Maarten turned 79% of his product pitches into signed agreements. Listen how his strategy is reshaping the innovation landscape.In this episode of Product Innovation Show, Maarten and Aram delve into the intricacies of managing a product team, especially when you don't come from a technical background. Maarten sheds light on his journey, managing multiple SCRUM teams, and the challenges and rewards it brings. Drawing parallels between the world of professional sports and product management, they discuss the importance of asking 'why not' and how to align different priorities for collective success.About the GuestMaarten began his entrepreneurial adventure at 19 in the music scene. After dodging some iffy record deals, he thought, "I can do better!" and launched his first venture. He quickly noticed that the way entrepreneurship was taught was flawed. So, six years ago, Maarten founded BW Ventures. Since then, he's guided over 200 startups, helping them find solid business models. Yet, even with a plan, many still struggle to secure their first investment.SHOW NOTES:[03:19] Nurturing Ideas[10:20] The Role of Predictability in Innovation[16:30] Managing Stakeholder Pushback[22:02] Pivoting or Killing Projects[25:17] Assessing Company Ideas[28:31] Driving Innovation[35:27] Stakeholder Expectations[39:38] Building Solid Business Cases[43:33] Martin's Key Principles: [47:00] Corporate Acquisitions & StrategyQuotes from Maarten:"Showing progress and showing what works and doesn't work is more valuable than just getting that perfect business case out.""People are most of the times too scared to build a super big business case because they think decision makers are going to ask for that. But what's more important is showing progress and understanding what you're doing."Books We Mentioned:1. Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning: The Biography2. Mindgames: Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey3. The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful BusinessesFollow Maarten van Kroonenburghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/maartenvankroonenburg/

Mounika Sanikommu, Senior Product Manager at Zuora, is sharing her thrilling journey with ChatGPT, experiments she runs, plugins she discovered and how she uses AI for data analysis in her day job.Monica and Aram also spills the beans on the future of jobs in an AI-dominated landscape. About Mounika Mounika is a Senior Product Manager at Zuora building and leading their ecosystem products. She is an unstoppable learner who pivoted her career from engineering to Product while working in tech firms across the globe. She enjoys sharing her product knowledge and offering mentorship to aspiring PMs through various platforms. SHOW NOTES:7:53 | Monica’s experience with the new plugins available in ChatGPT8:20 | The benefits of using ChatGPT for data analysis in product management8:55 | Challenges Monica has faced using ChatGPT9:24 | The role of input prompts in ChatGPT’s functionality11:27 | The most valuable investments Monica has made in understanding AI technology14:16 | Monica’s views on the growing trend of generative AIQUOTES:"I don't think AI is a doomsday for our jobs yet. Right now, it's a tool that can increase our efficiency and productivity when used ethically and correctly."

In this episode, our host Aram Melkoumov is speaking with with Jorge, a product leader at Resilia, about the growing influence of AI, particularly GPT-4, in the tech industry. They dive into the ways AI can change our everyday experiences and discuss the potential for AI to replace certain roles.Key Takeaways:The Power of GPT-4: Jorge reflects on the advancements in AI with introduction of GPT-4. He shares his experiences about the potential uses of and capabilities of this tech in writing human-like text.Medici Effect: Jorge emphasizes the power of interdisciplinary knowledge and how viewing use cases from different perspectives can lead to innovative ideas.Real-World AI Integration: Aram and Jorge explore the application of AI in real-world scenarios, particularly through the use of browser extensions and APIs. They discuss how these integrations can help create more relevant and updated information, improving efficiency.AI in Content Creation: Jorge shares his experience with using AI in content creation, particularly in real estate. He also mentions Synthesia, an AI avatar company, as a potential tool for those who may not feel comfortable being on camera.SHOW NOTES 1:06 - Guest Introduction2:15 - Initial Reaction to ChatGPT4:09 - Prompt Engineering6:57 - Learning and Challenges8:19 - Leveraging ChatGPT Plugins13:16 - Investment in AI14:16 - Learning and Content Consumption16:28 - Doomsday Scenario or Paradise18:14 - Finding Irreplaceable RolesAbout Jorge SierraJorge, with over nine years of experience, has honed his skills as a Product Manager, Startup Advisor, and Consultant across the technology industry, from startups to large corporations, and as a founder of his own businesses. His entrepreneurial achievements include the successful establishment and management of two startups and a software factory firm, all aimed at introducing disruptive technologies to Latin American and Hispanic markets. Across multiple sectors, including e-commerce, fintech, and artificial intelligence, Jorge has consistently adhered to user-centric design and agile methodologies to develop intuitive, effective products. Connect with Jorge:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-sierra-guerra/Connect with Aram:https://www.crowdlinker.com/

In this episode of Product Sessions we delve into an insightful discussion with Anton Aleksandrov, associate Director at CleverTap, on how artificial intelligence is shaping product. We get into the impact of AI on development, workplace efficiency, and the potential consequences of its rapid adoption.Show Notes:02:15 - Role of GPT-4 in product research05:30 - AI adoption at CleverTap08:45 - Swift growth of AI applications and emerging companies11:20 - Advice for product leaders on investing in AIAbout AntonAnton is director of product at Clevertap - the complete platform that helps personalize and optimize all customer touchpoints. Some years ago he switched from management consulting to product management and never looked back.

