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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 or just fancy the best reading (and listening!) experience, check out the mobile app or web version. You can sign up and check previous editions here.

What’s cooking this week? 🥘 

📰 Not Boring - Never a boring week in Product. This week’s highlights for me are Meta’s controversial AI-generated posts and Snapchat’s new tracking location history.

⌚ Time-Saving Tools & GPTs - On the tools front, my two picks have to be one that helps speed up your writing and another that helps automate your inbox.

🍔 Blog Bites - This week’s reads will challenge your thinking. Dive into Attio’s fascinating journey of pivoting from a niche CRM to a flexible, scalable product, and explore the comparison between enterprise and B2C product management. Plus we’ve got a stack of data from the Pendo / Mind The Product global product benchmarks report.

🎙️ Pod Shots - Mark Zuckerberg takes centre stage this week in a recent Acquired podcast. He shares candid reflections on Meta’s future, the early days of Facebook, and why staying lean and flexible is key for founders. From AI to AR, he’s betting big on the future of human connection—there’s plenty for product managers and founders to take away.

Time to dig in—let’s go! 🚀👇

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📰 Not boring

• Visa bolsters financial crime prevention portfolio with Featurespace (AI Payments protection firm) deal

• Snapchat’s new Footsteps feature tracks your location history

• Meta to proactively serve up AI-generated posts (including some images that feature their own likeness) to users on its platforms

• Whilst Meta smart glasses can be used to dox anyone in seconds, study finds

• AI bots now beat 100% of those traffic-image CAPTCHAs

• Airtable just launched an AI platform that could change how you work (moving beyond chatbots to workflow automation)

• Bots, so many Bots - over 60% of ProductHunt's more than 1 million signups are bots, with many product comments now appearing to be generated by ChatGPT suggesting users are buying upvotes....

• Apple readies new iPhone SE model that kills the home button

• Stripe introduces a new API release process, including slowing releases to bi-annually to help customer teams plan better

• Shopify goes all-in on GraphQL focusing heavily on scaling, performance and developer experience

• Whilst the leadership upheaval makes all the headlines, only 41 of the 702 (6%) that signed the open letter to the board have left OpenAI so far

• In an oh so familiar story, Paypal opted you into sharing data without your knowledge

• Microsoft is reportedly turning the Copilot mobile app into your personal news presenter, whilst Copilot for the Web gets a sudden upgrade, including a new feature and voices

  • Microsoft also confirmed they’re continuing their current hybrid work policy and won’t be jumping on the Amazon 100% office approach

• With launches its paired-down party game app designed to help deepen relationships

• And to close us out, we’re back to Sonos who’ve outlined a turnaround plan following their app disaster

  Want even more news?? View more here →

⌚️ Time-Saving Tools & GPTs

• Replio: Transform your surveys into AI-driven conversational interviews

• In a related field, Pathway helps you create better UX, get insights faster and involve the team in the research process

• Nuvio: Digital CFO. Nuvio handles your income, expenses and cash flow

• Flow: use your voice to write 3x faster in every application in a tone specific to the app you’re using it in. AI commands, auto-edits in 100+ languages

• Inbox Zero: Stop wasting half your day in Gmail. Automate your email with AI, bulk unsubscribe from newsletters, and block cold emails.

• Buildpad: platform that provides a structured process to follow for building your product. Get help from AI + special tools, with actionable next steps. Buildpad helps you build products that people want

• Pitch Power: Supercharge Your Next Proposal. A simple workflow tool for freelancers, agencies and service firms who prospect, pitch or propose.

• MyStoryboarder: AI Generated Storyboards. Turn your ideas into visual stories in minutes

🍔 Blog Bites - Essential Reads for Product Teams

Learn: Lenny’s Top Courses on Maven

In his latest newsletter Lenny lays out his favourite courses on Maven here. It’s split into career courses, Product Courses and Growth Courses.

Maven isn’t cheap so it’s probably worth looking at ways to get access paid out of your L&D budget (if you have one). But they come highly rated.

Case Study: If CRM + The Future Had A Baby: Attio’s Zero To One

Bill Kerr recently did a deep dive into the journey of Attio, a CRM challenger, as it transitions from its original product (Fundstack) to a broader and more flexible CRM solution. The founders, Nicolas Sharp and Alexander Christie, built Attio to challenge the incumbents like Salesforce by offering a highly adaptable and modern system that fits evolving customer lifecycle needs.

It’s a really interesting example for anyone growing/scaling a startup. There’s their pivot example, customer centricity, go-to-market ideas pricing lessons and more.

PS if you haven’t got your hands dirty with Attio, it’s the best CRM I’ve used. Super easy to set up and seems to scale well. I have no dog in this fight (sadly, as I’d love some sweet kickbacks from them) I just like it.

