategies that have driven their success. From building innovative digital products to navigating the complexities of stakeholder management, you’ll hear firsthand how these experts have achieved product excellence. Whether you’re an aspiring product manager or a seasoned leader, this podcast offers valuable insights, actionable takeaways, and inspiration to elevate your product management career. Tune in WEEKLY to discover the key strategies that make products—and product leaders—truly exceptional. |
In this week’s podcast episode, Akash Gupta delves into the concept of Product-Led Growth (PLG), exploring its definition, misconceptions, and the seven essential layers that contribute to a successful PLG strategy. Featured Links: Follow Aakash on LinkedIn | Aakash’s Product Growth website | ‘What we learned at Pendomonium and #mtpcon Raleigh NC: Day 2’ feature by Louron Pratt Chapters Key takeaways Read more »
The post The 7 key strategies for product growth – Aakash Gupta (PLG Expert) appeared first on Mind the Product.
In this episode of “Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success,” Harpal Singh explains his approach to managing product processes by emphasizing principles over rigid methods. He discusses how prioritizing customer insights, collaboration, and data helps unlock better results for teams. Harpal shares examples of how companies can break free from overly linear or rigid processes and focus on real business outcomes. If you’re looking to refine your product management approach, this episode offers practical strategies.
What You’ll Learn:
- Rethinking Processes: Why focusing on principles and outcomes beats rigid workflows.
- Common Pitfalls in Product Teams: How teams can fall into delivery or process traps.
- Customer Insights vs. Assumptions: How to ensure true customer obsession drives decisions.
- Adapting with Agility: The importance of simplicity and collaboration over complex systems.
Subscribe for more expert insights from leading product managers: https://www.youtube.com/theproductway
P.S. Want even more?
Join The Product Way on Patreon for full-length discussions with Harpal Singh and other award-winning product leaders, plus exclusive content you won’t find on any other platform. Unlock strategies, case studies, and more: https://www.patreon.com/theproductway
Related Links:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/harpalcpo/
Connect with Us:
- https://linkedin.com/in/TheProductGuy
- Email: jhorn@theproductguy.com
About the Podcast:
| Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success | | “Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success” brings you behind the scenes with the top product management minds who have shaped some of the world’s most successful products. Each episode features award-winning product leaders sharing their real-world experiences, lessons learned, and the strategies that have driven their success. From building innovative digital products to navigating the complexities of stakeholder management, you’ll hear firsthand how these experts have achieved product excellence. Whether you’re an aspiring product manager or a seasoned leader, this podcast offers valuable insights, actionable takeaways, and inspiration to elevate your product management career. Tune in WEEKLY to discover the key strategies that make products—and product leaders—truly exceptional. |
In the latest TPG Live session, Driving Impact Through Influence and Experimentation, we dived into strategies product managers can use to expand their influence, foster innovation, and navigate the evolving landscape of product management. Featuring an engaging discussion with Inis Hormann (Marketing Director Germany, Cepheid) and Steve Kury (Leadership Development Consultant, SHK Leadership Consulting), the session provided actionable insights for PMs at every level.
Here are the highlights from this insightful roundtable discussion:
Building Influence Across Teams
Influence begins with trust, and trust is built through active listening, clear alignment with organizational objectives, and meaningful relationships. For example, a product manager leading a cross-functional team on a critical project might begin by hosting regular listening sessions with stakeholders to understand their concerns and align on goals. This approach not only fosters trust but also ensures that everyone feels heard and valued, creating a foundation for collaboration. The discussion emphasized that product managers need to:
- Actively Listen: Understand the perspectives of cross-functional teams and stakeholders to create a shared vision.
- Align Goals: Connect product objectives to broader organizational strategies to demonstrate relevance and drive buy-in.
- Foster Relationships: Build credibility through consistent, transparent communication and collaboration.
Driving Effective Experimentation
Experimentation is at the heart of innovation, but it needs to be purposeful and aligned with business goals. For instance, a general example of successful experimentation could involve testing a new onboarding flow for a SaaS product. By running an A/B test on two variations of the onboarding process, a team might identify a version that reduces drop-offs and increases user engagement. This targeted approach illustrates how experiments can address key business metrics and deliver measurable results. Key takeaways included:
- Prioritize Experiments: Focus on experiments that directly address risks or uncover opportunities.
- Set Clear Objectives: Define what success looks like and ensure experiments are designed to provide actionable insights.
- Leverage Data: Use findings to guide decisions, reduce uncertainty, and inform future product iterations.
Navigating Pushback
Resistance to experimentation is a common challenge for product managers. For example, a product manager introducing A/B testing in a traditionally conservative organization might encounter skepticism from stakeholders who prefer sticking to familiar processes. In such cases, demonstrating how a small-scale experiment led to a 15% boost in user retention elsewhere can help illustrate the potential value, easing resistance and fostering a more open mindset toward change. Panelists discussed strategies to address this, such as:
- Demonstrating ROI: Present data that shows the value of experimentation in reducing risks and achieving outcomes.
- Reframing Conversations: Position experiments as a way to test ideas and validate assumptions, rather than as costly endeavors.
- Collaborating with Stakeholders: Engage resistant stakeholders early to incorporate their feedback and secure their support.
The Future of PM Leadership
As we approach 2025, product management roles are transforming. Automation and AI are taking over repetitive tasks like data analysis, enabling product managers to focus on higher-value activities. For instance, AI tools can provide predictive analytics to inform strategic decisions or streamline user feedback analysis to uncover actionable insights more efficiently. With automation and AI streamlining repetitive tasks, product managers must adapt to focus on:
Strategic Leadership: Balancing long-term vision with short-term execution and adapting to market feedback.
Creativity: Bringing unique ideas and solutions to the table.
Collaboration: Strengthening partnerships across teams and organizations.
Watch the Replay
If you missed the session or want to revisit these valuable insights, the full replay is available on YouTube. Watch the replay now:
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This session reinforced the importance of influence, experimentation, and adaptability in shaping the future of product management. Thank you to everyone who joined, and we look forward to seeing you at our next TPG Live event!
In this episode of “Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success,” Jenna Gaudio discusses her struggles with finding a product management tool that balances both high-level strategy and detailed task management. She explains how most tools are either too simple or too complex and fail to communicate the full story of a company’s progress. If you’ve been frustrated by the limitations of roadmapping software, this episode offers insightful reflections on what’s needed in the market.
What You’ll Learn:
- The Challenge with Tools: Why existing systems fail to tie strategy, roadmaps, and tasks together effectively.
- The Complexity of Roadmapping: How roadmapping tools struggle to balance simplicity and depth.
- What Executives Need: Insights into the gaps in tools for managing company-wide roadmaps and progress.
Subscribe for more expert insights from leading product managers: https://www.youtube.com/theproductway
P.S. Want even more?
Join The Product Way on Patreon for full-length discussions with Jenna Gaudio and other award-winning product leaders, plus exclusive content you won’t find on any other platform. Unlock strategies, case studies, and more: https://www.patreon.com/theproductway
Related Links:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennagaudio/
Connect with Us:
- https://linkedin.com/in/TheProductGuy
- Email: jhorn@theproductguy.com
About the Podcast:
| Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success | | “Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success” brings you behind the scenes with the top product management minds who have shaped some of the world’s most successful products. Each episode features award-winning product leaders sharing their real-world experiences, lessons learned, and the strategies that have driven their success. From building innovative digital products to navigating the complexities of stakeholder management, you’ll hear firsthand how these experts have achieved product excellence. Whether you’re an aspiring product manager or a seasoned leader, this podcast offers valuable insights, actionable takeaways, and inspiration to elevate your product management career. Tune in WEEKLY to discover the key strategies that make products—and product leaders—truly exceptional. |
In this episode of “Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success,” Harpal Singh shares his unique career path, starting as a UX designer and evolving into an interim Chief Product Officer. Harpal discusses how founding his own startup and building an e-commerce recommendation engine helped him transition into product management. If you’re looking to understand the shift from design to leadership, this episode is packed with valuable insights.
What You’ll Learn:
- UX to Product Leadership: Navigating career transitions.
- Lessons from a Startup: Insights from launching and closing a tech venture.
- Holistic Thinking: How startups shaped Harpal’s approach to product leadership.
Subscribe for more expert insights from leading product managers: https://www.youtube.com/theproductway
P.S. Want even more?
Join The Product Way on Patreon for full-length discussions with Harpal Singh and other award-winning product leaders, plus exclusive content you won’t find on any other platform. Unlock strategies, case studies, and more: https://www.patreon.com/theproductway
Related Links:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/harpalcpo/
Connect with Us:
- https://linkedin.com/in/TheProductGuy
- Email: jhorn@theproductguy.com
About the Podcast:
| Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success | | “Product Excellence: Insights from Award-Winning Leaders | Strategies for Success” brings you behind the scenes with the top product management minds who have shaped some of the world’s most successful products. Each episode features award-winning product leaders sharing their real-world experiences, lessons learned, and the strategies that have driven their success. From building innovative digital products to navigating the complexities of stakeholder management, you’ll hear firsthand how these experts have achieved product excellence. Whether you’re an aspiring product manager or a seasoned leader, this podcast offers valuable insights, actionable takeaways, and inspiration to elevate your product management career. Tune in WEEKLY to discover the key strategies that make products—and product leaders—truly exceptional. |
Renata McCurley, Senior Director of Product Management at Cognizant and opera singer in London, shares her top approach to keeping retrospectives fresh and impactful.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/renata-mccurley/
https://www.instagram.com/renatathepm
“How I PM” is a series where product managers, of all levels and experiences, share tips and tricks on their approach to product management. Stay tuned for more episodes and subscribe to the The Product Way channel to get notified of upcoming releases.
How I PM Playlist → https://tpg.li/tpw-howipm
Subscribe → http://tpg.li/subscribe-tpg
How is AI reshaping the landscape of product-led growth? Join us as we chat with Nicole Mace, the SVP of Product and User Experience at Pendo, who offers an insider’s perspective on the AI revolution within product management. Featured Links: Follow Nichole on LinkedIn | Pendo | ‘Six things we learned at the Pendomonium + #mtpcon roadshow London 2024’feature by Louron Pratt Read more »
The post AI and product-led growth go hand in hand – Nichole Mace (SVP, Product, User Experience at Pendo) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Ben Chamberlain, Director of Product Management at Mon Ami, shares his top advice for managing those tricker stakeholders.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-chamberlain-pm/
“How I PM” is a series where product managers, of all levels and experiences, share tips and tricks on their approach to product management. Stay tuned for more episodes and subscribe to the The Product Way channel to get notified of upcoming releases.
How I PM Playlist → https://tpg.li/tpw-howipm
Subscribe → http://tpg.li/subscribe-tpg
Discover the secrets of successful product management with Heather Williams, Director of Product at Elsevier, as she shares her transformative journey from UX design to leading product teams. Recorded live at the Mind the Product Roadshow in Amsterdam, Heather unpacks the power of user research and interaction design in shaping innovative product strategies. Learn how Read more »
The post How to improve your relationship with data – Heather Williams (Director of Product, Elsevier) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Charles Roels, Chief Product Officer at SO-SURE, shares his top advice managing your efforts around reversible and irreversible decisions.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesroels/
“How I PM” is a series where product managers, of all levels and experiences, share tips and tricks on their approach to product management. Stay tuned for more episodes and subscribe to the The Product Way channel to get notified of upcoming releases.
How I PM Playlist → https://tpg.li/tpw-howipm
Subscribe → http://tpg.li/subscribe-tpg
What does it take to integrate Generative AI into the highly regulated world of banking? Join us as we sit down with Tariq Maonah, SVP of Product and Engineering for Generative AI at Citi, who reveals the secrets to navigating the complexities of AI-driven product development in the financial sector. Featured Links: Follow Tariq on LinkedIn | Citi | ‘Six things Read more »
The post How Citi is accelerating AI in banking – Tariq Maonah (SVP of Product and Engineering, Citi) appeared first on Mind the Product.
In our latest TPG Live session, we explored two of the most critical topics for product managers: Stakeholder Management and Personal Branding. With our expert guests, Garrett Lang (PlateRate, Founder and President) and Amil Shah (RBC Capital Markets, Senior Product Manager), we discussed strategies for balancing leadership pressures, navigating feature requests, and crafting a personal brand that opens doors to new opportunities.
Replay & Recap
Missed the session or want to revisit the discussion? WATCH, SHARE, LIKE & SUBSCRIBE the full replay on YouTube here.
And, here’s a quick recap of the valuable insights shared.
1. Managing Stakeholder Dynamics: Navigating Leadership Pressures
Managing senior leadership’s focus on immediate wins while maintaining a long-term product vision is a common challenge for product managers. The discussion emphasized the importance of aligning short-term needs with long-term strategy through the following strategies:
- Open Communication: Transparent communication with senior leadership is key to balancing short-term requests with broader product goals. Regular, honest conversations help ensure alignment and build trust.
- Leveraging Data: When leadership insists on a specific feature, it’s important to back your responses with customer data. This turns the conversation into a data-driven one, allowing you to validate or challenge ideas objectively.
- Managing Expectations: Sometimes, leadership and product teams won’t be perfectly aligned. In these cases, it’s often useful to run small experiments or tests to validate assumptions, either confirming leadership’s vision or highlighting alternative approaches.
2. Building Your Personal Brand as a Product Manager
The conversation also touched on the importance of building a personal brand both inside and outside of the organization. Key points included:
- Know Your Strengths: Understanding what sets you apart is the first step in building your brand. Focusing on your strengths and honing them will help shape how others perceive you.
- Be Transparent: Being open about mistakes and demonstrating a solution-oriented mindset when things go wrong can significantly boost your reputation. Transparency builds trust with both senior leadership and peers.
- Visibility Matters: Increasing your visibility through internal networking, attending industry events, and sharing thought leadership content on platforms like LinkedIn can help solidify your brand and attract new opportunities.
3. Key Audience Questions: Managing Up and Rebuilding Your Brand
The session also included a Q&A segment, where several key topics were discussed:
- Resetting Stakeholder Expectations: When projects go off course, it’s crucial to address issues early, realigning leadership’s expectations to prevent friction. Frequent communication helps keep everyone on the same page.
- Rebuilding Your Brand: When faced with a reputational setback, owning mistakes and showing growth are key to rebuilding your personal brand. Learning from past missteps and demonstrating how you’ve applied those lessons in your work is crucial.
Don’t Miss Our Next Event
Stakeholder management and personal branding are two essential skills that every product manager should continuously refine. Whether you’re managing up or growing your brand, these strategies will help you navigate the challenges of leadership while building influence within your organization.
Once again, thank you to everyone who joined, and we look forward to seeing you at the next TPG Live!
Join us in October for another engaging discussion on all things product management. RSVP today to ensure you don’t miss the conversation, and if you can’t make it live, we’ll send you the recap and recording.
RSVP at your local chapter: https://meetup.com/pro/TheProductGroup
Product managers have been spending the last few weeks looking at their OKRs and thinking about the direction of their products. To help us better understand product strategy and direction, we spoke with Product Leader Chiedza Muguti to discuss making your product strategy come alive. Featured Links: Follow Chiedza on LinkedIn | World Health Organisation | Alteos | ‘Giving direction in product with Read more »
The post Making your product strategy come alive – Chiedza Muguti appeared first on Mind the Product.
Michael Ionita, CTO at AutoTrading.vip, shares his top method to keep innovating through experimentation in parallel to executing your core roadmap.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelionita/
“How I PM” is a series where product managers, of all levels and experiences, share tips and tricks on their approach to product management. Stay tuned for more episodes and subscribe to the The Product Way channel to get notified of upcoming releases.