In this episode of Product Sessions, we discuss how chatGPT can be applied to Customer Success and Product Strategy. Our guests, Laura Blackmore from Cascade and Danielle Latimore, Senior Customer Success manager, share their insights on using AI to increase efficiency, tailor customer experiences, and navigate the ethical challenges.Show Notes:0:00 - Introduction2:37 - Laura shares her experience with ChatGPT and its versatility within Cascade4:32 - Benefits of learning from other organizations and tailoring the ChatGPT prompts to suit your brand's voice and customer needs6:15 - Laura talks about the two big bets she would make in the era of AI11:19 - AI's potential in the market and the need for responsible use of data 13:28 - Future of AI About DanielleDanielle supports Cascade's customers as a success manager and heads up a variety of customer programs. She is focused on enterprise support, streamlining internal and external processes to scale that support effectively.Relatively new to the tech space, Danielle's background is in consumer goods sales and operations (particularly in new categories / budding markets). She has also studied math and analytics and loves using data to tackle complex problems. Outside of the virtual office, you can find Danielle taking advantage of working remotely through traveling, hiking, and camping all over the United States.About LauraLaura is currently leading Cascade’s strategic initiatives, with a focus on products. She is also supporting our amazing customers across Europe, by onboarding them onto the Cascade platform, and building a community of like-minded strategists.Laura has over 10 years experience scaling startups, and working closely with customers in the manufacturing, retail, pharmaceutical space to name a few! Laura is passionate about delivering incredible customer experiences and working with products.

Marlon Hope, head of Product for Netacea, joins Aram Melkoumov to discuss product development principles and key lessons for product success. He also talks about why data is important to measure the success of the objectives of your product. Netacea is agentless Intent Analytics platform.

Jeroen Van Hautte joins Aram Melkoumov to discuss the process of designing and launching customer-focused tech solutions. He explains how focusing on customer journey and having a customer centric attitude is key to success. User experience rather than features. Throughout the discussion, we explore his journey building TechWolf from determining ROI launching, acquiring the first customers and identifying the gaps to improve his product.

Sometimes designers do things that aren’t in the customer's best interest. In fact it happens more often than some like to admit it. Monika Ocieczek, the head of product design at Primer, witnessed it many times. She shares her perspective on why designers do it, evolution of product design, what successful designers look like and more. Bonus section: Monika and Aram discuss who should be blamed for the unsuccessful product.

Product Management and Engineering have rocky relationships that go beyond just product development. PMs focus on user experience, engineers on the code. With no proper collaborative effort between the two mediocre products are a typical outcome. In this episode, we talk about differences between product managers and engineers. Tudor explains and gives examples why product engineers and product managers work closely together. He also talks about his role in a highly regulated pharmaceutical space, data validation process and product biases.

Layoffs, interest rates at all-time high, the economy is plunging downhill. What should you do as an enterprise leader? How do you get ahead, execute your vision and come out on top? Shelly Bardai and Mohan Gulati join Aram Melkoumov to discuss and share advice in this event. They explore changing dynamics of the market, how to handle your R&D innovation and product teams, what to prioritise in the budget, and how to empower your team to innovate, create and bring great ideas to the forefront.

Tadas Labudis is a Senior Director of Product @ Playvox. His company Prodsight, was acquired in 2022 by Playvox. He shares with Aram what it's like not being a CEO but working as Senior Director of Product instead. Tadas also talks about his tricks on building a competitive team and user research methods for product discovery

In this episode, we talk about Ayal’s role at MicroFocus and his perspective on product and automation over the last two decades. Aram and Ayhal also discuss automated functional testing, how the world of product has evolved, how to create a product that your customers will love and more.

Product managers in many ways hold the whole business together. They are tasked with understanding what the customer wants and needs, then turning that into an actual product. In this conversation Burak Kantarci shares how he manages product at Thundra and his takeaways after moving from a designer role into product.

In this episode, Manos Kyriakakis talks with Aram about ways of achieving product/market fit in the world of startups. Manos also gives examples of metrics you can use to show whether you’ve got product market fit. They also get into confidence, arrogance, and assumptions in product.

What if business leaders could help you build your product? How do you get them on board? How do you then turn them into loyal customers? That’s what today’s founder did by creating an advisory council. Learn the ins and outs of how to create a product advisory council yourself.