We track Product so you don't have to. Top Podcasts summarised, the latest AI tools, plus research and news in a 5 min digest.
Hey Product fans!
Welcome to this week’s 🌮 Product Tapas. If you’ve been forwarded this please go here to sign up and check out previous editions to see what else you’ve missed.
Welcome to the new subscribers that have joined us over the last week. The aim of this newsletter is to help you navigate the goings on in Product and Tech. It’s another packed edition this week, so without further ado…
What’s cooking? 🧑🍳
📰 Not Boring: This week OpenAI looks to take a stand on AI ethics, following hotly on the heels of Elon Musk suing them. Over in France, they're running AI surveillance tests at concerts, but also getting a bum deal from Spotify as they now pay the most in the EU. Google's bringing smooth scrolling to sheets on desktop and dipping its toes back into the VR waters (annoying Meta in the process). Whilst we wrap up with news that Meta themselves are looking to remove news from your feed, ‘Nothing’ has announced a follow-up phone and we flag a story about Inline Help that could change the way you think about UX - or maybe not….
⌚️ Time-Saving Tools & GPTs: Today’s batch of GPTs benefit creators, marketers and those just looking to up their prompt game. Plus we bring news of Servicate and Voicepanel, both aiming to automate and speed up all things research-related.
🍔 Blog Bites: Our three articles this week start with a case study on SSENSE, where fashion meets tech in a tale of global conquest. Then, there's a shift in scene to how to design for B2B - full of challenges, yet ripe with opportunities for those willing to take a look. And we finish up with an opinion piece with a call to arms for pragmatism in product management that might just be the reality check many need.
🎙️ Pod Shots: NVIDIA's journey from a graphics card manufacturer to an AI powerhouse, as shared by founder and CEO Jensen Huang, offers a masterclass in strategic pivoting and resilience. This episode not only highlights the importance of visionary leadership but also underscores the role of emerging technologies in driving company growth and industry transformation - plus much more.
Plenty to get stuck into - off we go! 🚀👇
📰 Not boring
OpenAI signs open letter to build AI responsibly just days after Elon Musk sued the company for putting profit ahead of people
France runs AI surveillance tests at concerts ahead of Olympic deployment 👀
Google is apparently back in the VR market (after shutting down its “Daydream” products a few years ago) asking Meta to adopt Google’s own AndroidXR platform (giving up its own open source Android platform)
They’ve also announced “smooth scrolling” in Google Sheets on desktop - supposedly one their most highly requested features
Meta pulls back further on news, reporting it’s a tiny % of what people look at in their feed (c3%)
Wondercraft (aiming to be the Canva of Audio) introduces its new suite of tools to help you create audio in a faction of the time
Spotify to increase subscription price in France to counter new music-streaming tax - France now pays highest fees in the whole EU
Nothing drops it’s new “Nothing Phone 2a” with new design processor and camera
Apple Releases iOS and iPadOS 17.4 with Major Safari and App Store Changes in the EU, Transcripts for Podcasts, New Emoji, and More
Inline Help aims to answer customer questions before they ask. Interesting to see if this becomes a new trend in UX - or just more clutter and annoyance for customers in journey 🤔
📰 Time-Saving Tools & GPTs
This week’s batch of time-savers will benefit creators, marketers, designers and those just looking to up their prompt game:
The Designers Mood Board - GPT to help create mood boards
FAB GPT(Feature Advantage Benefits) - Find easy Feature, Advantage & Benefits of a Product, with this tool
God of Prompt - Instantly generates the best AI prompts for ChatGPT, Midjourney & Gemini. Choose the AI Tool and describe your idea
Servicate - AI-powered surveys, real user insights in seconds
Voicepanel - “the easiest way to get feedback at scale” - backed by Ycombinator this allows you to “conduct hundreds of conversations at once using AI, getting deeper insights than a survey at a fraction of the cost of human-moderated interviews”.