How I PM Playlist → https://tpg.li/tpw-howipm
Subscribe → http://tpg.li/subscribe-tpg
Joni Hoadley, Product Management Coach, shares her #1 tip on the importance of regularly talking to your customers.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonihoadley/
“How I PM” is a series where product managers, of all levels and experiences, share tips and tricks on their approach to product management. Stay tuned for more episodes and subscribe to the The Product Way channel to get notified of upcoming releases.
How I PM Playlist → https://tpg.li/tpw-howipm
Subscribe → http://tpg.li/subscribe-tpg
This week, we’re joined by Claire Bauden, the SVP of Global Product Design at Global Payments, who shares her expertise on embedding inclusivity and accessibility into every layer of design. Key chapters Featured Links: Follow Claire on LinkedIn | Global Payments Inc. | ‘Six things we learned at the Pendomonium + #mtpcon roadshow London 2024’feature by Louron Pratt Episode transcript Randy Silver: Read more »
The post Why can’t we get accessibility right? Claire Bauden (SVP Global Product Design, Global Payments Inc.) appeared first on Mind the Product.
What role do company values play in shaping successful product teams? Find out as we chat with Brian Walsh, SVP of Product at Pendo, who uncovers the power of open communication and collaboration in fostering a thriving product culture. Chapters: Episode transcript Lily Smith: 0:00Welcome to the Product Experience Podcast On the pod. This week Read more »
The post Product outcomes and company values go hand in hand – Brian Walsh (SVP of Product, Pendo) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Thank you for joining us for the latest TPG Live: Decision Making & Storytelling! Your insights and engagement brought incredible value to the discussion. Here’s a quick recap of the event, along with links to the replay and details about our next session.
Event Recap:
In this session of TPG Live, we explored key themes in product management with our esteemed guests:
- Raj Rikhy (Principal Product Manager, Microsoft) https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajrikhy/
- Jammie Jelks (Vice President of Product Management, Candor Technology) https://www.linkedin.com/in/jammiejelks/
Key Discussion Points:
- Trivia Question: Both educational insights and good laughs on the popular methodology that introduced the concepts of pivoting and emphasized validated learning.
- Historical Figures: We kicked off with a fun exploration of historical figures that would have excelled as product managers.
- Mastering Storytelling: The discussion spanned everything from the emotional impact of storytelling and the strategic integration needed to align teams and stakeholders, to explorations of examples from Nike and Airbnb.
- Decision-Making: Tackling the cognitive and emotional factors in decision-making, we debated frameworks and strategies to mitigate biases and ensure that decisions are made with clarity and confidence, even in stressful and uncertain environments. Missed the event? Watch the replay here: Watch the Replay
And don’t forget to mark your calendars for our next TPG Live session on September 5th at 7 PM ET! You can RSVP here: RSVP for the Next Event. Even if you can’t attend live, RSVP to receive a recap and a link to the recording.
Stay engaged, stay curious, and keep growing as amazing product leaders!
In this week’s episode on The Product Experience podcast, Arne Kittler, Product Leadership Consultant and Co-Founder of Product at Heart, delves into the importance of providing clarity in building great products, and what it means in practical terms. Featured Links: Follow Arne on LinkedIn | Arne’s website | Product at Heart conference Hamburg | ‘5 things we learned at the #mtpcon + Read more »
The post Clarity: The key to product success – Arne Kittler (Product Leadership Sidekick, Product at Heart) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Welcome to “POV: Product Oriented Voices,” where we tackle pressing questions in the tech world. In this episode, we explore whether Web3 is dead and what it means for product roadmaps. Our panel kicks off with a succinct explanation of Web3, describing it as the integration of blockchain technology to create decentralized, trustless, and permissionless systems. We discuss its applications in various industries, from finance to fashion, and how it’s being used for digital ownership and traceability. Despite the potential, regulatory challenges and the initial hype often lead to skepticism. Join us as we dissect the current state of Web3, its practical implications, and whether it still holds a place in future product strategies.
In our latest episode on The Product Experience podcast, Joe Leech, a seasoned coach with a background in tech, user experience, and product management, provides an insider’s look at the unique challenges and transitions faced by different types of CEOs, and how product teams can work better with the C-suite. Featured Links: Follow Joe on LinkedIn | Joe’s website | ‘Managing Read more »
The post What is your CEO thinking? – Joe Leech (Coach to CEOs) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Dimitris Sotiriou, Director of Product Management at Twilio, shares his #1 tip stressing the importance of validating ideas before proceeding with development to save time and gain valuable feedback.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sotirioudimitris/
“How I PM” is a series where product managers, of all levels and experiences, share tips and tricks on their approach to product management. Stay tuned for more episodes and subscribe to the The Product Way channel to get notified of upcoming releases.
How I PM Playlist → https://tpg.li/tpw-howipm
Subscribe → http://tpg.li/subscribe-tpg
Our panel discusses the transformative potential of AI tools, from automating design processes to enhancing prototyping efficiency. Discover how AI is being integrated into product management workflows, the regulatory challenges in sectors like fintech and healthcare, and the cautious optimism surrounding its adoption. We delve into the ethical considerations of AI bias, the need for human oversight, and how AI can complement rather than replace product managers. Join us for an insightful conversation on how AI is reshaping the landscape of product management and what the future might hold.
Welcome to “POV: Product Oriented Voices,” where we explore whether the “less is more” approach is always the best strategy for product features. In this episode, our panel delves into the balance between simplicity and functionality in product design. We discuss how excessive features can overwhelm users, leading to decision paralysis, and why simplicity often leads to a better user experience. However, we also examine scenarios where complex, feature-rich products are necessary, such as in technical fields. Using real-world examples, including Apple’s design philosophy and user-specific products like connected pill bottles, we highlight how understanding your audience is key to determining the right level of complexity. Join us for an insightful conversation on achieving the perfect balance in product management.
In this session, we dive into the pivotal role of communities in enhancing product management. Our expert panel discusses the challenges and advantages of engaging decentralized user bases, especially in blockchain products where traditional analytics are limited. We explore how platforms like Discord and Reddit serve as invaluable tools for gaining deep user insights, beyond structured interviews and surveys. Learn how product managers can leverage these vibrant communities not just for support but as a core component of their marketing and product development strategies. Join us as we uncover practical tips and real-world examples to elevate your product management practices through the power of community engagement.
We delve into the complexities of collecting and utilizing user feedback in product management. Our expert panel discusses strategies for de-risking assumptions, understanding user journeys, and the importance of testing through various methods like landing page tests and concierge tests. We explore the balance between being customer-centric and maintaining profitability, emphasizing the need to focus on solving core problems effectively rather than trying to address every customer request. Tools like Pendo, FullStory, and others are highlighted for their ability to help product managers gather and analyze user data, ultimately aiding in better decision-making and product development. Join us for a deep dive into practical approaches and tools that can transform your product management practices.
Our panel offers practical advice for aspiring product managers. If you’re in a role adjacent to product management, seize opportunities within your current company to take on PM tasks. Demonstrating your proactive approach and ability to perform PM duties can pave the way to a formal role. Additionally, leveraging domain expertise is crucial; understanding a specific industry deeply can be your entry ticket. We also highlight the importance of curiosity and communication skills, especially for those transitioning from technical roles. Engaging in hackathons and building a portfolio of projects are excellent ways to gain experience and showcase your abilities. Join us to learn how to navigate the path to a successful product management career.
Tune into our conversation with Neil Vass, Engineering Manager at Co-op. We unravel the intricacies of making estimations in product and discuss the fine balance between setting attainable goals and avoiding undue stress on your team. In our discussion, we address the common pitfalls in estimation, from the pressure to deliver overly optimistic figures to Read more »
The post How to estimate responsibly in product – Neil Vass (Engineering Manager, The Co-op, BBC) appeared first on Mind the Product.
In this episode, our panel of experts shares their experiences on how AI is revolutionizing their workflows. Discover how AI tools like Amplify and chat-based solutions are streamlining content creation, kickstarting project outlines, and enhancing brainstorming sessions. We discuss real-world examples of AI accelerating prototype development and simplifying complex tasks like survey creation. Learn how AI can handle tedious busywork, allowing product managers to focus on strategic, human-centric aspects of their roles. Join us for an in-depth exploration of AI’s capabilities and limitations, and gain insights on integrating AI into your product management practices to boost efficiency and innovation.
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What are the common pitfalls that product teams face? Join us this week on the podcast for a discussion with David Pereira, CEO and CPO of omoqo GmbH, as he shares his unique insights into building an effective product strategy and avoiding common traps that product-led organisations face. Featured Links: Follow David on LinkedIn | David’s website | Buy David’s book ‘Untrapping Read more »
The post Product pitfalls: how to avoid them – David Pereira (CEO, CPO, omoqo GmbH) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Can organisational change truly rely on quick fixes, or are we missing the bigger picture? Join our engaging discussion with Steve Hearsum, Author of “No Silver Bullet: Bursting the Bubble of the Organizational Quick Fix.” Steve shares his journey into the field and reveals the flawed belief in miracle solutions for complex challenges. We tackle Read more »
The post The illusion of quick fixes in organisational change – Steve Hearsum (Consultant, Author) appeared first on Mind the Product.
In our recent TPG Live session, we were thrilled to engage with a dynamic community of product enthusiasts from around the world. This time, we delved into some of the most pivotal aspects of product management with our esteemed guests, Subash Raj, Founding Product Manager at Thinkverse, and Fahad Hafeez, Principal Product Manager at N-able.
The conversation was rich and varied, covering essential topics like our favorite KPIs, the critical role of empathy in product management, and effective strategies for evangelizing product management within organizations. Subash and Fahad shared their valuable insights and experiences, shedding light on both the challenges and opportunities within the field.
If you missed the live event, don’t worry! You can catch the replay and gain all the insights shared during the session. Trust us; you don’t want to miss it.
In this blog post, we will provide a comprehensive recap of the discussion, highlight key takeaways, and offer additional resources to help you enhance your product management skills. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and dive into the world of product management with us.
Missed the event? Watch the replay here: Watch the Replay
And don’t forget to mark your calendars for our next TPG Live session on August 1st at 7 PM ET, where we will be exploring “Decision Making & Storytelling.” You can RSVP here: RSVP for the Next Event. Even if you can’t attend live, RSVP to receive a recap and a link to the recording.
Stay engaged, stay curious, and keep growing as amazing product leaders!
Is the traditional view of product management losing its relevance in today’s global landscape? Join us as we chat with Graeme Stuart, Head of Product at Aflac Northern Ireland and Co-founder of ProductTank Belfast, about his rich, two-decade-long journey through the evolving world of product management. Featured Links: Follow Graeme on LinkedIn | Deep Labs | Dovetail | John Cutler feature on The North Read more »
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Discover the intricacies of bias in generative AI in product management with John Haggerty, Founder of The PM Insider. In this week’s episode, John unveils the layered complexities of AI innovation, navigating the ethical realm of the AI revolution reshaping businesses. Featured Links: Follow John on LinkedIn | The PM Insider | IBM AI Fairness 360 | Google’s ‘What If’ AI Tool | Aequitas Bias Read more »
The post Navigating AI bias: Insights and strategies – John Haggerty (Founder, The PM Insider) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Some startups choose to bootstrap from the beginning while others find themselves forced into self funding by a lack of investor interest or a business model that doesn’t fit traditional VC. FarmboxRx decided to bootstrap because founder Ashley Tyrner didn’t like the advice she was getting from potential backers. Tyrner told TechCrunch’s Found podcast that […]
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Join our conversation with Anuja More, Product Lead at Meta. We delve into the lessons she learned while transitioning from engineering to product management. In our discussion, Anuja unveils the change required to switch from a mindset fixated on technical hurdles to one adept at unravelling customer needs, underscoring the vitality of curiosity and problem-solving Read more »
The post Navigating the shift from engineering to product – Anuja More (Product Lead, Meta, Whatsapp) at Meta appeared first on Mind the Product.
Join our conversation with Atif Faruiqui, Director of Developer Products and Platforms at Pfizer, as he illuminates the path the pharmaceutical colossus took towards a product-focused approach. He takes us behind the scenes of Pfizer's strategic pivot, highlighting the signals that spurred the company's leadership to champion a customer-centric approach. Read more »
The post The journey to becoming customer-centric at Pfizer: Atif Faruqui (Director, Developer Products and Platforms, Pfizer) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Bob Moesta, who developed the approach alongside Harvard Business School's Clayton Christensen - to really get into the approach. Read more »
The post Getting real with Jobs to Be Done – Bob Moesta (CEO & Founder, The Re-Wired Group) appeared first on Mind the Product.
If you’re starting a new role in product at whatever level, it can sometimes be difficult to get started, especially if you’re chucked in the deep end. In this week’s podcast episode, we speak with Leah Tharin, currently the Chief Product and Growth Officer at gotphotocom. She provides some insights on your first 90 days Read more »
The post Rerun: Your first 90 days in product – Leah Tharin on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
When you have questions about roadmaps, it pays to talk to someone who has spent way too much of her life thinking about them. Janna Bastow – co-founder of both Mind the Product and ProdPad joins us to give advice to anyone ready to break up with their roadmap. Featured Links: Follow Janna on Twitter and LinkedIn ｜ ProdPad on Twitter, and Read more »
The post Rerun: Roadmaps are dead. Long live roadmaps! – Janna Bastow on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
I was happy — excited, even — to check out Shure’s latest USB microphone. Its predecessor, the MV7, has been my default podcasting mic since it was launched toward to end of 2022. I’ve recorded more than 100 episodes of my show on the thing — not to mention using it for meetings, social engagements […]
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This week on the podcast, we sit down with Yana Welinder, CEO of Kraftful. Yana shares insights into how today's product managers are transforming their roles by leveraging AI to create compelling user stories, fine-tuning financial models, and even hiring.
As AI interfaces grow more intuitive, we navigate the importance of a product manager's openness to these advancements, the significant role AI plays in amplifying diverse customer feedback, and the ongoing responsibility of product professionals to shape AI to reflect the values that drive their visions forward. Read more »
The post The future of product in the age of AI: Yana Welinder (CEO, Kraftful) appeared first on Mind the Product.
In our latest episode on The Product Experience, we delve into a great discussion with Katie Marcus, Product Lead at Progression. Katie gives us a deep insight into the trials and tribulations of fostering continuous discovery within a B2B environment and the start-up space. We cover: 0:00 Continuous discovery in product management 4:43 Implementing continuous Read more »
The post Mastering continuous discovery with B2B products with Katie Marcus (Product Lead, Progression, Depop) appeared first on Mind the Product.
This week, Glacier co-founder Rebecca Hu chats with Found about wish-cycling and robots.
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For many of us in product, building products that have long-lasting impacts on people's lives is a life goal. In this episode, we speak to Omer Kaplan from Sonara Health. We discuss his mission in forging a path in healthcare technology to combat the opioid crisis. We also explore the principles of equity-first design and the meticulous testing strategies that ensure their technology serves everyone effectively. Read more »
The post Building products to tackle the opioid crisis: Omer Kaplan (Head of Product, Sonara Health) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Join us on this week's podcast for a conversation with Nesrine Changuel, Senior Product Manager at Google, as she shares key insights on how we can delight users. Read more »
The post Effective ways to delight users: Nesrine Changuel (Google, Skype, Spotify) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Liz Immer, Head of Product at Frontiers, brings a wealth of knowledge from the realm of behavioural science to the Product Experience podcast. Join us as Liz unravels the intricate connection between human behaviour, product design, and team environments, offering a rare peek into the craft of creating products that don't just solve problems but align with the nuanced ways people think and act. Read more »
The post Building customer-centric products with behavioural science – Liz Immer (Head of Product) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Crafting effective messaging is crucial for product success. In this podcast episode, Diane Wiredu, Founder and Messaging Strategist for Lion Works, underscores the significance of this key element. In the realm of product management, Diane breaks down a step by step guide on effective messaging, while also providing insights on engaging customers and growing products. Read more »
The post Everything you need to know about product messaging — Diane Wiredu (Messaging strategist, B2B, SaaS) appeared first on Mind the Product.
