Product Innovation Series with Aram Melkoumov

In this episode of the Product Innovation Show, Maarten van Kroonenburg, founder @ BW Ventures, and Aram Melkoumov dive deep into the realm of enterprise ideation. They explore the ins and outs of validating a business idea, with Maarten unveiling his unique, tried-and-tested processes for determining product viability, customer validation, and effective stakeholder management. The duo emphasizes the significance of securing initial customer commitments and also sheds light on the critical considerations for corporates eyeing acquisitions. Engage in a conversation rich with strategies, insights, and invaluable advice that has the potential to transform your perspective on product development and validation.

About the Guest
Maarten 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:

[1:59] Corporate Innovation vs Startups: Maarten discusses the distinct ways startups and corporations approach innovation.
[6:09] Decision-making in Innovation: Companies face dilemmas in building new solutions, buying them, or establishing partnerships.
[11:46] Risk in Innovation: Innovation involves inherent risks, and it's crucial to make calculated decisions.
[17:49] Digital Tools in Business: Emphasis on the role and significance of digital transformation for growth.
[25:05] Pilot Programs: The value of testing new ideas via pilot programs to validate feasibility is highlighted.
[35:59] Importance of Adaptability: The conversation underscores the need for flexibility and adjustments in innovation processes.
[43:41] Stakeholder Dynamics: Addressing stakeholder concerns and managing their expectations is vital in innovation.
[57:56] When to Pivot or Kill a Project: Maarten elaborates on making choices about pivoting projects or discontinuing them.
[59:28] Meeting Stakeholder Expectations: Stakeholders often prioritize visible progress over finalized contracts.
[61:41] Acquisition Strategy: Companies need clarity on their strategy when considering acquisitions.

Quotes 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 Biography
2. Mindgames: Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey
3. The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

Follow Maarten van Kroonenburg
https://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. 

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 - Introduction
2:15 - Initial Reaction to ChatGPT
4:09 - Prompt Engineering
6:57 - Learning and Challenges
8:19 - Leveraging ChatGPT Plugins
13:16 - Investment in AI
14:16 - Learning and Content Consumption
16:28 - Doomsday Scenario or Paradise
18:14 - Finding Irreplaceable Roles

About Jorge Sierra

Jorge, 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 research
05:30 - AI adoption at CleverTap
08:45 - Swift growth of AI applications and emerging companies
11:20 - Advice for product leaders on investing in AI

About Anton
Anton 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 - Introduction
2:37 - Laura shares her experience with ChatGPT and its versatility within Cascade
4:32 - Benefits of learning from other organizations and tailoring the ChatGPT prompts to suit your brand's voice and customer needs
6:15 - Laura talks about the two big bets she would make in the era of AI
11:19 - AI's potential in the market and the need for responsible use of data
13:28 - Future of AI

About Danielle
Danielle 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 Laura
Laura 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.

About Marlon Hope
Marlon Hope is the Head of Product at Netacea. He is PRINCE 2 and Agile qualified, with years spent in banking, operations management, procurement, and logistics. The golden thread in his career is strong project management skills and consistent, high-quality delivery.

SHOW NOTES:
0:11 | Episode intro and what’s in for you
0:57 | How a computer game made Marlon a better product owner
5:07 | Good product building involves processes and patterns
7:38 | Marlon’s first principles of a good product design
10:01 | Marlon’s framework of stripping the root cause of a problem
14:00 | How project management and delivery helped Marlon become a product manager
18:43 | Common myths that prevent people from becoming a success in product delivery 22:50 | How being non-technical has helped Marlon in his product journey
27:17 | A bit about Netacea, how it works, and its difference from the competitors
29:40 | Other product lessons and key principles in terms of how Marlon operates
32:00 | How much your product’s data can give
13:15 | Wrap-up
 
QUOTES:
“Being a product developer, you don’t always have a perfect environment to be able to achieve excellence. There’s always some form of compromise that you have to make.” [5:40]

“Effective solving of problems that seem impossible requires quick experimentation. Don’t be hung up on getting the right answer, but plot a path of trial, failing, start again, but do it quickly and take opportunities to validate what we do.” [13:14]

“Being non-technical forces us to speak a common language that a four-year-old can understand.” [26:25]

“When you follow data, it’s very hard to make wrong decisions.” [31:37]

Connect with Marlon
Company’s Website: https://netacea.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlonhope/

About Jeroen Van Hautte

Jeroen Van Hautte is the co-founder and CTO/CPO of TechWolf, a startup with a laser focus on AI-based strategic workforce planning. Jeroen graduated from the University of Cambridge with a specialised natural language processing degree, Jeroen built the groundwork for TechWolf's Skill Engine technology and now heads the development within the company.

