The Founder's Foyer with Aishwarya Ashok

00:00 Meet Carlos 01:19 Carlos' Journey into Product Management 02:26 The Inception of Product School 03:52 Challenges and Successes in EdTech 06:47 Evolution of Product School 12:15 Global Reach & Online Education 17:35 Building Product School as a Product 20:26 Importance of Showing Up & Investing in Yourself 22:32 Balancing Community and Business 26:13 Trends in Product Management and AI 29:41 The Impact of AI on Product Management 33:16 The Rise of No-Code Tools & AI Integration 38:37 Final Thoughts and Future of Product Management Being a product builder is like continuously thinking about one’s craft and discovering ways to make it better each time. Product mindset is more of a lifetime learning, and the best way it can be done is finding a set of peers and folks you look up to, and doing it together as a community. Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia is an entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience building products. He founded the Product School in 2014, which is the global leader in product training with a community of over two million members. All of their instructors are seasoned product people working at top Silicon Valley companies including Google, Meta, Netflix, Airbnb, Uber, and Amazon. Prior to Product School, he founded Floqq, the largest online education marketplace in Spanish and Portuguese at the time. We chat about Carlos's journey from his early days in Spain to founding Product School in Silicon Valley, the evolution of the product management community, and the impact of AI and new trends in the product space. Carlos shares his insights on building a community-led company, the importance of continuous learning, and how Product School is reshaping education in the tech industry.

00:00 Introduction to Matthew Dicks 01:19 Matt's Journey into Storytelling 04:46 Teaching Storytelling: From Kids to Corporates 06:55 Essence of a Good Story 15:47 Homework for Life: Capturing Everyday Moments 24:26 The Pickle Story: A Lesson in Specificity 25:02 Hone Personal Storytelling 26:12 Connecting Through Shared Narratives 28:16 Crafting Engaging Beginnings 38:08 Role of Humor in Storytelling 43:35 AI and the Future of Storytelling ----------- All of us love listening to stories from friends, teammates, and sometimes even strangers we meet. What makes us a good listener also pushes us to share our own experiences and thoughts. But when it comes to storytelling, there’s a ton of questions that cloud us up—what to share, what would keep us relevant with our audience, why would someone be interested in what we say? Great stories are crafted, unforgettable, and are uniquely associated with the person who shares—so let’s dive deeper to understand how all of us can become storytellers. Matthew Dicks is a best-selling author, columnist, blogger, podcaster, and teacher. Matt has taught clients like the FBI, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, MIT, Harvard, & Lego how to tell their best stories. He’s a creator, producer, and co-host of Speak Up Storytelling podcast and he’s also authored the most-famous book, Storyworthy, which has received so much appreciation among the folks in tech. In this episode, Matt discusses the universal strategies applicable to both personal and business storytelling, importance of capturing 'five second moments,' the power of relatability, and how to become more memorable through storytelling. Whether you’re pitching a product or engaging an audience, there are so many techniques we chatted about to craft stories that resonate.

00:00 Welcome to the Founders Foyer 01:45 Embracing Joy, Connections, and Discovery 05:35 The Power of Building Genuine Networks 10:00 Creating a Personal Board of Directors 16:10 Building a Networking Flywheel 29:56 The Roller Coaster of Startup Life (Moving from Big Tech) 31:48 The Power of Storytelling in Business 36:13 Lessons from Poker: Risk and Confidence 42:39 Embracing Fractional Roles 53:24 Building Authentic Communities In the fast-paced world of tech and products, finding joy and building meaningful connections can be as crucial as coding the next big feature. Whether you’re a first-time founder, an avid creator, or an indiehacker, knowing what excites you about building products, learning from doing, and discovering how to navigate the right networks are key. Ha Nguyen is a product lead, venture capitalist, one of the co-founders of Women in Product community, who also embraces fractional work and growing possibilities for the last two decades in tech. She’s currently the founder & Managing Partner of NextStep, supporting early stage founders on their journey to become master operators, company builders, and people leaders. She’s a tournament poker player who made the final table of a World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament. In this episode, Aishwarya and Ha chat about building meaningful connections, embracing joy, and discovering new experiences in the fast-paced tech world. Ha shares her journey—taking a sabbatical for mental health, building a personal board of directors, the value of fractional roles, and the influence of storytelling in leadership.

0:00 - Introduction to Ben Lang 2:10 - Power of Communities 5:30 - Ben Lang's Notion Journey 9:15 - Corona Crash: Bringing People Together 12:45 - Notion: Finding and Empowering Superusers 16:25 - Community Strategies and Challenges 20:00 - Influencer Marketing and Content Creation 25:50 - Metrics and Success Indicators for Scaling Communities 30:10 - Transitioning to Nextplay 35:30 - Building Connections & Belonging 38:45 - What's up for Nextplay Meeting like-minded folks from our circles is such a fun thing to do—the way we exchange ideas, talk to each other, get inspired, and use the accountability that comes with commitment; these are all the upsides to a great group. Building an idea into a product is so much about cultivating taste in people, riding by their motivations, and helping them belong in a group of other similar folks. How to bring people together with the right intent, why to build community and how to thrive those communities for the long game? Ben Lang is a builder and community lead, who enjoys bringing people together and helping them find opportunities and interests to work. He formerly led Notion’s community and was one of the early marketing hires there. Ben loves building stuff, and his template gallery side project attracted nearly 70,000 visits per month even before he made a move to Notion. He is currently building Next Play—the best way to discover what’s next with curated opportunities, gatherings, and content.