Rerun: OKRs are a simple concept — but deceptively hard to get right. There’s an awful lot of horror stories about implementations gone wrong, along with any number of gurus and guides on how to get it right. Storm Fagan — now the Chief Product Office...
On this week's podcast, we sit down with Mirela Mus, Founder and CPO of Product People, as we unbox the career progression in product management. We decode the vital differences between various product leadership roles, from VPs to Directors and Heads ...
Product Operations has been the talk of the town over the past two years, but why is it so important in product management, and what does the role entail? In this week's podcast, Antonia Landi, Product Operations Consultant, leads us on a journey throu...
How can product managers thrive in different environments and organisational sizes? We welcome experienced Liz Clow, experienced leader and Chief Product Officer at memmo.me on The Product Experience podcast this week. Read more » The po...
Join us on the podcast this week where we uncover the world of content design with Erica Jorgensen, seasoned content designer at Chewy and author of 'Strategic Content Design Tools and Research Techniques for Better UX'. Erica graciously walks us throu...
Christian Idiodi, Partner at SVPG, joins us on the podcast this week! We speak with Christian about onboarding new product hires, and the work he is doing for the first in-person product conference for the African continent. Read more » ...
This week on the podcast, we speak to Kax Uson, Head of Product at Adevinta. She tells us about her story of moving from IC into her product leadership role, and shares the key lessons she has learned along the way. Read more » The post...
Tune back into our chat with Donna Lichaw on this week's podcast. In part two of the episode, she continues to share key insights into reinventing product leadership and success in product. Read more » The post Career and alignment: Par...
Donna Lichaw, product expert, consultant, and author of 'The Leader's Journey' joins us on the podcast this week. She shares the lessons to reinvent your leadership journey, by activating your superpowers, transforming your team, and poising your busin...
In product, the role of a business analyst often gets misrepresented in the midst of the plethora of tasks that product managers have to juggle. In this week’s podcast, Dr J Harrison joins us to discuss how product can collaborate more effectivel...
After nearly 200 episodes on The Product Experience podcast, Lily and Randy decided to take on the topic of product coaching by themselves. Based on their expertise in coaching and leading product teams, they dive deep into this topic to share insights for anyone who might be coaching curious. Read more »
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This week on the podcast we're talking all about design debt. Bansi Mehta, CEO of Koru UX Design teaches us a lesson on how product teams can work with design teams to recognise, avoid, or even tackle design debt. [...] Read more »
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Welcome back to the TechCrunch Podcast, where I’m standing in for Darrell while he’s honeymooning with his lady love. This week, I sat down with Amanda Silberling and Mary Ann Azevedo to talk through some of their interesting stories.
You can listen below or subscribe in iTunes or Spotify to get new episodes delivered weekly on Fridays!
News articles from the episode:
- Hack the planet: Lorenzo writes a great story about how gamers are fixing a video game “taken over” by hackers
- Hello, robot: Aisha reports that Snapchat launched an AI chatbot powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology
- Broken dishes: Carly reports how Dish was hit by a multiday outage after a reported cyberattack
… and the longer interviews:
- Musk the Uninclusive: Amanda takes a look at Senator Markey’s letter that calls on Elon Musk to reinstate Twitter’s accessibility team
- From stocks to building blocks: Natasha Mascarenhas and Mary Ann Azevedo explore Amazon’s new employee perk that lets employees use their stock to finance home purchases
One more thing…
Love podcasts? Don’t miss our mini feature series Inside Startup Battlefield, where we go behind the scenes to learn more about what it’s like to participate in the most famous startup pitch competition ever: TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield!
Introducing the Inside Startup Battlefield podcast
Vigilante hackers fix Black Ops III, and other TC news by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch
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It’s not always so easy being green in product management. In this podcast episode, sponsored by AnswerLab, we speak with Amy Wagner, Agile Consultant & Coach to discuss permaculture for agile teams and why it’s important to inherit a green culture in product. Visit AnswerLab.com/mtp to fill in a form for your chance to win [...] Read more »
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In this weeks' podcast episode, we speak with OKR expert Sten Pittet, to find out ways of how to get the most out of OKRs, and discuss where most product people go wrong. [...] Read more »
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Tune into our conversation with Esther Weinberg to hear about how product people can deal with company transformation during times of turbulence. [...] Read more »
The post Leading and surviving company transformations — Esther Weinberg on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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What are the keys to making a quality product for quality customers? There was no one better to talk with than Lina Zubyte, Head of Quality, at Doodle AG to discuss this. [...] Read more »
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Cambly was founded in 2012, and has since raised $80.29m from leading venture capital firms. Success didn’t come overnight. The company had to weather a failed fundraise and countless competitors on its way to becoming a market leader.
I had Cambly CEO Sameer Shariff and Benchmark partner Sarah Tavel on TechCrunch Live. It was the first event of the 2023, and the timing is great. Part of Cambly’s story involves tweaking its business model to become cashflow positive much earlier than initially planned. And after the company started making money, it was able to close its Series A and a Series B.
Hear this conversation in the TechCrunch Live podcast, or you can watch the video recap. Both are embedded below.
TechCrunch Live records weekly, each Wednesday, at noon Pacific. It’s free to attend. Register for the next event right here. It will feature Christina Ross of Cube and Rajeev Batra of Mayfield.
OutlineWhy Cambly failed to raise a Series A, and how the company changed to keep it afloat.
- Where was Cambly at in 2016, and what was the company’s runway and trajectory?
- What was the size of the total addressable market targeted by Cambly?
- After failing to close a Series A, how long did it take the company leaders to change direction?
- What moves did Cambly make to turn the company profitable?
How to keep an investor engaged after they say no.
- What do investors expect after a pitch fails?
- How often should a founder email investors company updates?
When is the right time for a company to fundraise?
- What metrics are important in a Series A raise?
- Don’t fundraise when the company needs money, but rather fundraise when the company can tell a compelling story.
- How do investors value a company that’s cash flow positive?
On the struggles of building a marketplace.
- How to fight incumbent competitors.
- How to structure the company’s gross merchandise volume (GMV).
- How to avoid getting stuck in a very small market.
Assets mentioned in the episode
The Hierarchy of Marketplaces — Introduction and Level 1, by Sarah Tavel
TCL Podcast: Hear how to Cambly found profitability before its Series A by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch
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“If you could open this article sort of Rolling Stone style…” Brennan Lee Mulligan suggests, then without changing his tone, pitches his lede: “In a Corvette, racing down the 5, [podcast producer] Taylor Moore swerves, then bites right into a massive wheel of brie cheese…”
It’s what you’d expect from Mulligan, who got his start as an improv comic at College Humor, which spun off Dropout, a subscription-based comedy hub known for its particular flavor of clever, quick-on-its-feet humor. In recent years, Mulligan began professionally orchestrating tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) as the game master on Dropout’s ultra popular “Dimension 20” web series, ascending to something like Dungeons & Dragons royalty in the process.
Of course, we are not actually in a Corvette — as they say in Dungeons & Dragons, this is all in the “theater of the mind.” But for anyone who follows TTRPG actual play media, the unfortunately brie-free Zoom meeting on my laptop screen is probably more thrilling than a sports car.
Mulligan is part of a new powerhouse crew of TTRPG creators teaming up to introduce “Worlds Beyond Number,” a new audio fiction podcast that will launch in March with a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. He’s joined by ubiquitous video game voice actor Erika Ishii, Dimension 20’s Lou Wilson and Aabria Iyengar, who has spun imaginative original stories with Dimension 20 and Critical Role in recent D&D campaigns.
Tonight at the stroke of midnight, eastern time, @WorldsBeyondPod, the new adventure actual-play storytelling podcast from @quiddie, @erikaishii, Lou and me, kicks off with our first Fireside Chat and a sneak preview of our debut campaign, The Wizard, The Witch, & The Wild One. pic.twitter.com/syDr9XvQpS
— Brennan Lee Mulligan (@BrennanLM) January 31, 2023
“There’s just something about the chemistry of this group that feels special,” Ishii told TechCrunch. “When you find people to create with, you gotta grab onto them and just keep doing that for the rest of your lives together. So, we figure we might as well put a ring on it.”
“Oh, a podcast is a new ring for creators!” interjected Iyengar.
If you’re of a particular generation, you could say that “Worlds Beyond Number” is to TTRPG podcasting as Boygenius is to indie music. And if that reference makes no sense, well… does Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ring a bell?
Aside from its all-star cast, “Worlds Beyond Number” is unlike anything that the four performers have done before — and that’s because they actually own the project.
“We get to decide our own fate,” said Ishii. “We are not beholden to anybody else except for ourselves, and our creative sensibilities, and to the fans that are the ones supporting us.”
Iyengar is also looking forward to the creative freedom. “There is something so freeing in having the moment where you look at the table and go like, this is going to be whatever I want it to be, whatever we decide it’s going to be, and that feels so beautiful.”
At the stroke of midnight on February 1, more than 2,500 people watched the cast livestream on Instagram as they launched the Patreon page for the podcast. While the show will be available for free on standard podcast apps, fans can sign up for $5 per month to get behind-the-scenes, bonus content for the show, including a prequel campaign known as “The Children’s Adventure.”
Within thirty minutes of going live on Patreon, “Worlds Beyond Number” reached 3,500 patrons. By about 1:30 PM the following day, they hit 9,400 patrons. That means the show will already rake in over $47,000 per month, minus Patreon’s cut (around 10% depending on the creator’s choice of tier) and taxes.
Image Credits: Worlds Beyond Number
“There’s something about the simplicity of people saying like, ‘I love these creators, I want to support what they’re doing, so I’m going to come support it.’ And we get to share a bunch of that behind-the-scenes stuff with them as a result of that,” said Mulligan. “It just feels like the firm handshake of a square deal. It feels so pleasing. There’s no weird element.”
By making an independent podcast, the cast doesn’t have to jump through the corporate and bureaucratic hoops that are ever-present in the creative arts.
Three years ago, IAC sold CH Media, the parent company of CollegeHumor and streaming service Dropout, where “Dimension 20” airs. The company’s chief creative officer Sam Reich bought the company from IAC and took over as CEO, but had to lay off more than 100 staff, since CollegeHumor was not profitable. Against all odds, the company survived these harsh changes — but it’s not so easy to make the numbers shake out when you’re running a subscription-based streaming platform. Just look at Netflix.
“Worlds Beyond Number” producer Taylor Moore is no stranger to the woes of forging a creative life under the tyranny of the corporate world. Once the head of comedy and podcasts at Kickstarter, Moore was fired in 2019 while playing an instrumental role in forming the crowdfunding company’s historic labor union. About a year later, the National Labor Relations Board found merit to Moore’s complaint that Kickstarter illegally retaliated against him for participating in protected organizing activities; the company settled with him via a payment of about $36,000.
“I’ve dedicated my entire career to getting independent artists paid, and helping them make their stuff,” Moore told TechCrunch. “For thousands of years, the only way to make culture for many people was to either be born rich, so you have money to make it, or to knock on the door of a rich person’s house and a guy opens it in his bathrobe, and you have to make him happy […] Now you don’t have to do that.”
Meanwhile, Wilson and Ishii came up as Hollywood actors, making their way in an industry in which performers have very little creative freedom.
“Financially, we knew that this was something we could do, and we wouldn’t have to be doing self-tapes at midnight, trying to secure the bag,” Wilson said. “This could be something we did for ourselves, and we wouldn’t be futzing with lights while quietly weeping and saying, ‘I just want to play Bear Number Two in the Country Bears reboot for Disney Plus.’ Which is not something that happened last night.”
In other words: This crew of creators has the fan base necessary to make going independent possible, so why burn the midnight oil to audition for “Bear Number Two” when thousands of people want to pay you $5 a month to make up stories with your friends?
Of course, there’s a whole legion of talented creators who don’t have platforms as large as the “Worlds Beyond Number” cast, making it harder to venture out on their own. But some smaller independent shows can still manage to make a living if they are smart about how they structure fan memberships, advertisements and other income streams.
TTRPG actual play podcasts have exploded in popularity over the last several years, propelling franchises like Dungeons & Dragons out of fringe nerd culture and into the mainstream. Wizards of the Coast, the Hasbro-owned publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, recently tried to change the gaming license that allows third-party creators to make a living off of the game. In the end, the publisher took a massive step back after coordinated fan backlash, deciding to permanently license the game under Creative Commons.
Podcasts and other actual play content is covered under a separate fan content policy, but the controversy over these proposed license changes reverberated through the community, making content creators reconsider whether they wanted to continue platforming this game.
“People have been sitting around fires and making up stories with each other since before civilization, and we’re gonna keep doing it after civilization falls… probably in the next 20 to 30 years,” Moore said, throwing in what’s hopefully a joke. “The companies, the legal stuff, all this other stuff, the shape of the logs you sit on, the tech, the RSS feed that you use to do it… all that’s just waves on the surface that we can safely ignore because we are down here like the Kraken in the great deep sea, doing the fundamental thing of just hanging out and doing make-them-ups.”
“Worlds Beyond Number” will start with a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, with Mulligan as dungeon master. But Ishii said they already have ideas of other games they want to run, including some systems that don’t even involve dice.
Though these games contain spellcasting and sorcery, the real magic is watching a group of creative people work together to tell improvised, collaborative stories, guided by the structure of game systems and dice rolls.
“When I improvise or act, I’m on a stage, and I know that I’m on a stage. I’m aware that I’m standing up here on this platform, and you’re down there watching,” Wilson told TechCrunch. “Through games, the characters I create are often myself. The writing that we’re doing, that is improvised, is us. And so the art we make is a much more intimate experience, since all of my characters are pieces of myself.”
Dungeons & Dragons content creators are fighting to protect their livelihoods
The 403-page Dungeons & Dragons game system is now licensed under Creative Commons
The biggest names in D&D are going independent on ‘Worlds Beyond Number’ by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch
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This week we were excited to see The Product Experience podcast reach 1 million downloads! With us hitting this big milestone, we thought we’d look back at our most popular podcast episodes of all time. [...] Read more »
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Jump straight back into our conversation with Lucy Spence in part 2 of this podcast episode where we speak with her about trade-offs in product management. [...] Read more »
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Today on the product experience podcast is all about trade-offs in product. Lucy Spence, Product Director at Appvia talks to us about her unique take on this important aspect of product management. Featured Links: Follow Lucy on LinkedIn and Twitter | Lucy’s page at Medium | Lucy’s ‘Trade offs’ talk at UX Brighton 2022 [...] Read more »
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What’s it like starting a brand new job in product with a shiny new title? How do you approach onboarding and ensure that you have a smooth transition into your new team in your first 90 days? In this podcast episode, Lily Smith — who recently just started a new role at BBC Maestro as [...] Read more »
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Welcome back to The Product Experience podcast! For our first podcast episode to kick off 2023, we speak to Andy Polaine, Design Leadership Coach, about the ever-so-sweet language of product. The perfect topic to start the new year. [...] Read more »
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Some of the most successful people we know credit their mentors for making a difference in their careers. We’ve recently heard great talks from the likes of Barry O’Reilly, Marty Cagan, and Gibson Biddle where they talk about having a ‘personal Board of Directors’. But how do you go about getting a mentor and getting the most out of the relationship? We asked Devaris Brown to join us on the podcast to mentor us in the art of mentoring. [...] Read more »
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With 2023 just around the corner, product managers have been spending the last few weeks looking at their OKRs and thinking about the direction of their product. To help us better comprehend product strategy and direction, we spoke with Product Leader, Chiedza Muguti to discuss making your product strategy come alive. Let's jump right in! [...] Read more »
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After Ross Chanin’s grandfather died, Chanin mourned not only him, but the fact that he’d never gotten a chance to hear more about his grandfather’s life. Over a conversation with a journalist friend, George Quraishi, it became clear to Chanin that Quraishi’s skill set — interviewing and audio editing — could be conducive to capturing a family’s history.