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 | Jeroen's journey building a product at TechWolf 

4:02 | What the first technology Jeroen created was missing

5:22 | How Jeroen acquired his first clients after launching TechWolf solution 

6:48 | When Jeroen realized that he needed to focus more on customer journey  

08:27 | Jeroen’s tech solution early adopters and how they identify the gaps 

11:09 | Strategies to determine the ROI or interest in your tech investment 

12:38 | How to identify what to prioritize when developing new features

14:20 | Jeroen’s biggest milestones in the customers’ journey  

17:31 | How Jeroen’s team works on the product and engineering side 

19:07 | Defining the KPIs for your product and engineering teams 

21:18 | What a North Star metric for clients’ success looks like for Jeroen

22:56 | How Jeroen role has evolved over the last couple of years

24:44 | Spending time with customers through workshops and discovery exercise 

26:16 | If Jeroen had only five hours a week, how would he spend the time? Find out?

28:00 | What Jeroen would do if he were to start his company all over again

29:31 | Jeroen final message as a cofounder, CTO and CPO

QUOTES:

“Launching a tech solution can be challenging, but the trick is to be out there in the market because when you get the feedback, you can iterate.” [5:24]

“As you gain more customers, it’s important not to forget the value you provide to your early customers. Make sure they are coming along for the ride so that you can focus on serving the bigger population.” [10:10]

“As engineers, we’re often focused on solving technical problems, but we’ve to remember that we’re building a solution to change the world. A customer-centric attitude is very important. Focus on user experience rather than features.” [15:26]

“To solve a problem, you’ve got to be obsessed with it and surround yourself with people who can also find the same passion for the problem.” [29:35]

Follow Jeroen Van Hautte

Personal Website: https://www.vanhautte.be/

Company’s Website: https://techwolf.ai/

LinkedIn: https://be.linkedin.com/in/jeroenvanhautte

About Monika Ocieczek

Monika Ocieczek is the head of product design at Primer. Monika has also served as a CPO and co-founder at Gimi AB, a youth-first neo-bank, and as a product manager and team lead at Tink. 

Monika is widely recognized for her work in Fin-tech and has been named one of the "Top 250 most promising Fin-techs in the world 2018" by CBInsights and one of the "The hottest startups in Stockholm" 2019 by Wired. Monika has a Master of Science in Marketing and Management from the Stockholm School of Economics and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the same school.

SHOW NOTES:

0:11 | Episode intro and what’s in for you today

1:21 | Why product designers might do things that aren’t in the best interests of customers

3:43 | Evolution of product design approaches over time

5:54 | How Monika’s background in marketing and product blends into product design

8:47 | The role of product marketing in product design

11:28 | How do you become a genius in serving customer’s interest 

13:44 | Monika’s thoughts on the best practices in a startup environment

20:16 | Characteristics and qualities of a successful product designer

23:34 | The source of intuition among many product designers 

27:17 | Changing thinking patterns from time-tested principles around product design

32:08 | Who should be blamed for unsuccessful product

33:54 | If Monika was to make a 30-second social media video, what would she say, and how would it look like

35:18 | Monika’s most exciting part of her job and why

36:54 | Wrap-up

QUOTES:

“In product design, the primary focus should be on the users because that always leads to great products, and that great product leads to more business value.” [2:02]

“There are two schools of thought that are very popular within product design. These are Google’s Design Print and IDEO Design Thinking. What is lacking in the market is a school of thought on product design that focuses on fast-growing and high-performing startups.” [4:15]

“Marketing in the digital space is more interactive than in the traditional way.” [06:26]

“No matter which product methodology or framework you use in design, it may not be the best, or most successful.” [31:49] 

Follow Monika Ocieczek

Company’s Website: https://primer.io/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monika-ocieczek/

About Tudor Munteanu
Tudor is originally from Romania, but lives in Barcelona. Before becoming a VP of Operations and Strategic Initiatives at Aizon he was a subject matter expert on Google Cloud platform working for SELLBYTEL Group.

SHOW NOTES:
0:00 | Introduction to Tudor Munteanu
0:49 | How has the experience of relocating from Romania to Barcelona been for Tudor
2:08 | What is Aizon, and what product offerings does it offer
3:25 | Mechanisms company put in place to ensure a higher percentage of accurate data is collected
6:01 | Managing data validation process
7:20 | How Tudor has created product flexibility
9:17| What clients look for in product
12:00 | Who is a product engineer?
12:41 | Why should product engineers and product managers work closely together
14:07| Skills that product engineers should have to develop vast knowledge
15:19 | Which industries require unity of product management and product engineering
16:37 | Domain Driven Designs and why it must be implemented in companies
19:53 | Wrong product practices that don’t give success
21:04 | Functional debt vs. technical debt in software development
22:31 | A step in product development that is commonly skipped
24:02 | Product bias that affects product performance
27:14 | Golden nuggets from Tudor

QUOTES:
“Barcelona is emerging to be an overall technology hub in Europe.” [0:52]
“Sticking to a particular standard is a better way to manage the data validation process on a product.” [6:07]
“Product engineers and product managers should, in most cases, work close to ensure a successful product.” [12:32]
“Don’t chase the output. Manage the outcome.” [25:34]

Connect with Tudor Munteanu
Website: https://www.aizon.ai/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tudor-munteanu-810a4875/