00:00 Introduction to Founders Foyer 01:40 The Magic of Learnable Skills 05:45 Building Alt MBA: The Experiment 08:57 The Rise of Live Learning with Maven 17:14 Intuition vs. Rigorous Thinking 30:39 The Importance of Deep Reflection 31:32 Balancing Immediate Action with Thoughtful Planning 32:54 Understanding and Developing Taste 38:22 Communicating Taste and Quality 45:30 Managing Ego in Collaborative Work 48:12 The Power of Super Specific Hows 54:08 Practical Applications of Super Specific Hows Building hype for your ideas, leading the vision, and setting clarity on how to execute on plans are definitely things that we as product builders and creative minds want to get better at. Thinking becomes a great part of this and learning to observe intensely and being able to articulate thoughts are the result of great thinking. So how to communicate and work in a way that’s positive-sum and leveraging? Wes Kao is an entrepreneur, marketer, coach, and advisor who writes at newsletter.weskao.com. She is co-founder of Maven, an edtech company that raised $25M from First Round and Andreessen Horowitz. Previously, she co-founded altMBA with bestselling author Seth Godin. Wes’ essays are deep reads that help you vividly experience the ‘how’ rather than merely stating points. In this episode, Wes and Aishwarya chat about co-founding Alt MBA with Seth Godin to Wes' current role at Maven, differences between lazy and rigorous thinking, and actionable insights on turning 'Je ne sais quoi' into an executable framework. Tune in!

00:00 Meet Sharath Kuruganty: The Creative Builder 01:26 Sharath’s Journey into the Creative Space 02:32 Building Muscle: The Key to Founding Success 03:38 Importance of Community in the Creative Process 08:50 ‘Commitment and the No Excuses’ Mindset 14:36 Balancing Creativity and Mistakes 26:00 Power of Sharing and Building in Public 28:59 Understanding Public Accountability 30:14 Qualifying Questions for Self-Reflection 31:46 Managing Self-Doubt as a Founder 34:44 Journaling and Gratitude 38:34 Exploring the Podcasting Landscape 51:03 Giving Back as a Founder How is it to have ideas constantly bustling inside your mind? The creative spirit is the one that’s so effervescent—one day you want to kickstart a new project and just by the evening, you want to build another idea out. Navigating this path of building things for fun, also aligned with monetization and community goals is definitely a huge challenge. How to get going with this? Sharath Kuruganty is a seasoned creative builder who loves exploring ideas, shipping things quickly, and iterating and learning from feedback. Sharath’s experiences go so wide—from helping creators launch stuff at Product Hunt, to growing communities with OnDeck, interviewing underdogs on his podcast, and building out products like shoutout.so, GuestLab.ai, he’s a complete creator-product package. In this episode, Sharath shares personal anecdotes and practical tips for aspiring founders and creators on staying committed, managing self-doubt, and leveraging the growing podcast space.

00:00 Introducing Dan Shipper & Every 02:45 The Philosophy of Building: Reflecting on Identity and Creation 07:37 Dan's Journey: From Tech Founder to Embracing Writing and AI 15:05 Leveraging AI for Creativity and Efficiency in Media 21:35 Reimagining Reading: How AI Enhances the Experience 25:32 Exploring AI's Personalization and Future Potential 28:18 The Evolution of AI: From Sidekick to Personal Assistant 32:45 AI's Role in Content Creation 35:43 Navigating Self-Doubt and Creative Consistency 42:41 The Influence of 70’s Aesthetics on Creativity 46:34 Physical Inspirations in a Digital Age 49:39 Reflecting on AI, Emotion, and Artistic Expression To think and to create are by far the most satisfying part of work for all of us. As new technologies come in, the crux we keep getting closer to is thinking clearly and creating more frequently. AI has made this process not just upleveled in speed but also introduced a side-kick approach. How to incorporate AI and still build our unique taste? What’s it like to ride with AI and find more individuality with the creative projects and businesses that we build? Dan Shipper is the co-founder of Every, a creative media company that works to make you smarter about technology, productivity, and AI, trusted by almost 70k builders. Dan is a writer, thinker, podcaster, builder behind an AI chatbot, and his current work is filled with playing around with AI and shipping related projects. In this chat, Dan and Aishwarya discuss the transformative impact of AI on creativity, the process of building unique projects, and intertwining personal growth with professional work. Dan elaborates on a recent AI project (internal to Every), Spiral, designed to convert content into different formats effectively, providing insights into his reading habits with AI's assistance.