Chanin and Quraishi started conducting interviews for friends and family and recruited software engineers Martin Gouy and Moncef Biaz to build apps to make it easier to record remote interviews and play them back on the web. Convinced that they had the seeds of a business, Chanin and Quraishi decided to apply to Y Combinator and were accepted into the Summer 2020 batch.
Today, their startup — Artifact — has over 10,000 customers across 15 English-, Spanish- and French-speaking countries. It’s raised $5 million inclusive of a seed round led by GV, which had participation from Atento Capital, Goodwater and Offline Ventures and notable angels such as Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear and former Blizzard CEO Michael Morhaime.
“Interviews are incredible storytelling spaces, but they’re generally reserved for the rich and powerful and are not about our parents, grandparents and children,” Chanin told TechCrunch in an email interview. “Our dream is that Artifact will become the place where families the world over tell and experience their stories.”
Artifact charges customers $149 to have an interviewer (mostly moonlighting journalists, according to Chanin) conduct an interview with a family member. Packages include one interview and an edit with a custom introduction, sound mixing by an audio engineer and a web page for listening and adding photos.
It’s a four-step process. First, Artifact customers tell the interviewer who they’ll be interviewing and what they’ll discuss. Then, Artifact invites the interviewee to choose a day and time for the interview, which happens via phone or videoconferencing. The resulting recording — usually 30 minutes in length, give or take 15 minutes — is edited down to a 20-minute “episode,” which can be shared via the web with loved ones or publicly.
Artifact aims to turn around episodes within five business days of an interview. Up to two guests are included in the price of a single interview, with a $35-per-guest charge for additional interviewees.
“The people in your life may not be natural storytellers, but when they’re guided by professional interviewers, their stories become heirloom-quality episodes that live in your family’s private account,” Chanin said. “Once there, it’s easy to add photos and then securely share your Artifacts with the people you love.”
Image Credits: Artifact
That’s a lot of sensitive info to upload to the cloud. But Chanin was adamant that Artifact doesn’t share personal data with third parties without “explicit and affirmative” consent from users. The platform stores data for as long as a person maintains an account, although users can delete recordings, notes and photos at any time.
Artifact is one startup among many delivering professional interviewing and audio biography services tailored to families. For instance, Vita’s app lets family members record audio stories and transcribe the text and even hand-select accompanying family photos, recipes and other media content for posterity if they so choose. Tales and Origin offer packages along the same vein while StoryWorth and StoryCorps are more self-service in nature, providing users with the tools to conduct interviews themselves including suggested lines of questioning.
So what sets Artifact apart? Chanin argues it “fills a need that remains unaddressed.”
“The large genealogy platforms do incredible work, helping families trace their lineage and build family trees. Cloud photo and print apps make experiencing family photos easy and fun. [But] while it’s one thing to trace your family’s history, it’s another entirely to record it in the voices of the people themselves,” Chanin said. “It’s the conversation spaces with our professional interviewers that create the magic — the intonations of voice, laughter and emotion that can make it feel like the person we’re listening to is sitting right there in the room with us.”
Artifact is also unique in that it operates on a marketplace model, connecting customers with freelance interviewers, audio editors and sound engineers who piece together each audio biography. The compensation structure for contractors wasn’t immediately clear in our interview with Chanin; we’ve asked Artifact for clarification.
In another differentiator, Artifact has dipped a toe into the corporate market, offering custom podcast creation services to companies, academic institutions and nonprofits. As with its biography business, Artifact’s enterprise-focused offering pairs customers with an interviewer who they instruct to talk to people about certain subjects, with Artifact handling all the scheduling, remote interviewing and editing.
To date, Artifact has produced podcasts for Clipboard Health, Onfleet, Yale, the University of Chicago and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Chanin claims.
In a bid to remain ahead of rivals, Artifact aims to embrace merging AI technologies to further personalize the experience for its family biography customers. As customers upload photos and videos to their accounts, Artifact will soon begin marrying the images and videos to what’s being spoken about in an interview, Chanin says — no curation required.
“So, this is taking different types of media — image, video and text — and finding connections between them, then surfacing the result to the customer. We are calling this the ‘Sitback Experience,’ where users will simply click play, sit back and listen to people you love telling stories while relevant imagery and video play across the screen. It’ll be like a movie or a Ken Burns documentary about your family.”
Beyond the Sitback Experience, Artifact plans to launch Family Spaces, a dashboard where account holders will be able to add family members in a way that makes it clear which stories the platform’s recorded for individual people.
The swift development roadmap will keep Artifact a step beyond rivals, Chanin asserts, while delivering top-requested improvements to the user base. That’ll be key. Aside from the nascent enterprise venture, Artifact’s growth will depend on convincing existing customers to buy additional packages and new users to join in the first place.
“The pandemic reminded all of us that life is precious and that the people we love must never be taken for granted. In that way, Artifact provided a vehicle for many of our early adopters to act on those feelings and record family stories,” Chanin added. “From day one, we’ve built Artifact lean and as a service that provides immediate value to our customers — that our customers pay for. So in many respects, we launched the company the old fashioned way: introducing a new solution to a universal problem, learning from our customers and not focusing on growth at all costs.”
Chanin wouldn’t disclose Artifact’s burn rate. But he claimed that the company is “well capitalized,” with cash on hand for years. Artifact currently has a 14-person team (excepting the hundreds of freelancers in its marketplace) based in San Francisco and expects to “at least” double headcount over the next 12 months.
Artifact wants to record your family history in podcast-like audio recordings by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch
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New products get tested and brought to market every day across different scales and sectors. What are the most essential go-to-market keys to make a product launch successful? There was no one better to discuss this with than Lea Hickman, Partner at Silicon Valley Product Group who joins us on the podcast to discuss bringing products to market. [...] Read more »
The post Bringing products to market – Lea Hickman on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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What does a product manager actually do? And what role do they have to play in tech ethics, delivery management, and coaching? This week we go straight back into our conversation with Marty Cagan to find all of the answers by the godfather of product. Okay enough chatting, let's dive straight back in. [...] Read more »
The post The role of a product manager — Marty Cagan on The Product Experience – Part 2 of 2 appeared first on Mind the Product.
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Welcome back to Found, where we get the stories behind the startups.
This week the show kicks off a new season and welcomes a new co-host. In this episode, Darrell is joined by Becca Szkutak to chat with Valentina Milanova, the founder of Daye, a gynecological health company creating CBD infused tampons. Valentina talks about why she decided to take on tampon behemoths like Tampax, the horrors she found when researching the industry and what it was like to pitch her startup to male investors. She also talked about how she’s approached mental health and avoiding burnout for Daye employees.
Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each week.
Connect with us:
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- Via email: found@techcrunch.com
Starting the tampon revolution with Valentina Milanova by Rebecca Szkutak originally published on TechCrunch
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Product innovation can get more challenging with the multiple layers of management you have to deal with in larger organisations. How can product managers channel their inner creative thoughts while collaborating effectively in large organisations? The...
The post Challenges of product in enterprise organisations – Daniel Elizalde on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
If you’re the kind of person that listens to the Product Experience and reads articles on MTP, then you’re already familiar with any number of frameworks, methodologies and principles to make you a better product manager. But knowing them isn’t enough...
The post Rerun: 5 product principles for every product manager – Esha Shukla on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
On this week's podcast episode, we welcomed someone who needs no introduction. Marty Cagan, Founder and Partner of Silicon Valley Product Group , and Author of ”Inspired” and “Empowered” delved into a plethora of topics including strategy, vision, ethi...
The post Product vision and strategy – Marty Cagan on The Product Experience – Part 1 of 2 appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
We learn something from every guest that joins us on the podcast, but it’s not that often that something they say makes it onto our wall. Dave Martin (co-founder of Right to Left) chatted with us about building great habits for product people, and how ...
The post The habits of successful product managers – Dave Martin on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Lily and Randy in this special episode, take a trip down memory lane to have a chat about the best Roadmap insights they've heard from a range of product episodes on the podcast over the past year. Tune in to listen to actionable insights from Philips ...
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What is the science behind Spotify nailing its algorithms to ensure that all users get what they search for? On this week's podcast, Lily and Randy sat down with Jonny Brooks-Bartlett, Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Spotify, to discuss this proce...
The post What you need to know about Spotify’s search function – Jonny Brooks-Bartlett on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Italy-based company Musixmatch is well-known for providing community-powered lyrics to major music streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal. Now it’s launching a new platform for podcasts that combines AI-generated transcription and community-verified editing. While there are millions of podcast shows and episodes available for listeners, Musixmatch argues that podcast […]
Musixmatch launches a podcast platform for transcription driven by AI and community by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch
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This week on the podcast experience, we're talking all about churn. How do you reduce customer churn. What are the biggest obstacles? What are the biggest challenges? And are there any misconceptions behind the perfect churn strategy? Churn expert, And...
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What makes a great manager and what are the most important factors in making the leap to leading a team? In this weeks' podcast episode, Lily and Randy were joined by the amazing Melike Hope, Product Director at Twitter, to talk all about managing peop...
The post Making the leap from IC to Manager – Melika Hope on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
In this week's episode on The Product Experience, Lily and Randy take a trip down memory lane to the best words of wisdom on OKRs from a range of product experts on the podcast. Tune in to listen to actionable insights from Storm Fagan, Todd Olson, Pet...
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Today, Spotify released the first two episodes of the new original podcast “Kim Kardashian’s The System: The Case of Kevin Keith,” narrated by reality TV star Kim K and true-crime producer Lori Rothschild Ansaldi. The series will be available worldwide and is free for all Spotify listeners. The podcast will have eight episodes in total […]
Spotify releases a new exclusive podcast hosted by Kim Kardashian by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
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What is the Metaverse and how can it help product managers in their daily craft? To help us make sense of the movement, Lily and Randy talked with Mitchell Bayer-Goldman to help us unpack all of the buzzwords and complexities about the Metaverse, and w...
The post Building products in the Metaverse – Mitchell Bayer-Goldman on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Welcome to Chain Reaction, where we unpack and explain the latest in crypto news, drama and trends, breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious. For our Thursday episode where we discuss the latest in crypto news, we talked about the recent steep decline in Ethereum prices following its major network upgrade. We also discussed: […]
The Merge pregame is over, but where’s the party? by Anita Ramaswamy originally published on TechCrunch
The post The Merge pregame is over, but where’s the party? appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
What are the most important factors when an organisation decides to adopt a product-led growth approach? On this weeks' podcast episode, we spoke with Executive Product Coach, Noa Ganot all about how to do this the right way and pitfalls to avoid. [.....
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For this special episode, our very own Randy Silver, and Lily Smith dived deep into product discovery. With their many years of experience in product, and over 2 years of interviewing some exceptional product experts, they share their best tips. [...]...
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Today, NBC launched a new channel subscription on Apple Podcasts called “Dateline Premium,” an ad-free plan that includes a seven-day free trial and costs $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. Subscribers get ad-free episodes, early access to new content, and exclusive bonus material. NBC’s “Dateline” podcasts go more in-depth into true crime stories. Titles […]
The post ‘Dateline NBC’ Apple Podcasts subscription channel gives true crime fans ad-free episodes appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Web3 doesn’t have the most inclusive reputation, yet so many crypto founders talk about onboarding the next 100 million users into the space. Statistically speaking, the next 100 million can’t possibly be comprised entirely of a homogenous group of cis white men who spend most of their waking hours coding and/or day trading (no shade, […]
The post Mad Realities’ Devin Lewtan is onboarding crypto users through reality television appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
SiriusXM Holdings Inc. is trying to further entice customers by bundling Stitcher Premium with its SiriusXM Platinum Plan. The streaming giant has been trying to become the go-to spot for podcasts. SiriusXM originally purchased Stitcher for $325 million back in 2020, and later acquired Team Coco earlier this year for $150 million. After acquiring Stitcher, […]
The post SiriusXM digs into subscription-based podcast market with Stitcher Premium bundle appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
We all know what OKRs are. Most of us use them or have tried to at some point. But it’s a much smaller group of product people who have used OKRs well, and for their intended purpose. Natalija Hellesoe, co-author of OKRs at the Centre, joins us on the ...
The post Rerun: Putting OKRs at the centre – Natalija Hellesoe on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Earlier this year, reports emerged that YouTube would soon add a dedicated podcasts homepage — a signal the company was getting more serious about its investments in podcasts and the potential ad revenue they could deliver. Today, YouTube confirmed to TechCrunch the new podcasts destination is now live for U.S. users, after the URL was […]
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Zencastr has been my go-to podcast recording platform for a while now, owing to an innovative system that records each participant’s channel locally, before uploading it to the server. It’s a nice, quick way to ensure your guests have better sound quality than non-purpose-built platforms like Zoom, without forcing them to record locally. As an […]
The post Zencastr adds editing and distro in bid to become a full-service podcast offering appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
An Indian upstart, co-founded by a group of journalists, that seeks to disrupt how people follow news and what they consume has raised capital as it prepares to accelerate its growth and broaden its offering. The Signal is aiming to serve a need for the modern pace of life where everybody is busy, said Dinesh […]
The post New media venture in India helping readers discern signal from noise appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
There are some events in your life that you look back on and think to yourself, ‘Wow, that was a really tough time.’ We all have memories like that and I think the crypto community definitely shares one (or more) of those experiences together. For example, the Terra/LUNA collapse back in May. So when Terraform […]
The post Do Kwon’s Terra trauma and drama lives to see another day appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Apple today is introducing two new subscription-focused podcast charts today to showcase popular paid shows. The two new charts — Top Subscriber Shows and Top Subscriber Channels — will be available to users in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia on iPhone, iPad, and Mac using iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6, and macOS 12.5 or later. […]
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It seems like everyone on the product scene is about launching brand new products in large organisations, however on this weeks podcast, we speak with Ben Sehl, Senior Product Lead from Shopify to hear his thoughts on doing this in the most effective w...
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After testing new in-app podcast recording tools for users in New Zealand, Spotify is now trialing a new audio feature in Vietnam, one that’s designed to encourage users to record voice reactions to playlists. A Reddit user posted screenshots of the feature, showing how they received a prompt to react to a playlist with a […]
The post Spotify prompts some users to record reaction podcasts to playlists appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
It seems like there are always people butting heads in the crypto world, and this week was no different. Cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash was hit with sanctions by the U.S. and Binance and WazirX disagree over whether the Indian exchange was acquired (two years after the deal allegedly closed). A lot is still up in […]
The post A Tornado (Cash) flew around my room appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Apple has inked a deal with Futuro Studios to develop original podcasts, a Bloomberg report states. Apple’s TV studio reportedly led the investment, which will support the Pulitzer Prize-winning, non-profit media company in exchange for first dibs on any on-screen adaptations of new shows. Existing Futuro podcasts like “Suave” and “La Brega” use investigative journalism and […]
The post Apple invests in original podcasts to turn into Apple TV+ shows, report says appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
In this week's podcast episode, we jump right back into where we left off in part two of this series with experience product coach Itamar Gilad. We carry on discussing evidence-based decisions, and how this approach can enable teams to achieve key prod...