Lots and lots of automation looking to intermediate existing companies and roles within the tech ecosystem; interesting to see how these play out over the coming months
🍔 Blog Bites
Case Study: How SSENSE became a ‘cultural protagonist’
With global curation and delivery of over 700 brands across 150 countries, SSENSE's unconventional tactics created unique ways for the brand to connect with customers, differentiate itself within its competitive market, and garner mindshare to become a destination within the culture. Find out how here
The how: A TLDR explanation of the strategy
SSENSE started as a school project that evolved into a fashion-tech powerhouse valued at over $4 billion.
This achievement is especially remarkable considering:
Online fashion is hypercompetitive.
It’s notoriously difficult to scale to these software-like valuations.
Differentiation is crucial, even more so in luxury industries where value is “rooted in reflective emotional appeal.”
As a counterpoint to common high-fashion stereotypes of exclusivity, SSENSE established an accessible yet aspirational gateway into the culture through:
Editorialised content: Offering distinct cultural perspectives with minimal marketing.
Visual exploration: Providing inspiration through an emphasis on expertly curated styling.
Experimental collaborations: Creating immersive and avant-garde memorable experiences that stand out from the traditional.
Learn: 7 Insights for Navigating B2B Design
“B2B software isn’t a sexy topic ripe for social media shares. The brands aren’t names your family will recognise. And the aesthetics won’t excite designers like flashy new consumer tech. That said, B2B software is incredibly high leverage when well-executed.” Find out more in this great “Better by Design” blog post.
Shifting from B2C to B2B software design isn't just a change of audience — it's a whole new playing field.
B2B design is rich with challenges but even richer with opportunities.
The B2B SaaS work environment differs from what many designers expect, but …. it’s worth their attention. It’s an area ripe for design disruption with the right mindset and culture shifts. Let’s be real, the design quality bar in this space is low. But this makes the impact of good design that much more significant and far-reaching
By understanding the unique landscape of B2B — from company dynamics to customer interaction — we can create designs that aren't just functional, but foundational to business success.
Opinion: The product guru complex
Becks Yelland argues there’s a need for more pragmatism if product is to avoid an existential crisis
Is Product in existential crisis? With all the current noise about tech layoffs and commentary about the right way to “do” product management, you could be forgiven for wondering this.
The product discipline must move beyond having to continually justify its value and existence in an organisation.
All too often product teams are unsupported by leadership not versed in the product discipline, or product leaders land in a role that’s a “poisoned chalice”, finding that their sole focus is to fix how product works with sales, marketing, engineering and the executive suite. These leaders are then constantly put on the back foot with leadership who want them to prove that Product has a place, either in the organisation or in the C-Suite. It’s a constant fight, which two decades into product management, should not still be happening.
🎙 Pod Shots
Unless you’ve been living under a rock of late, you will have heard of NVIDIA. In this Acquired podcast episode, Jensen Huang, the founder and CEO of NVIDIA, shares insights on building a successful company - with some great insights for founders and PMs alike. He covers NVIDIA’s strategic evolution from its early days as a graphics card manufacturer to becoming a leader in artificial intelligence (AI).
🤖 Jensen Huang on Building NVIDIA
Product Podcast
🎙 Listen to the full episode here
📆 Published: October 16th, 2023
🕒 Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes. Time saved: 89 minutes🔥
💡 NVIDIA’s Strategic Pivot: Graphics to AI
Background Story: Initially focused on graphics processing units (GPUs) for gaming, NVIDIA foresaw the potential of GPUs in accelerating AI computations. This vision was rooted in the early 2000s when the gaming industry's demand for high-performance graphics coincided with the emerging needs of AI research for massive parallel processing capabilities.
Key Action: Diversify Core Technologies.
Actionable Insight: Regularly reassess your product's core technology for potential applications beyond its initial market. NVIDIA's shift to AI was not immediate but stemmed from recognizing parallel processing's broader implications.
🛡 Overcoming Near-Death Experiences
Background Story: NVIDIA faced significant financial challenges in its early years, particularly during the tech market downturns. The critical moment came with the development of the GeForce 256, NVIDIA's first GPU, which required substantial investment and carried high risk due to its innovative nature.
Key Action: Embrace Strategic Risk.
Actionable Insight: Identify moments when strategic risks are necessary for long-term success. Use data-driven analysis to back these decisions, but also recognize when seizing market opportunities requires bold moves.