00:00 Intro to Kristen Berman  01:21 The Genesis of Irrational Labs & Power of Behavioral Economics 02:45 Unlocking User Insights: The Shift in Customer Interviews  05:00 The Art of Designing Effective Incentives & Understanding User Behavior 11:26 Empty Text Boxes to User Empowerment: ChatGPT as an example 13:07 Overcoming Barriers: Making Products More Accessible  19:42 B2B—Understanding Consumer vs. Business Decision-Making 24:27 Product-Led Growth: Strategies and Challenges 25:09 Simplifying B2B User Experiences: A Key to Adoption 26:20 Customer Feedback vs. Actual Behavior: Navigating the Bias 27:17 Case Studies & Learning from Failures 37:41 The Power of Environment in Shaping User Behavior 42:36 Embracing AI: Behavioral Economics in the New Decade 49:23 Concluding Thoughts on Behavioral Science in Product Design Getting feedback and listening to what customers have got to tell us has been the favorite part for all of us product folks. Whether it’s a new app, feature, or even a little shiny interaction, we love getting validation from our audience. We’re in the constant exploration of how best to solve our users’ problems and jumping in as the demi-gods they’d see. But wait, how do we know what exactly goes on in our users’ minds? Like literally brain-reading them. Kristen Berman is the CEO and co-founder of Irrational Labs, a behavioral product design firm. She helps companies like Google, Airbnb, PayPal, Microsoft, and LinkedIn improve their products and services through behavioral design research. Yes yes, the one where she helps builders and founders design, test and scale products by learning behavioral economics. Kristen’s work has been featured in The Stanford Innovation Review, TechCrunch, and Scientific American. Kristen shares her experiences working with tech companies and highlights how behavioral design research aids in creating products that truly resonate with users. She touched upon the evolution of AI tools like ChatGPT and its impact on user experience, psychology of nudging, overcoming biases, and the role of behavioral economics in a new AI-driven era.

00:00 Intro to Peter Yang and Creator Economy 01:21 The Intersection of Product and Creative Tracks 05:14 Finding Your Zone of Genius 12:34 How to Use Humor in Communication 18:30 Defining Success in the Creator Economy 22:04 Crafting Creative Journeys 22:34 Learning from Fellow Creators 23:56 Avoiding Analysis Paralysis 24:22 Packaging Value in Your Work 25:16 Discovering Your Unique Path 26:36 The Importance of Energy in Your Work 27:04 Maximizing Content Creation Efforts 29:49 The Pressure to Become the Next Best Someone 32:50 Building Your Personal Brand 38:42 Exploring AI Experiments with Custom GPTs 42:42 Wrapup If you are a deep thinker, you naturally enjoy the intersection of creating something and seeing it come alive just as you build. The journey of a product builder and creator cross paths—because it’s all about finding an audience and shipping projects that resonate with both you and them. So how do you set foot to build a business around something that you’re proud of creating? How to look at creation as a craft and channelize it with the way the tech world evolves? Peter Yang has spent more than a decade leading product teams at Meta, Amazon, Reddit, and Roblox. He runs a newsletter community called Creator Economy with over 70k+ folks supporting his work. Peter enjoys sharing tips and humor about how to level up your product and creator skills. Peter shares insights from his journey, exploring how creators can leverage their unique skills and interests to carve out niches in the creator economy. From blending humor in content to the transformative impact of AI on personal productivity and the significance of building with a customer-focused mindset—there’s valuable takeaways for anyone looking to make their mark in the creative and product spaces. Follow The Founder's Foyer on: Website - https://www.thefoundersfoyer.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thefoundersfoyer Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7xov9chTGQ5F9rP5N0J78v Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-founders-foyer-with-aishwarya-ashok/id1628603555 Newsletter - https://aishwarya.substack.com/ Follow Peter on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/petergyang LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergyang Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

00:00 Introduction to Lane 01:14 Lane's Nonlinear Career Path 04:09 How Endurance Helps With Success 12:51 Importance of Mindset in Product Building 23:19 Power of Shipping and Learning by Making 26:49 The Origin of the 'Rituals' Concept 29:03 Offer Parties: Gusto’s Ritual with Job Offers 29:51 Transforming Status Quo Rituals 30:58 Impact of Feedback in Product Development 33:01 Influence of French Literary Salons 37:46 Authenticity and Serendipity in Community Building 43:44 Creative People and Connections 46:14 The Ritual Pack: Enhancing Team Meetings and Decision Making 58:01 Intentionality in Building Culture Everyone’s got an interesting journey into crafting their product careers—the best part is to embrace all of our facets and dimensions and see how to bring them into one picture. And over time, that translates to exploring habits that help us stay in those dimensions and keep learning, not just from our own work but from networks around us. How to channelize these non-linear paths, find rituals, and focus on growth while building products?Lane Shackleton is the CPO of Coda. Lane previously led product teams at YouTube and Google, and brings in a set of unique work experiences from before. Lane works with so many creators across the globe and digs deep into empathy, goal setting, and stories.In this episode of The Founder's Foyer, Aishwarya and Lane delve into the concept of product rituals and the importance of habits in fostering product growth. Lane shares insights from his nonlinear career path, his approach towards leadership, the significance of enduring pain, and the role of mindfulness in product development. He highlights the significance of mental models, the role of serendipity, and the importance of maintaining authenticity in community engagement