The post Evidence-based product decisions (Part 2 of 2) – Itamar Gilad on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Welcome back to Found, where we get the stories behind the startups. This week, Darrell and Jordan talked with Davida Herzl the co-founder and CEO of Aclima. We all have a right to clean air, but chances are you aren’t getting accurate air quality data — Davida and the Aclima team are looking to change […]
The post How this founder is SaaS-ifying air-quality tracking appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
This week on the TechCrunch Podcast we’re talking to Natasha Mascarenhas about YC’s decision to shrink their startup cohort and the recent layoffs at On Deck. Then we’re joined by Rebecca Bellan to talk about the disappearance of Bolt Mobility. And as always, we’ll catch you up on the tech news you may have missed […]
The post Bolt Mobility bolted (and left cities with a mess) and other TC news appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann got together with Maggie this week for our weekly roundup show, and per usual, there was a lot to talk about, including the fact that there were […]
The post Robinhood’s hangover, YC’s reduction and Uber’s return to form appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
In part one of two of this podcast series, we speak with experienced product expert Itamar Gilad to find out more about evidence-based decisions, ideas, and key product goals. [...] Read more »
The post Evidence-based product decisions &...
The post Evidence-based product decisions – Itamar Gilad on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Hello and welcome back to Found, the podcast where we share the stories behind the startups. In this episode, we’re talking about the crseator economy and one of the most neglected creator categories—the comic book. Comics are the foundation for so many movies, TV shows, and video games however creators still struggle to be fairly […]
The post How NFTs fit into the comic book creator economy appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has brought down its wrath on Coinbase. The publicly traded exchange has been under investigation for allegedly selling crypto tokens on its platform that qualify as securities without adhering to the associated rules and regulations. Coinbase, for its part, is insistent that it does not sell securities on its […]
The post Securities are in the eye of the beholder appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
We all know what product design is but what does inclusive design, and why does it need to be a priority for product managers? On this week's podcast, we were joined by Saielle DaSilva, Director of User Experience at Cazoo to talk all about designing p...
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Welcome to another episode of Found, the podcast where you get the stories behind the startups. This week we’re joined by Nikki Pechet who started Homebound to make home-building easier and more accessible after a wildfire ripped through Northern California and thousands of people were put on years-long waiting lists to get started building their […]
The post Why this founder feels confident facing the economic downturn appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
When you go into the App Store to download the Peech app, you’ll notice right away that the app’s icon displays the Ukrainian flag along with the company’s simple logo. But this is more than just a show of solidarity. With three Eastern European founders, the team behind this text-to-speech app has been harshly impacted […]
The post Peech is a text-to-speech app that actually sounds good appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Ever since a group of chronically-online crypto enthusiasts tried to buy a copy of the U.S. Constitution in a high-profile bidding war, DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations) have been at the forefront of discussion in the web3 world. How are they different from companies, you ask? DAOs have been lauded for their ability to give everyone […]
The post The “D” in DAO doesn’t stand for democracy, says Upstream CEO Alexander Taub appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
What's it like launching new products within a big organisation like Ocado? In this week's podcast, Lily and Randy sat down with Hannah Gibson, Chief Product Officer at Ocado Technology to discuss her experiences in product management over the past 10 ...
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This week on the TechCrunch Podcast, TC climate writer Harri Weber comes on to talk about Tesla’s underperforming solar roofing business and new TC reporter, Kyle Wiggins, does a deep dive into Butler Hospitality’s recent layoffs and how they are a cautionary tale for other food and hospitality tech businesses. And of course, Darrell gives […]
The post Tesla’s solar roofs have stayed mostly in the dark and other TC news appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Acast, the Swedish tech company that helps businesses and individuals publish and monetize podcasts, has announced plans to acquire podcast database Podchaser. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded out of Stockholm in 2014, Acast is a prominent brand in the podcast technology space, serving as a host and distribution platform that allows outlets […]
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Everyone’s favorite 2020 meme stock is back in the news, and this time it’s flexing on crypto industry incumbent Coinbase. GameStop, which largely operates brick-and-mortar retail stores for video games, made a foray into the metaverse with its launch of an NFT marketplace this week. In just two days of being live, the platform brought […]
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Welcome back to Found, the TechCrunch podcast that brings you the stories behind the startups. This week’s guest, Bowery Farming founder and CEO Irving Fain wants you to taste the best strawberry you’ve ever had, grown only a few miles from your urban home. As the leading and largest vertical farming company in the U.S, […]
The post Vertical farming founder is reimagining agriculture from the ground up appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
How can product managers get more work done by doing less? On this weeks’ podcast, we spoke with Jim Morris, Founder of The Product Discovery Team about the benefits of having a team-led approach to research, and how that can be an effective way to col...
The post The benefits of squad-led discovery — Jim Morris on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Spotify is expanding the ability to post video podcasts for creators in six new countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico. This marks the first time the audio streaming company is making this feature available in non-English speaking countries. “These are markets with especially strong podcast creator communities that have shown a healthy […]
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Natasha and Alex asked: Why is tech full of copycats, and what’s the next full circle moment we can expect?
The post Why build a tech mafia when you can just build each other? appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
What is the secret to succeeding in the product management craft? In this podcast episode, we were joined by Enterprising Senior Product Manager, Ronke Majekodunmi to discuss how building relationships are a key asset to developing your product career,...
The post The secret to succeeding in product – Ronke Majekodunmi on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Welcome Back to Found, the TechCrunch podcast where we get the stories behind the startups. It’s rare we get to speak to someone who has been working at their company for 19 years so this conversation with Matt Mullenweg of Automattic and WordPress feels a little special. His journey to becoming a founder was grounded […]
The post Matt Mullenweg thinks Tumblr can be a better Twitter than Twitter ever was appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
In this weeks' podcast, we jump straight back into our chat with Daniel Harris about customer-centricity and developing that mindset in product management. Let's get straight back to the chat! [...] Read more »
The post Customer Centrici...
The post Customer Centricity: Part 2 (of 2) – Daniel Harris on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
The NFT NYC conference this week has brought hordes of web3 enthusiasts to Times Square in an extravagant celebration that stands out against the much-less-exuberant crypto market. There have been yacht parties, celebrity cameos and even a Snoop Dogg impersonator running around the event. Hello and welcome back to the Chain Reaction podcast, where we unpack and […]
The post NFT summer in New York is in full swing amid crypto winter appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
As video-led podcasts become highly favored by listeners, Podcastle, which was primarily an audio recording and editing studio, is introducing a new feature that enables podcasters to conduct high-resolution video interviews or solo recordings. Now, Podcastle will allow users to invite and video record up to ten guests through the Chrome browser or the Podcastle mobile […]
The post Podcastle hops on the video podcast trend with its latest update appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Daniel Harris, Experience Strategy Director at cxpartners joins us on the podcast to talk all about how to deliver that great customer-centric experience to all who invest if your product. [...] Read more »
The post Customer centricity: ...
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Welcome to Startups Weekly, a fresh human-first take on this week’s startup news and trends. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. I’m out this week, but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving you alone. TechCrunch has been not-so-quietly growing its podcast universe. So, I thought I’d take a second to highlight the podcasts, the […]
The post I’m not too worried about recommending another (few) tech podcasts appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Matt Walton was one of the founders of FutureLearn, where he scaled the product team and organisation from nothing to the significant player in online education that it is today. He joins us on the podcast to level up our retro game. [...] Read mo...
The post Rerun: Using retros to create continuous improvement – Matt Walton on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
In its second Investor Day, streaming service Spotify updated the financial community about its potential for further growth and monetization, despite the overall economic downturn impacting the tech sector. The company spent a good portion of its presentation specifically focused on podcasts, which it said had been “largely unchanged” for years before its entry into […]
The post Spotify hypes the revenue potential of podcasts and audiobooks at its second Investor Day event appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Welcome back to Found where we tell you the stories behind the startups. This week we talk to Landed founder and CEO Vivian Wang who is on a mission to connect blue-collar workers with high-quality job opportunities. Landed handles the hiring process from recruiting to vetting to setting up interviews and facilitating a feedback loop for […]
The post Landed founder is connecting blue-collar workers to better jobs while helping employers decrease turnover appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Welcome back to The TechCrunch Podcast where you’ll hear everything you need to know about the week’s top stories in tech from the people who wrote them. This week we talk with Mary Ann Azevedo about two fintech giants, Affirm and Stripe, partnering up and what that means for competitors and Brian Heater comes on […]
The post The battle for BNPL buyers and other TC news appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Outdoor Voices founder Ty Haney made a name for herself by making sportswear the hottest trend among non-athletes. Now, the 33-year-old entrepreneur is betting she can bring together another underrated duo — consumer brands and crypto. Haney joined TechCrunch’s Chain Reaction podcast this week to talk about her latest venture, Try Your Best (TYB). The […]
The post Athleisure icon Ty Haney raises $9.8M in fresh funding for her blockchain rewards startup appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Experienced product manager and technology expert Rick Klau, currently California's Chief Technology Innovation Officer sat down with Lily and Randy on the podcast this week to discuss innovation in government throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. They als...
The post Innovating in Government – Rick Klau on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Found is officially one year old and we’ve got a brand new look! To celebrate we decided to have back four founders who made us think, laugh, and have generally stuck with us since we talked with them. If we’ve learned anything from one year of talking with founders at all stages and in a […]
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On this week’s podcast, we speak to Lily Smith, Head of Product and Gro….wait…that name sounds familiar? For this special episode on the podcast experience, we decided to turn the tables and interview our very own podcast host, Lily S...
The post What it takes to be a great Product Manager – Lily Smith (and Jason Knight) on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
SiriusXM Holdings, Inc. announced the acquisition of Team Coco today, the Conan O’Brien-led podcast network and digital media business. The $150 million deal (valuation first reported by The Wall Street Journal) will see the former NBC and TBS late-night host’s interview podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” along with ten other podcasts such as “Inside […]
The post SiriusXM acquires Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco podcast company for $150 million appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
On the Chain Reaction podcast this week, we dove into a topic that tends to stir up strong emotions, even from those outside the crypto space — the metaverse. Mercedes Bent, an investor at Lightspeed Venture Partners who focuses on consumer investments in crypto, joined us to unpack this loaded term and explain why she […]
The post Lightspeed’s Mercedes Bent on why the metaverse isn’t overhyped appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Hello and welcome back to the Chain Reaction podcast, where we unpack and explain the latest crypto news, drama and trends, breaking it down block by block for the crypto curious. Although we’re in a crypto market pullback, 30-year-old blockchain billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) managed to scrounge up over $600 million to buy 7.6% of trading platform […]
The post A blockchain billionaire’s big bet appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
What would it be like to join a new company and set up a new product from scratch? On this week's podcast, we spoke to Maggie Crowley all about her experiences of doing this and her best tips. We also had some time to discuss best practices with metric...
The post Setting up a product function from scratch – Maggie Crowley on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Welcome back to Found, the weekly TechCrunch podcast where we get the stories behind the startups. This week Darrell and Jordan talked with Justin Intal from Forage on Found Live. He talks about how profound struggles in her personal life motivated him to create a way for online grocers to accept EBT and SNAP benefits. […]
The post Founders should be honest about their failures according to Forage CEO appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
As the battle for podcaster talent and distribution heats up among providers, Apple this morning announced the launch of several new features for its Apple Podcasts service arriving alongside the latest software updates for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Key among these are features for managing podcast storage across devices, tools to enable annual podcast subscriptions, […]
The post Apple Podcasts gains storage clean-up tools, support for annual subscriptions, and a new distribution system appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Hello and welcome back to the Chain Reaction podcast, where we unpack and explain the latest crypto news, drama and trends, breaking it down block by block for the crypto curious. You’ve probably gotten the memo that the markets are suffering, and crypto is getting hit especially hard. On this week’s episode, we talked through what an […]
The post Crypto winter is coming appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
This week on Found, we are talking to the co-founder and CEO of Venus Aerospace. Sassie Duggleby is leading the team at Venus Aerospace to develop a spaceplane that could go from LA to Tokyo in an hour. Sassie sets the tone that her team doesn’t have to adhere to the typical startup-up grind to […]
The post Venus Aerospace CEO is making flying faster and greener without sacrificing family time appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
What would it be like to pack up all of your things and land a Fintech job in a completely new continent? On this week's podcast, we spoke with. Makera Kigarada, Principal Product Manager at Fintech start-up M-KOPA to hear about how he got started in t...
The post Lessons learned while working for an African Fintech company – Makera Kigaraba on The Product Experience appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
In the last year or so, the podcast advertising industry has turned a corner. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC’s 2021 U.S. Podcast Advertising Revenue Study, the next two years will see a significant spike in podcast ad revenue growth. In 2021, U.S. podcast advertising revenues rose to $1.4 billion, surpassing the […]
The post US podcast ad revenue to reach $2 billion in 2022 and top $4 billion by 2024, study says appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Hello and welcome back to the Chain Reaction podcast, where we unpack and explain the latest crypto news, drama and trends, breaking it down block by block for the crypto curious. On this week’s episode, we talked about the virtual land sale that (temporarily) broke the blockchain. Yuga Labs’ now-infamous NFT drop was — to put […]
The post Oops, I think they broke the blockchain appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
What is an OODA loop and how can it be used in product management? OODA stands for observe, orient, decide, and act. In this week's podcast, Kausambi Manjita, Co-Founder and CEO of Mason joins us to talk all about this concept and how it has been a use...
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Welcome back to Found where we get into the stories behind the startups. Thor Fridriksson is, as Jordan calls him, the Kind of Mobile Gaming. With mega-viral games like Trivia Royale and QuizUp, he knows the secret sauce to make a popular game, but the code he hasn’t cracked is how to make a super […]
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Hello and welcome back to Chain Reaction, where we unpack and explain the latest crypto news, drama, and trends, breaking it down block-by-block for the crypto-curious. It’s been an action-packed week, to say the least. We kicked off today’s episode with a spirited back-and-forth about Fidelity’s plans to bring bitcoin to 401(k)s and regulators’ fears […]
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Welcome back to Found, the TechCrunch podcasts that get the stories behind the startups. This week we’re joined by Chris Webb from Chow Now. ChowNow started as a way for founder and CEO, Chris Webb and his friends to easily order from smaller local restaurants but eight years later when COVID hit ChowNow became known […]
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We already suspected that the controversy surrounding the Joe Rogan podcast on Spotify was doing little to actually prompt users to leave the streaming service, based on app store data. Now, Spotify’s first-quarter earnings have confirmed it. Despite losing 1.5 million users in Russia, Spotify’s premium subscribers grew 15% year-over-year in the first quarter to […]
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In this episode of The Product Experience, Todd Olson, co-founder and CEO of Pendo, reveals how he climbed the leadership ladder and shares his advice for anyone keen to do the same. [...] Read more »
The post Leadership challenges throughout the product lifecycle – Todd Olson on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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Like every other podcaster in the known universe, my show went all-virtual in mid-2020. It was a weird transition for someone who’d insisted on doing every interview in person for the six years prior. There was a learning curve and some growing pains — all of which mostly means the audio quality really sucked for the first six or so months.
Now that things have reopened and artists have started going back on tour, I’ve often wondered: Am I ever going to go back to in-person interviews? Sure, you lose something when you’re not sitting across from an interview subject, but when I think about all of the great opportunities I missed out on demanding in-person interviews, I really kick myself.
All of this has, of course, been a boon for online podcast recording services like Zencaster and Riverside. The latter, which is a fairly new entrant (founded in 2020 — talk about fortuitous timing), just announced a beefy $35 million Series B. The round was led by Oren Zeev and featured Lachy Groom and Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six. It brings the platform’s total funding to $47 million.
“We are not a trivial company, being where we are in the market with the quality and quantity of content creators using Riverside on a daily basis,” co-founder and CEO Nadav Keyson says in a release.