🚀 Advice for Founders: Leveraging AI
Background Story: NVIDIA's early investment in AI was not an obvious choice. The field was still nascent, and practical applications were limited. However, Huang's belief in AI's potential led to significant R&D investment, culminating in CUDA, a parallel computing platform and programming model that opened up GPUs to general computation tasks beyond graphics.
Key Action: Integrate AI into Product Development.
Actionable Insight: Look beyond current trends to understand how emerging technologies like AI can transform your industry. Invest in skills, research, and partnerships that position your company at the forefront of this change.
❤️ The Emotional Journey of Leadership
Background Story: Leading NVIDIA through financial crises, technological pivots, and market skepticism required not just strategic foresight but emotional resilience. Huang’s leadership was tested as he navigated the company through uncertain times, including the dot-com bubble burst and the 2008 financial crisis.
Key Action: Build Resilience and Adaptability.
Actionable Insight: Foster a leadership style and company culture that prioritise resilience. Encourage your team to view failures and setbacks as opportunities for growth and learning.
🔮 NVIDIA’s Future Outlook and Industry Impact
Background Story: NVIDIA’s current focus on AI, deep learning, and the metaverse is based on decades of strategic planning and investment. The company’s commitment to R&D has not only led to technological innovations but has also defined new industry standards and practices.
Key Action: Invest in Research and Development (R&D).
Actionable Insight: Dedicate resources to R&D to sustain innovation and industry leadership. Collaborate with academia, industry partners, and innovation ecosystems to stay ahead of technological advancements.
🌱 Building Moats Through Ecosystems
Background Story: One of the key strategies NVIDIA employed to maintain its competitive edge and ensure its longevity in the fast-paced tech industry is the deliberate cultivation of robust ecosystems around its technologies. By fostering a network of developers, researchers, and industry partnerships, NVIDIA has not only solidified its market position but also created significant barriers to entry for potential competitors.
Actionable Insight: Prioritise building and nurturing ecosystems around your products. This can involve open-source contributions, developer tools, educational resources, and partnership programs. Ecosystems enhance product stickiness and create a community-driven innovation cycle that is hard for competitors to replicate.
🛠 Integrating AI into Product Development
Background Story: NVIDIA's approach to product development has been deeply influenced by its early and ongoing investments in AI. The company has integrated AI not just as a feature of its products but as a core component of its product development process. This integration has enabled NVIDIA to continuously improve product performance, efficiency, and usability, setting new industry standards.
Actionable Insight: Implement AI-driven analytics to gather insights on product performance and user feedback, guiding iterative improvements and ensuring your offerings remain at the cutting edge..
🌈 Conclusion: Lessons for Tech Entrepreneurs
NVIDIA’s journey under Jensen Huang’s leadership offers some great lessons in strategic planning, resilience, and innovation. The company's ability to anticipate market shifts and invest in emerging technologies are brilliant examples for those looking to build enduring companies in a rapidly evolving industry.
Want to quickly know more? Just ask the episode below👇 🤯
or if you prefer, 🎙 Listen to the full episode here
📅 Timestamps:
[00:03:00] From graphics to data center.
[00:05:29] A pivotal business decision.
[00:10:50] Betting the company on conviction.
[00:15:23] Universal function approximation discovery.
[00:20:30] Deep learning and OpenAI.
[00:22:04] Language model breakthroughs.
[00:26:25] Experimentation and product analytics.
[00:29:16] Company organizational structures.
[00:36:19] NVIDIA's data centre journey.
[00:39:36] Networking and data centres.
[00:45:18] AI cloud solution with clean energy.
[00:49:16] Building moats through ecosystems.
[00:53:55] Platform compatibility and success.
[00:57:39] The role of luck.
[01:01:15] Ensuring Information Safety.
[01:09:38] Favorite car memories.
[01:14:01] LSI Logic's revolutionary impact.
[01:15:50] High-level languages.
[01:23:23] Entrepreneurial journey and support.
[01:25:40] The manufacturing of intelligence.
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Alastair & the Product Tapas Team 🍽️.