The company is still fairly small, with around 90 employees, though it lists some big-name media powerhouses among its clients, including The New York Times, Fox Sports, Marvel, iHeartMedia and Microsoft. This round will be used to expand the team — which is currently spread out between Tel Aviv, New York and Amsterdam — and help further build out the platform.
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Hello, and welcome to Chain Reaction, where we’ll get you up to speed with what’s going on in the weird world of crypto every week so you don’t have to join 1,000 Discord chats or follow every hexagonal-profile-picture influencer on Twitter yourself — at least, not if you don’t want to. Don’t take it from us, take it from our colleague Amanda, who said:
i don't trust a lot of people to talk about crypto in a not-absurd-or-grifty way but i trust @lucasmtny and @AnitaRamaswamy to talk about crypto in a not-absurd-or-grifty way https://t.co/zfDHRNGs0P
— amanda silberling (@asilbwrites) April 21, 2022
This week, we dropped our very first episode, in which we talked about three juicy news topics, one of them being Coinbase’s launch of an NFT marketplace. A lot of crypto exchanges besides the household name OpenSea are trying to make NFTs a thing, and they’re each putting their own spin on the concept to try and attract users. We talked about a few of the companies in this space and gave our thoughts on which of their bold strategies are likely to pay off.
In other, more terrifying news, apparently a North Korean hacker group was behind the ~$625 million Axie Infinity hack — the largest one in DeFi history — and they’re likely to use the funds to help the country build up its nuclear weapons program. Small crypto startups with underdeveloped security measures versus nation-states with major resources is not a battle we want to see play out.
On a lighter note, we also spent some time roasting Meta for its plans to charge exorbitant transaction fees on the sale of digital goods in its Horizon Worlds metaverse.
Our Guest: 3LAU Our guest this week, 3LAU (known off-stage as Justin Blau), is an electronic music DJ who sold an NFT of one of his albums last March before NFTs were routinely commanding huge sums of money. The sale brought in $11.6 million in 24 hours (!!!), so it’s safe to say 3LAU has a good idea of what generates hype for a project.
If you’re new to web3, this episode will be fun for you. 3LAU can switch between the world of cool entertainers and tech nerds seamlessly (he famously first got into crypto when he was on spring break with the Winklevoss twins).
In our conversation on the pod, he taught us about different types of NFTs beyond just JPEGs of monkeys, how the blockchain can help independent musicians and which aspects of the NFT world can make even a big NFT stan like himself raise an eyebrow.
We already spend way too much time on Twitter, so please help us justify our hobby in the name of work and give us a follow. For hot takes, startup money moves, spicy tweets and more, don’t forget to check out this week’s Chain Reaction newsletter. You can sign up to get it in your inbox weekly here.
To defeat Elon Musk, Twitter needs… more NFTs
Chain Reaction podcast episodes will come out every Thursday at 6:30 a.m. PDT. Subscribe to us on Apple, Spotify or your alternative podcast platform of choice to keep up with us every week.
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Barack and Michelle Obama’s podcasting deal with Spotify for their company Higher Ground is ending, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Higher Ground will not be renewing the deal and is instead looking for a different partner, the report said, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
The production company is in negotiations with multiple distributors for its future efforts, such as Amazon’s Audible and iHeartMedia, with hopes of finding a new partner in the coming weeks. Higher Ground had also been in discussions with Spotify, as well, but the streamer ultimately decided not to make an offer. A deal like this is potentially worth tens of millions of dollars.
Required exclusivity could have been one issue with regard to the failed Spotify negotiations. One of the things Higher Ground is aiming for with its next deal is to no longer be bound to one platform, and instead release episodes across streaming services.
But the former President also recently entered the fight against disinformation — an area that Spotify struggled with as it’s entered into hosting exclusive podcasts, like Joe Rogan’s, which controversially helped promote health misinformation, forcing Spotify to adopt new rules. It’s unclear to what extent this may have soured deal talks, however, given that controversial content shows up across other platforms, including even Apple’s.
Bloomberg noted the Obamas want to do limited series, with each agreeing to participate in an eight-episode program, which contrasts with popular podcasts which are weekly and run for at least several months. These proved to be points of tension in the past when it came to Higher Ground and Spotify’s partnership, the report noted.
Two of Higher Ground’s podcasts, “The Michelle Obama Podcast” and “Renegades: Born in the USA” were released first on Spotify, and then months later to other platforms, after the company’s signing of a 2019 deal with Spotify. Higher Ground wished to provide opportunities for other creators, but Spotify wanted more content directly involving the Obamas. Spotify and Higher Ground made five shows, with Bloomberg reporting that Higher Ground had pitched dozens.
Barack and Michelle Obama are developing podcasts for Spotify
Spotify has been expanding into podcasting for a while now, through multi-million dollar deals. In 2020, the company inked an exclusive $100 million dollar deal for “The Joe Rogan Experience” with Joe Rogan, who caused controversy by spreading misinformation through his podcast. Spotify also bought podcasting studios Gimlet and Anchor in 2019 for a combined $340 million. In 2020, Spotify acquired The Ringer and earlier this year, it bought podcast discovery platform Podz for around $49.4 million. As for the Obamas, this isn’t the only media production deal they have in the works: Higher Ground has six projects in development at Netflix, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Spotify hasn’t responded to a request for comment on the report at this time.
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If a product manager is doing their job really well, they will be invisible and the results will speak for themselves. In this rebroadcasted podcast episode, product coach, consultant, and author speaks with Lily and Randy about the product management craft and how the best product managers do their job really well. [...] Read more »
The post Rerun: Perfection is the enemy of progress – Matt LeMay on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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This week on Found we talk to Anthony DiMare, the co-founder and CEO of Bedrock, a company that has developed autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to survey and map the seafloor in a much more efficient and affordable way than the traditional “big ship with a big sonar” method. Ocean exploration hasn’t had its “SpaceX moment” and the current system to map the ocean floor hasn’t changed much since the 1970s. The Bedrock team is hoping to map and classify the seafloor at scale. Here’s what Anthony, Jordan, and Darrell talk about this episode:
- How seafloor exploration could be the answer to many problems on land like finding space to build offshore wind farms, harnessing tidal energy, and possibly computer terminal storage.
- Anthony’s on-the-ground leadership style and how he’s learned to love the salesmanship part of his job.
- The multi-client model allows Bedrock to survey much more of the ocean much quicker while minimizing the risk for their clients.
- Why Anthony is in Jordan’s phone as Anthony Karaoke.
If you don’t already, subscribe to Found where ever you listen to us and rate us 5 stars while you’re there.
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What is the secret to exponential product growth? Daphne Tideman, Growth Coach, joins us on the podcast this week. She discusses Product/market fit, the importance of business/channel models, and where companies go wrong when looking to grow their products. [...] Read more »
The post The secret guide to product growth – Daphne Tideman on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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A week after launching a new universal search and discovery tool, Plex is inconveniencing podcast listeners by removing support for podcasts and web shows this Friday, April 15.
The company wrote in a forum:
As part of our ongoing effort to make sure we’re spending our time and energy in ways that best serve our awesome user community, we’ve made the decision to end support for Podcasts and Web Shows within Plex. We recognize this decision will impact several of you greatly, and we apologize for the inconvenience it will cause. You can continue to access these features within Plex until Friday, April 15th, 2022, at which point they will no longer be available.
Podcasts within Plex were first added in 2018 as were Web Shows but it’s unclear how popular they were on the service which is today primarily focused on streaming TV and movies. Plex said it is removing this content because the company wants to spend “time and energy in ways that best serve our awesome user community.” This likely references Plex’s increased focus on its free, ad-supported streaming service that’s now driving the company’s revenues.
A spokesperson told TechCrunch that there was a lack of interest in Plex Podcasts from users, therefore, a decision was made to get rid of them. While there isn’t a reported user number for this feature, the usage was “quite low.”
Plex told users they could download their list of podcast subscriptions in OPML format by following Plex’s instructions on how to replace the TOKEN with your own X-Plex-Token value — a somewhat technical process that may not make sense for casual users to attempt.
It’s not surprising that they’re throwing in the towel, being that users have constantly complained about buggy functionality such as playback, episode sorting and podcast management. One user wrote in Plex’s support forum, “Podcast experience wasn’t that great on Plex tbh and couldn’t see better development nor bug fixes, so it was wise to let it go to put resources elsewhere.”
When asked if Plex had any plans to offer a way to access podcasts down the road, the spokesperson responded that the company is exploring different options and “We expect audio to remain a competency over time.” Plexamp, the Plex music player, was recently upgraded in the last couple of months, with faster and smoother navigation, remote control support and other newly introduced features.
Meanwhile, Web Shows will close on the Plex media server, which is another blow to the service. This isn’t a permanent removal, however, and apparently, it will “live on in other areas of the Plex app,” the announcement said. We also asked Plex for details about the removals. The spokesperson said, “While web show support is ending, we did observe that the best performing content was entertainment-related so we hope to bring that type of content into the right context across the app over time.” We were told that about 8,000 hours of web show content were removed from Plex.
Last week, TechCrunch reported the addition of the new Discover section, making it easier to discover, search and personalize streaming content across subscriptions to Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu and others. Plex also has free Live TV channels to give users a “daily fix of news, tech and gaming, cooking, travel, classic films, and more.”
Huge Plex update adds a universal watchlist, cross-service search and new discovery features
These changes indicate a company that’s now more focused on the parts of the business that are making it money — not surprising given the $50 million growth equity round Plex raised last year to fuel its ad-supported streaming service. However, they do serve a blow to Plex’s stated mission of being a “one-stop-shop” for organizing all users’ media, including photos, music, audio, TV, movies and more.
Updated 4/12/22, 2:48 p.m. EDT with direct quotes from Plex spokesperson.
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There were already several hints that YouTube was getting more serious about podcasts, after reports indicated the company hired a podcast executive, Kai Chuk, to lead its efforts in the space and had even begun offering cash to popular podcasters to film their shows. Now, a leaked document has unveiled more about YouTube’s plans in this area, pointing to a future podcasts homepage on YouTube.com and other monetization features.
The details were published by Podnews, which recently got its hands on an 84-page presentation where YouTube described its podcasts roadmap. Here, the company says it will improve podcast ingestion by piloting the ability to pull in podcast RSS feeds. It also noted it plans to centralize podcasts on a new homepage at YouTube.com/podcasts. The URL doesn’t yet work; but it also doesn’t automatically redirect to the YouTube homepage — which is what it does if you put other random words after the slash.
Not surprisingly, Google sees podcasts as a way to expand its advertising business on YouTube. The document suggests YouTube will feature audio ads sold by Google as well as other partners. It mentions the support of “new metrics” designed for audio-first creators and the ability to integrate YouTube data into industry-standard podcast measurement platforms. One page shows brands like Nielsen, Chartable, and Podtrac listed as partners.
The addition of a new “podcasts” vertical to YouTube would be a logical next step for the company.
Over the years, YouTube has highlighted the service’s larger content categories by giving them their own homepages, as it did with YouTube Gaming back in 2015 and with YouTube Fashion (now Fashion & Beauty) in 2019. Plus, YouTube content helps to power Google’s music streaming service, YouTube Music, which competes with other services like Spotify, where podcasts are a competitive advantage.
Spotify has been looking to dominate the podcast advertising market and has made several acquisitions to bring related adtech in-house. As a result, Spotify has since been able to sell its own ads, introduce streaming ad insertion technology, launch its own audio ad marketplace, and is trying out new ad formats. Meanwhile, as a video-centric platform, YouTube has been left out of much of this ad market growth.
Podnews didn’t publish the full document and it’s not clear when the document was first produced or distributed, given references to launches that are listed as coming “in 2022” and the mention of Chartable, a company Spotify acquired last month. YouTube didn’t comment to Podnews, per its article. We’ll update if a comment is provided to us.
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What are the keys to a successful product launch, and how do you make sure you have all the right components upon release? We spoke to launch expert, Derek Osgood, to gain all of the key insights. [...] Read more »
The post Keys to a successful product launch – Derek Osgood on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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Spotify acquired podcast discovery platform Podz last summer for roughly $49.4 million, per a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, to help accelerate the streamer’s extensive investments in podcasts. Now, Spotify is testing a feature that leverages the startup’s technology to help users find new podcasts they may like, the company confirmed.
Podz had originally attempted to solve the problem of podcast discovery with something it called the “first audio newsfeed.” That is, it presented users with 60-second audio clips from various shows that you would scroll through in a vertical feed, similar to the format popularized by social apps like TikTok. What made the company’s technology interesting is that it didn’t rely on podcast creators to produce their own clips for its feed. Instead, it used a machine learning model that had been trained on some 100,000 hours of audio to help automatically select clips to showcase.
At the time, Spotify touted the acquisition as a means of building out and scaling a better and more personalized podcast discovery experience on its app. With this test, we have a first look at what such a feature could look like.
Product designer and tech early adopter Chris Messina tweeted about the test and posted a video of the feature, which was first uncovered by the Twitter account @SleepwellCap. Here, you can see the new experience in action.
HUGE!! @Spotify is adding a dedicated TikTok-style vertical scrolling feed for @spotifypodcasts to its toolbar!
h/t @SleepwellCap #NewSpotify pic.twitter.com/0CWolZGJQy
— Chris Messina 🪬 (@chrismessina) March 26, 2022
A dedicated “Podcasts” button takes you into the vertical feed, where you’ll see the show’s cover art while the audio clip plays. The clip is also transcribed as you listen with the words in the clips highlighted as they’re spoken. There’s a play button to continue to listen to the show and plus “+” button to add the podcast to your saved list.
Given that this is only a test, it’s worth noting the feature could change before a public launch. The feature also may simply be used to help Spotify gain an understanding of how users would engage with such an option, which could then be used to inform future product developments. In other words, there’s no guarantee you’ll soon see the same vertical feed of audio clips in your own Spotify app.
Spotify confirmed its testing Podz’s technology through this experience but would not commit to a launch date or plans. (Given that Podz is machine-learning powered, it could be that Spotify wants to gather more data to improve the service before a launch.)
“At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience,” a spokesperson said. “Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. We don’t have any further news to share at this time.”
Podz had been one of several startups building out new ways to help people find more podcasts they may like — a discovery challenge that’s been difficult to overcome since many podcasts are over 30 minutes in length, making it hard to get a good sense of a show’s content or the hosts’ personalities in a quick and easy way.
Podz’s solution was to lean on machine learning technology, but other startups have pursued different ideas. For instance, Moonbeam, a new startup from Kayak co-founder Paul English, relies on editorial curation from humans blended with machine learning techniques for its TikTok-inspired app. The vertical feed format has also been used in podcast-adjacent apps, like Racket, which offers 99-second audio clips that are more like audio stories than shows, and with Facebook’s Soundbites.
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Since January 2020, Fintech has seen a 337% increase in active users. We spoke with Deepika Adusumilli, Senior Vice President, Product Management at King to hear more about what it's like to have a product role in this fast-growing sector. [...] Read more »
The post Building products in Fintech – Deepika Adusumilli on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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Apple Podcasts is rolling out new features to incentivize podcasters to offer paid subscriptions to listeners on the app. One of those features will — for better or for worse — reveal to podcasters in their private analytics dashboard how many people follow them on Apple Podcasts. Get ready for an ego check!
For whatever reason, follower counts haven’t been visible to creators, though the Apple Podcasts Connect page has shown stats about how many listeners you have, how long people listen before dropping off and how different episodes perform compared to one another.
Some podcasters might notice that their stats on Apple Podcasts Connect are lower than expected, though. The majority of U.S. podcast listeners use Spotify, so these analytics, which only show Apple Podcasts listenership, don’t offer creators a holistic picture of their show’s performance (however, the drop-off rate can be useful information, since that data point isn’t available on distribution platforms like Libsyn).
“Listeners who follow a show want to receive new episodes as they become available, so a show’s followers can serve as an indicator for those likely to subscribe,” Apple wrote in a blog post.
By Apple’s logic, if you notice that you have a lot of followers on their app, you might consider launching paywalled content through their subscription service, which launched less than a year ago. Podcasters hosting exclusive, subscriber-only content agree to pay Apple a 30% cut of their subscription revenue in year one, followed by 15% in year two. But for those who release paywalled content on Spotify, the platform currently isn’t taking a revenue cut, and after two years after its launch, it will take 5%. Other podcasters may choose to monetize their shows in a different way entirely by creating fan memberships on platforms like Patreon, which may include access to private Discord servers that help cultivate a community around a show, as opposed to just offering platform-specific bonus content.
Image Credits: Apple Podcasts
But Apple’s advantage is that its app comes pre-downloaded on your iPhone, so newer podcast listeners may find it easier to subscribe to a show on an app they already have. Apple is so eager to get a chunk of podcasters’ revenue that it’s launching Jump Start, a program that offers podcasters direct guidance from the Apple Podcasts team to develop their subscription offerings. But this guidance is only available to members of the Apple Podcasters Program, AKA, people who have already opted into selling a subscription on Apple Podcasts by paying a $19.99 annual fee.
A few more minor updates for those enrolled in the program: now, you can upload .mp3 files as subscriber-only audio (previously, you could only upload .wav and .flac), and you can customize the subscription banner that appears on your show.
All updates will roll out today, except for that tantalizing follower count, which will appear on creators’ Apple Podcasts Connect dashboards next month.
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Found Live is back again with Shivani Siroya, CEO and founder of Tala, a fintech company that works with underestimated communities to build a financial system that works for everyone. While working at the UN, Siroya was working to understand progress out of poverty and discovered you need to understand where the money is being used. In this episode, she talks with Jordan and Darrell about how she took that information to start Tala, raise a $145 million Series E, adjust and excel during the pandemic, lead with honesty and empathy, and continues to create a more equitable financial system.
Take our listener survey and let us know a bit about yourself and what you think of FOUND.
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Author, Consultant, Product lead and recovering-UXer Christian Crumlish joined us on the podcast to talk about why someone might want to move from UX to Product Management, what superpowers they bring to the role, and the biggest surprises they might have. [...] Read more »
The post Moving from UX to product – Christian Crumlish on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.
This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha and Alex connected a slew of seemingly-unrelated news items to answer a big question:
How do we balance community and capitalism?
The original question we sought to explore was “can you buy a community?” The answer to that question, after further exploration, felt obvious enough: no, so no what? Combining Epic Games’ recent acquisition of Bandcamp, Commsor’s latest raise, and Lolita Taub’s new venture firm, community has a set of sharper standards around it. And nobody wants to let the buzzword go unchecked.
3 views on the Epic-Bandcamp deal
Evergreen reminder to take advantage of code “EQUITY” when subscribing to TechCrunch+ for a hefty discount, and gratitude from your favorite trio of tech nerds.
We’re really enjoying using our Wednesday show to chat through trends and major topics. Tweet us with things you want us to hit on, if you have a particular bee in your bonnet!
Equity drops every Monday at 7:00 a.m. PST, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:00 a.m. PST, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.
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Roisi Proven's last episode was one of our most popular, so we had to have her back for a return chat! She updates us on what she's learned about data ethics and unbiased data [...] Read more »
The post Overcoming data bias – Roisi Proven on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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On Found Live Darrell and Jordan got to chat with Cityblock co-founder and president, Toyin Ajayi. CItyblock provides primary care, behavioral health, and social care to folks who have been historically marginalized in the healthcare system, primarily people who are receiving their health insurance through Medicaid with the goal of providing high-quality holistic care at a lower cost. They do this through a network of physicians, community outreach teams, and by working with insurance providers. While Dr. Ajayi was working in a hospital system she became frustrated by the systemic issues that were sending the same patients back to the hospital time and time again. So she began experimenting with ways to extend her care like giving out her cell phone number, making house calls, and being available to explain medications. That idea grew into Cityblock where that level of personalized care is scaled. They talked about the healthcare system, how providers can improve care, Toyin’s spicy TechCrunch Disrupt panel, and answered a few audience questions.
Don’t miss the next live episode with Shivani Siroya from Tala on 3/17 at 10pm PT/ 1pm ET. RSVP: https://hopin.com/events/found-live-mar17
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As Twitter continues to develop its live audio product Spaces, the platform may soon take things a step further by launching a dedicated podcasts tab on its mobile apps.
According to reverse engineers who search the code of mobile apps to spot features in development, this addition would create a dedicated space on Twitter to house podcasts.
Twitter is working on Podcasts pic.twitter.com/CqBm1qHV5H
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 2, 2022
We asked Twitter if users could expect this feature to roll out. A spokesperson said, “We’re always exploring new ways to help people engage in the conversation on Twitter, but have no further details to share at this time.”
Twitter has worked on a number of podcast-like features to expand the capabilities of its live audio Spaces. Like Clubhouse, Twitter now allows users to listen to Spaces after the live recording, helping hosts earn greater engagement from a new audience of asynchronous listeners. When users listen to a recorded Space live, they will see a red recording button. Twitter is also rolling out a feature that allows hosts to view listening stats about their recorded Spaces.
Twitter is working on Podcasts tab pic.twitter.com/64tTd3XPdu
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) March 2, 2022
A podcasts tab might function like a home for users to browse recorded Spaces and generate more engagement in this content; Twitter already shows live Spaces in their own tab. The podcast snobs among us might note that there is a difference between a live, recorded conversation and a properly edited, sound-designed podcast, but… we’ll just have to see what Twitter does with this feature before we have that conversation.
Twitter Spaces continues testing podcast-like features
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Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.
Since the birth of Equity in mid-March of 2017, Chris Gates has been part of the team. Indeed, he helped found the show, and over the next half-decade produced and edited hundreds of episodes. He was, in short, a pillar of the team, and a key driver of how show operated day to day. Which is to say that he brought kindness, and warmth, and care to our work. As one of our colleagues put it, TechCrunch’s podcast history can’t be written without his name as a huge part of it.
Sadly for the Equity team, but equally good news for his new employer, Chris’s last day was last Friday. So we gathered to record a special episode of sorts.
Natasha, Alex, and Chris sat down and played back a number of clips from the show, including our first-every episode, the first time that Natasha was on the podcast. That sort of thing. And we said some nice things about Chris at the same time.
Technically Equity’s birthday isn’t for a week or two, but we decided to hybridize our look-back with Chris’s exit. After all, we’re an earnest team that needed a minute (or 30) to sit and be earnest.
If you are an Equity listener, don’t worry too much. We still have Grace Mendenhall on the production team, so we are in good hands. And we’ve added Maggie Stamets in recent weeks as well, who has been doing an ace job thus far helping us write and record. Finally, Kell is helping edit our babble down into usable content.
So as with prior Equity exits — Matthew Lynley, Katie Roof, Connie Loizos, Kate Clark, Danny Crichton — we are hugging it out, and getting back to work.
More to come! We’re not going anywhere! But we will miss Chris. A lot.
Equity drops every Monday at 7:00 a.m. PST, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:00 a.m. PST, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.
The post As Equity turns five, we send our dear friend Chris Gates onto his next adventure appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Figuring out what to prioritise is one of a product team's biggest challenges. Using a North Star metric to orient around can make it easier—but, as Maahir Shah, Product Manager at Facebook, tells us, it can also lead you in the wrong direction. [...] Read more »
The post When not to use a North Star – Maahir Shah on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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In a move to make radio and podcasts more interactive, iHeartRadio today is launching a new feature called Talk Back which allows listeners to participate with their favorite shows directly from the iHeartRadio mobile app. With a push of a button, listeners can offer feedback or respond to hosts’ questions by recording a 30-second voice message. What makes this offering unique is that the recordings aren’t just going to some inbox somewhere — Talk Back is integrated with the proprietary iHeartRadio CMS (content management system), so the voice recordings are available to use, live on air, within about 10 seconds after sending.
In the current version of the iHeartRadio app, there are a couple of ways to access the new Talk Back feature. Its red microphone button will appear on the full-screen player page for the show or podcast, and there’s a Talk Back button on the station’s profile or podcast’s profile page, too.
When you push the button, a countdown timer will appear to let you know the recording is about to start, then users can record their message. The 30-second limit is meant to keep the recordings concise, but there’s nothing to prevent users from sending multiple messages. However, if the system is abused, the host can block users on their end — though this may not be obvious to the user as the in-app feature would still appear to work.
After recording, you can hit play to preview the message before sending it. And if you don’t like your recording, you have the option to re-record.
Image Credits: iHeartRadio
On-air posts may prompt users to introduce themselves by name when leaving a recording, but there’s nothing in the feature that specifically requires you to identify yourself. That said, you’re not really anonymous — all iHeartRadio users would be identifiable on the backend by their user ID, which is associated with their email address and a general location. In some cases, the company may have a full name and cell phone number, as well, if the user had engaged with other features in the past — like contests — where this information is required.
In other words, it wouldn’t be a good idea to use the new tool for online bullying or harassment.
According to iHeartMedia’s Chief Product Officer Chris Williams, Talk Back has been in active development since Q3 2021, which also happens to be when Spotify rolled out its own interactive podcast tools, including polls and Q&As, to those who use its Anchor podcast creation platform to publish and distribute their shows. But iHeartRadio’s tool isn’t limited to podcasts — in fact, it’s largely designed for on-air talent who want to make their radio programs more interactive, given the tool’s near real-time nature.
The feature will initially be made available to all 900-plus owned and operated broadcast stations across iHeartMedia starting today, and will roll out to interested iHeartRadio podcasters who opt-in sometime in early April.
The idea for Talk Back was conceptualized early last year by the iHeartRadio air talent and podcast hosts themselves, notes Williams. The on-air talent loved that the audience would text them and post on social media, but they also wanted their voices to be heard.
“That’s our lifeblood. We want the audience to participate as much as possible,” Williams explains. “We want to be able to hear from them and to use that to help drive the conversation and expand the voices that are being heard on the air.”
Image Credits: iHeartRadio
Longer-term, iHeartRadio hopes the feature will help it to attract and retain more publishers, including those beyond its own. The feature may not be always limited to iHeartRadio’s owned-and-operated broadcasters and over 750 original podcasts programs — it’s could later become available to anyone who wants to use it.
“We not only distribute an extra 500,000 podcasts beyond the ones that are produced by us, we also distribute 3,000 broadcast stations that aren’t owned and operated by us from NPR to Cumulus to Cox,” notes Williams. “We’re very open to the idea of a phased rollout and offering up to third-party broadcasters and podcast publishers down the line as well.”
This wouldn’t prevent the show hosts from having their shows and podcasts distributed elsewhere, of course, but it could attract more consumers to iHeartRadio’s digital app in order to participate in the program by sending messages.
Though sometimes left out of a discussion about podcast streaming services, iHeartRadio still has significant reach thanks to its broadcast radio listener base. The service today reaches over 270 million monthly listeners, per Nielsen, who spent around 30 minutes per day listening to broadcast radio across platforms. On mobile, the iHeartRadio app has over 150 million registered users, the comapny says, and is a top U.S. podcast publisher with a monthly audience of over 30.3 million, per Podtrac data.
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Kris Holt is a contributing writer at Engadget.
More posts by this contributor * Meta adds ‘personal boundaries’ to Horizon Worlds and Venues to fight harassment * Bird will expand access to electric scooters for public transit in Nashville
LinkedIn is delving deeper into the podcast world. It’s debuting a podcast network that features in-house shows from the LinkedIn News team as well as programs from industry figures.
The shows, unsurprisingly, are geared toward a professional audience. They focus on areas including understanding tech, managing mental health and explaining the hiring process. Reid Hoffman, the co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, will co-host a podcast about personal entrepreneurship called The Start-Up of You that will premiere this spring.
The company says the LinkedIn Podcast Network is a pilot and builds on the success of Hello Monday, a podcast produced by LinkedIn News in which host Jessi Hempel delves into the evolving nature of work. The shows are ad-supported and the initial sponsor is Verizon, Engadget’s former parent company.
The podcast network ties into LinkedIn’s other products — such as newsletters, live events, videos and posts — with the idea that hosts and audiences will be able to keep conversations going outside of the shows. Listeners will be able to check out the podcasts on LinkedIn directly if they follow the hosts and subscribe to their newsletters. The shows will also be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms.
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.
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While hypergrowth can be amazing, it comes with a separate set of challenges. We talked with Cassidy Fein about how to navigate this environment. [...] Read more »
The post Thriving in hypergrowth – Cassidy Fein on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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As our Equity podcast recently asked, “how many times must Spotify step on a rake?”
The streaming service is learning the hard way that it’s counterintuitive to act as both a platform and a publisher — now, in trying to reassert its status as a platform, it’s acting even more like a publisher.
Back in 2020, Spotify was celebrating its success when it signed one of the most popular podcasters, Joe Rogan, to an exclusive, multi-year podcasting deal worth $100 million for “The Joe Rogan Experience.” But the controversial host has repeatedly platformed misinformation about COVID-19, recently prompting 270 physicians and scientists to sign an open letter to Spotify demanding that it institute misinformation policies, which then led high-profile figures like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to pull their content from Spotify.
Spotify belatedly published platform rules — something that the most dominant music and podcast streaming service probably should have made public already — which prohibit the spread of false or deceptive information about COVID-19 and other illnesses.
As a result, Rogan asked Spotify to remove over 100 episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience” for various reasons, including the use of racial slurs. Many of the slurs were uttered in older shows, but still, as recently as January, Rogan has made controversial comments when sharing his opinions about the use of the word “Black.”
Now, in an attempt to buy Spotify some goodwill during a PR crisis, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek committed to investing $100 million into audio content from underrepresented groups. This is a good gesture, but it also means that Spotify is inadvertently leaning into its decision to act as a publisher.
The blurry line between publishers and platforms Spotify creates an inherent tension as it postures itself as both a platform and a publisher.
A platform would be something like Twitter — anyone can post a tweet, so long as it follows the platform guidelines. But if someone posts what many would consider a “bad take” — like saying that Scooter Braun didn’t do anything wrong in the Taylor Swift masters controversy, for instance — that doesn’t mean Twitter itself also endorses that opinion. But when money and editorial curation is involved, the company becomes responsible for the results of their financial choices. Since Spotify funneled $100 million into Joe Rogan’s content — which happens to be the exact same amount that it is now pledging to a vague collection of underrepresented creators — they are not impartial; they’re literally paying him to talk to far-right conspiracy theorists.
Spotify wants to have it both ways. CEO Daniel Ek says Spotify is a platform for Joe Rogan’s exclusive podcast, but that it’s a publisher for studios it owns, like Gimlet, The Ringer and Parcast.
“I understand the premise that because we have an exclusive deal with him, it’s really easy to conclude we endorse every word he says and believe the opinions expressed by his guests. That’s absolutely not the case,“ Ek said in a company town hall. He later added, “A publisher has editorial control over a creator’s content. They can take action on the content before it’s even published. They can edit, they can curate, they can change the guest, they can even decide not to publish altogether. And even though ‘JRE’ is an exclusive, it is licensed content.”
Still, when his library of content first moved over to Spotify, the company did remove at least forty episodes, which featured guests like Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, conspiracy theorist David Seaman, and Stefan Molyneux, whom the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as an alt-right extremist who amplifies eugenics and white supremacism. Per Ek’s speech, Spotify does not currently have editorial control over Joe Rogan’s podcast — they are not involved in editing, booking and producing the show. But that doesn’t absolve Spotify of responsibility. The company might not be working hands-on with Rogan on a daily basis, but they still gave him $100 million to partner with Spotify exclusively.
Yet as Rogan continues to become more popular, it’s a win for Spotify’s service, too.
“In December, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ became exclusive to Spotify, driving a meaningful uptick in audience for the show on our platform. As of year-end, The Joe Rogan Experience was the #1 podcast on our platform in 17 markets,” the company wrote in its Q4 2020 shareholder letter. “While it remains early days, we are very encouraged by the performance of this content since its arrival on our platform, as it has stimulated new user additions, activated first-time podcast listeners, and driven favorable engagement trends.”
Spotify has referenced Joe Rogan’s exclusive deal in every quarterly shareholder letter since the start of his exclusive deal. But there’s no mention of Rogan (or any other exclusive podcasting deals) in Spotify’s most recent shareholder report, which was posted last week.
Spotify’s not the only company acting as a publisher, yet claiming to be just a platform. Substack has fallen into the same trap. Repeatedly, the newsletter monetization company has doubled down on its “hands-off” content moderation policies. Substack does prohibit some kinds of content, like pornography, spam, impersonation, posts funding hateful initiatives or inciting hateful violence, posts promoting illegal activities and more. But the company has also come under fire for profiting off of COVID-19 misinformation and its platforming of transphobic authors through its “Substack Pro” program, which provides select, but undisclosed writers with cash advances. In choosing which writers to pay an advance, Substack is making inherently editorial choices.
Why Spotify is betting big on podcasting
Netflix also had a rough moment in the press in late 2021, when employees protested a new Netflix-exclusive Dave Chapelle special, in which the comedian made a number of harmful, transphobic comments. B. Pagels-Minor, the organizer of the walkout and global lead of both the Black and Trans employee resource groups, was fired from Netflix due to allegedly leaking company data. The leaked information in question appeared to be internal metrics on Chapelle’s special that appeared in a story by Bloomberg, which reported that Netflix spent $24.1 million for the one-off special.
Like Spotify, Netflix made a decision to become a publisher, not just a platform — but Netflix isn’t shy about that. While Netflix hosts tons of content that its own studios didn’t produce, it’s also investing billions of dollars into original content. While Netflix subscription numbers have slowed, they’re still growing.
An identity crisis Like Substack, Spotify is cutting deals with people from a variety of political perspectives — though it may platform Joe Rogan, Spotify also cut a deal with the Obamas to make exclusive content.
Spotify also inked a $60 million exclusive deal with Alex Cooper, host of the podcast “Call Her Daddy,” which used to appear on Barstool Sports. Dax Shepard, host of “Armchair Expert,” also has an exclusive deal with Spotify, as do Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Ek’s commitment to invest $100 million into audio projects from underrepresented creators is an editorial decision too, even though it appears that Ek is using it to prove that he’s not making editorial decisions.
Spotify retains a 31% market share among music streamers, making it the most popular service available — but for a while, Spotify’s strategy to maintain that dominance has been to invest in podcasting. In Q2 2021 alone, its podcast ad revenue increased by 627%. Aside from its landmark acquisition of Gimlet and Anchor for around $340 million, Spotify earmarked another $400-$500 million in 2019 specifically for other acquisitions in the podcasting space. Since then, the company has acquired the studios Parcast and The Ringer, along with podcast monetization platform Whooshkaa, discovery engine Podz, and podcast advertising company Megaphone.
Joe Rogan, economics, and why capitalism is making people blame the CCP
No ethical consumption? So where does this leave us in the Spotify-Rogan saga? Despite its current PR nightmare, Spotify hasn’t yet lost much of its market share compared to other streaming services. However, when Spotify recently reported its fourth-quarter financial results, it gave weak guidance on monthly active user expectations for Q1 2022. The stock tumbled as a result, indicating that this PR crisis could become a business crisis, too.
Socially-conscious consumers want to feel good about where their dollars go — but even as we head into the third week of online Rogan discourse, Spotify doesn’t seem to be too affected by all this, despite social media outrage.
It calls into question how much power consumers really have (and how real the threat of cancel culture is for figures like Rogan). Even if Spotify were to have cut ties with Rogan, he could have fallen back on a $100 million offer from Rumble, a Peter Thiel-funded video company that describes itself as “immune to cancel culture.” This was likely just a PR stunt, which caused Rumble’s SPAC to surge. Rogan has said he won’t be leaving Spotify, but the podcaster has such a large audience that it would’ve been a huge acquisition for Rumble, even if they might not have as deep pockets as Spotify.
For consumers upset with Spotify, what are the alternatives? Apple Music, whose owner is constantly under fire for its exorbitant in-app purchase commissions? Amazon Music, which is part of a company with too many labor issues to name?
It’s possible that among Gen Z, this disillusionment with big tech could power independent creators. In podcasting, for example, listeners can directly support their favorite shows through memberships, tip jar donations and more. But where do you listen to podcasts? Statistically, you probably use Spotify.
3 views: How should creators weigh monetization strategies in the platform era?
The post The Spotify-Rogan saga highlights the distinction between publishers and platforms appeared first on Product Management Confabulation.
Making your roadmap work hard for you is one of the critical skills of a Product Manager. Find out how Jeremy Levy, CEO of Indicative, leverages customer data to inform his product roadmap. In this episode, we also discuss who should be responsible for the data strategy in the business and why it's so much easier to get it right these days. [...] Read more »
The post Product roadmaps vs data – Jeremy Levy on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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After over three years on The Product Experience, we have reached our 150th episode! In this compilation episode on the podcast, we look back at the highlights from some of our favourite shows. [...] Read more »
The post Celebrating 150 episodes: The Product Experience podcast appeared first on Mind the Product.
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We’re in the business of talking to very impressive people who are working to solve incredibly tough problems— but Elizabeth Ruzzo, founder and CEO of adyn, may be one of the most impressive yet. Not only did she develop the only test for women to ensure they are prescribed the birth control that will be the least likely to have detrimental side effects, she also founded the company and fundraised as the sole employee of the company. She talks to Darrell and Jordan about the challenges she faced as a solo founder/employee raising money for a solution for birth control, why she decided to leave academia, and the complicated regulatory maze she had to navigate to get adyn off the ground.
Take our listener survey and let us know a bit about yourself and what you think of FOUND.
Links from the episode:
- adyn
- Elizabeth on Equity
Connect with us:
- On Twitter
- On Instagram
- Via email: found@techcrunch.com
- Call us and leave a voicemail at (510) 936-1618
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Regardless of which podcasts you enjoy listening to, you should have caught wind of the Joe Rogan situation by now.
The Rogan-related Spotify saga has been burning long enough now that it’s worth taking a moment to sit back, consider the larger picture, and try to piece together the economic forces behind the kerfuffle. This morning, let’s talk about platforms, publishers, market reactions, and how people voting with their agency is not the same thing as the Chinese Communist Party.
Understanding the Spotify mess Spotify was early to the music streaming business and has done very well for itself. I say this as a long-term Spotify user, fan, and general believer in streaming music. I happen to think that streaming access to music is underpriced, in part because Apple is able to maintain a price ceiling due to its hardware-generated wealth, but that’s a different matter.
The Exchange explores startups, markets and money.
Read it every morning on TechCrunch+ or get The Exchange newsletter every Saturday.
Music streaming is a commodity business. This means that many platforms have mostly the same music on offer and charge a roughly similar price. This is a tricky situation for artists to be in, as they are torn between not offering their music where fans have congregated (streaming services), and accepting prices that many consider are too low for their art (Spotify streaming rates). Fair enough.
Spotify has a different issue stemming from the same roots: Because music is commoditized, it has minimal pricing leverage. That’s to say that it can’t charge $15 per month for the same thing that Apple charges $10 per month for.
This means that Spotify’s economics are largely fixed, and that it can’t have too much of an impact on its gross margins with pricing changes. This limits its profitability, which isn’t good. So, the company embarked on an investing spree in the podcasting world, buying startups and shows in hopes of owning enough unique material in time that it could perhaps charge more for its service, thus improving its revenue quality and overall economic profile.
This is my read of the situation, but I don’t think that I am wrong.
As part of this podcasting push, Spotify spent a lot of money to bring Joe Rogan’s podcast to its platform in what the company called an “Exclusive Partnership.” The mountain of cash that Spotify spent on this was a wager, part its larger podcasting strategy, and was an editorial choice by the platform company.
That last point matters, because Spotify hosts nearly all music without exercising editorial control. Singer Chris Brown, who assaulted Rihanna, is still on Spotify and Apple Music, as a data point. But Spotify put a bunch of its own money to get Rogan as an exclusive, a different choice than merely streaming the same pile of tunes as other, competing platforms.
Rogan’s popular show has had a number of guests on it that many folks in the Spotify community, both customers and content providers alike, found objectionable. The latter camp made headlines when a few musicians decided that they would remove their tunes from the platform, in light of Spotify buying podcasting content that they vehemently disagreed for public-health reasons — we remain, today, in a pandemic, mind.
This put Spotify in a pickle. The company wants to have both a commodity music business and an exclusive podcasting business. But instead, its exclusive podcasting strategy was undercutting its core value proposition and revenue driver, namely offering most recorded music for a regular fee.
Sure, losing Neil Young and a few others would not constitute a platform-breaking amount of missing music, but if the trend continues, Spotify could become a bit underpopulated with music, sending its subscribers elsewhere. Apple Music, for example. Spotify needed to calm the waters, because if it lost music, no amount of Rogan fandom was going to be able to make the math pencil out — the company remains a music streaming service with a podcasting business, not the other way around.
So the company released its existing content rules, and said that it would append a note to podcasts that discussed COVID-19. And Joe Rogan made an Instagram video discussing the situation. In classic Rogan style, he made an affable clip that included digressions on his life, but he did say that he would try to host more views to balance out his more controversial guests.
Towards the end of his clip, he added the following after thanking Spotify and his fans: “Thank you to the haters, because its good to have some haters — it makes you reassess what you [are] doing, and put things into perceptive, and I think that’s good too.”
Agreed. The market is a pretty cool thing, with individual actors getting to make choices with their assets (music), and custom (where they choose to subscribe to streaming music). And when the market disagrees with one corporate choice or another, individual actors can help steer things. This is, well, how capitalism works.
And yet.
The sheer irony And yet, David Sacks.
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This week, product coach and consultant Anthony Marter joins us on the podcast to chat about the tricky balance between strategy, business case, and discovery. [...] Read more »
The post Discovery in an agile world – Anthony Marter on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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There's a huge shift that takes place when you move from managing a product (with a team) to leading a product team. Jason Knight joined us on the podcast to talk about some of the lessons he's learned along his journey. [...] Read more »
The post Moving from individual contributor to product leader – Jason Knight on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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Philips Nwachukwu, Senior Product Manager, joins us on the podcast this week to talk about the unique challenges he sees for Product people working in Africa. [...] Read more »
The post Navigating the peculiarities of the African product management ecosystem – Philips Nwachukwu on The Product Experience appeared first on Mind the Product.
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Liz Young remembers when her family became homeowners, even at six years old she understood it was a big deal. That sparked a fascination with real estate and the home-owning experience. While working at Bloomberg, she discovered the importance of data-driven decisions in the housing market. She wanted to give the power of data to the average homeowner, so she founded Realm, which helps homeowners prioritize renovation projects to increase the value of the home and use their time and money wisely. Darrell, Jordan and Liz talk about the tricky housing market, how powerful localized data is for homeowners and how Darrell can renovate his basement dungeon gym for the greeted ROI.
Take our listener survey and let us know a bit about yourself and what you think of FOUND.
Links from the episode:
- Mary Ann Azevedo’s TechCrunch article
- Realm
Connect with us:
- On Twitter
- On Instagram
- Via email: found@techcrunch.com
- Call us and leave a voicemail at (510) 936-1618
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Spotify is today introducing is introducing a new ad format aimed at podcasters which it’s calling “Call-to-Action Cards” — or CTA cards, for short. The feature, which is powered by Spotify’s streaming ad insertion technology, will display a visual ad in the Spotify app when the audio ad begins to play. The cards can be customized by advertisers with their own images, text and other clickable buttons that direct listeners to “shop now” or take some other action the advertiser is hoping to encourage.
While the ads are capable of capturing users’ attention while streaming, Spotify knows that listening to podcasts is often an activity where the app is running in the background while the user is doing something else — like going for a walk, exercising at the gym, doing housework, driving and more. That’s why Spotify is also making the new CTA cards available on both the podcast’s show and episode pages. This allows the targeted listeners to interact with the ad at some later point when they’re browsing through the Spotify app, the company explains. These cards will remain available for up to seven days after the listener has heard the ad, or less if the campaign wraps before that.
Image Credits: Spotify
In the future, Spotify believes the format will evolve to do more than simply directing users to a landing page of some kind.
“We think about these cards as an important step towards modernizing the format — a format that will become more capable over time, as we add shoppable and video and other interactive features into them,” said Jay Richman, Spotify’s Head of Ads Business & Platform, when introducing the format during a press briefing as a part of the company’s virtual participation at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show.
Advertisers who adopt the format will also have access to reporting and measurement based on confirmed ad impressions made possible through streaming ad insertion.
Spotify has heavily invested in the streaming ad insertion technology, which brought real-time targeting and reporting to podcasts. Before, when podcasts were delivered through the more open RSS format, they were also hampered by the technical limitations that came with being downloadable content only. Ads were embedded, not dynamically inserted, into shows. And the audio players couldn’t differentiate between which part of the program was the show’s content and which part was the ad — it was all one single file. With streaming audio insertion, the content itself is paused, the ad is inserted, and then the content resumes after the ad completes.
All of this takes place in real-time — but it doesn’t prevent the listener from skipping past the ads as they had before, if they don’t enjoy hearing the message.
In 2020, Spotify acquired the podcast hosting and ad company Megaphone for $235 million to help scale streaming ad insertion beyond its own shows to reach publishing partners through the Spotify Audience Network — a network that now includes shows from independent creators using Spotify’s Anchor platform. And just last month, Spotify acquired podcast tech company Whooshkaa to bring the technology to radio broadcasters who want to release their audio content as podcasts after first airing it on the radio.
Image Credits: Spotify
Because streaming ad insertion already knows when the ad appears in the program, Spotify can then pop up the accompanying CTA card as well to display the advertiser’s creative. For listeners, the experience may be a better one for seeking out the products and services they heard the host promoting during the program, as they’ll no longer have to try to remember a URL or a coupon code the creator had spoken.
However, the addition also makes using Spotify to stream podcasts feel even more like an ad-supported experience than before, as even Premium (paying) subscribers will be subject to the new, arguably distracting ads and will see them appear on both podcast show and episode pages even after they’ve finished listening.
Spotify tested the new CTA cards with select advertisers, including Ulta Beauty, ahead of today’s launch. According to Ulta’s Head of Content, Social, & Integrated Marketing, Christine White, the company reached around 250,000 unique Spotify listeners with one of its campaigns and around half of those saw at least one CTA card after hearing the audio message, including those who saw the card later while browsing the app.
Image Credits: Spotify
Spotify sees the CTA cards as another step toward making podcast content more interactive. The company is already experimenting in this area through features like voice commands and podcast audience polls and Q&As, which engage listeners in real-time — making them more likely to return to the app while the podcast is playing, too. More recently, it’s been expanding access to video podcasts, via Spotify’s Anchor platform. Podcaster creators can add a video to their podcast to show themselves recording the show or they can use the functionality to add the occasional graphic, chart, or slide. This feature is now rolling out to more creators and listeners, said Anchor co-founder and Spotify’s Head of Talk, Mike Mignano, during the same briefing.
Spotify notes that no incremental work will be required by creators to enable the new CTA cards, which will initially be available across select Spotify Original & Exclusive podcasts in the U.S., starting today.
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