Life as a PM: Enterprise Product Management vs. B2C Product Management

I meet plenty of PMs who ask me about how Product Management differs across B2B vs. B2C and at-scale businesses vs. startups. While the job market remains tricky (see my take on navigating that), the Hustle Badger team released a great article this week comparing enterprise and B2C product management, highlighting the key differences between the two.

It covers essential aspects like scale, value creation, business models, and customer personas while also addressing how the role of product managers changes based on whether they are working in enterprise or B2C environments. Read all about it here.

Data: Global Product Benchmarks From Pendo

This "Mind the Product Benchmarks" report, powered by Pendo data, offers a deep dive into nine key modern product KPIs, providing insights into global product performance across different industries, company sizes, and regions. It emphasises the importance of data-driven decision-making in product management and highlights benchmarks to help teams measure and improve their product performance.

Follow the link above or web readers can download it below.

🎙️ Pod Shots - Bitesized Podcast Summaries

This one needs little introduction. We’re covering the recent live interview the Acquired team did with Mark Zuckerberg, offering a rare, candid conversation about his journey as a founder, Meta's evolving vision, and his thoughts on the future of technology. From AR glasses to AI, Zuckerberg provided valuable insights relevant for founders and product managers alike. Let’s dive into the key moments of the conversation and the actionable takeaways you can apply to your work.

⚒️ The Mark Zuckerberg interview

🎥Watch the full episode here

📆 Published: September 18th, 2024

🕒 Estimated Reading Time: 3 mins. Time saved: 83 mins🔥

💡 Section 1: The Early Days of Facebook—Would He Do It Again?

When asked if he’d start Facebook again knowing what he knows now, Zuckerberg shared an honest reflection on the entrepreneurial journey. He admitted that if he had known how difficult it would be, he might not have done it. But that’s often the magic of entrepreneurship—you take risks because you don’t always see the full picture of challenges ahead.

Key Takeaways:

• Expect challenges: The entrepreneurial journey is filled with ups and downs. Don’t be deterred by the fear of the unknown.

• Growth through adversity: Struggles shape both you and your business. Face them head-on, knowing they are part of the process.

• Optimism fuels action: Many founders underestimate challenges, and that allows them to take on ambitious projects.

📱 Section 2: Meta’s Vision—Not Just a Social Media Company

Zuckerberg emphasised that Meta has never been just a social media company; it’s a company focused on human connection. He discussed the future of social interactions being shaped by technologies like AR glasses, holograms, and AI assistants—tools that will allow for more immersive and natural connections.

Key Takeaways:

• Think beyond the present: Don’t define your company by your current product. Focus on the broader value you provide (e.g., connection, communication).

• Innovate for the future: Always look ahead to where technology and user experiences are going, not just where they are today.

• Build around user needs: Meta’s focus is on how technology can deepen human connection—stay centred on what users truly want.

🧠 Section 3: Learning Faster Than the Competition—Meta’s Secret Sauce

Zuckerberg shared that Meta’s competitive advantage is its speed of learning. Rather than waiting for perfection, Meta often releases products early to get feedback and iterate quickly. This "move fast and learn" philosophy has been a core driver of the company’s ability to stay ahead. I seem to recall it used to be to move fast and break things, but given their size, political and social power there’s less focus on the breaking these days….

Key Takeaways:

• Speed matters: Don’t wait until everything is perfect to release your product. Ship early and learn fast.

• Embrace feedback: Release products early to gather user feedback and iterate. This helps you improve faster than your competition.

• Iterative mindset: Encourage a culture of frequent iteration, where speed to market and learning cycles are prioritised.

⚙️ Section 4: Building Strong Technology Foundations

According to Zuckerberg, Meta’s ability to outlast competitors like MySpace, Twitter, and Snapchat stems from its strong technological foundation. He highlighted the importance of being a true technology company—investing in engineering and infrastructure to ensure scalability and flexibility.

Key Takeaways:

• Invest in your tech stack: A solid technological foundation is critical for long-term success and scalability.

• Prioritise engineering: Ensure your company is built with a strong engineering culture at its core, enabling innovation and agility.

• Own your tech: Controlling your own technology stack gives you more freedom to innovate and scale without being dependent on third-party platforms.

🚀 Section 5: Strategy as a Game of Turns

The hosts likened Zuckerberg’s strategic approach to a turn-based strategy game—where Meta wins by getting more "turns" (iterations) than its competitors. Zuckerberg agreed, emphasising that each iteration teaches you more about your product and how to better serve users.

Key Takeaways:

• Maximise learning opportunities: Every product iteration gives you the chance to learn. The more iterations, the faster your growth.

• Iterate fast: Meta’s strategy is to get products into the market quickly and learn from real-world feedback. This helps improve products faster than the competition.

• Balance risk and reward: Be willing to take risks by launching products that aren’t fully polished, but are functional enough to gather valuable data.

📊 Section 6: Navigating Tough Decisions—Mobile and AI

Zuckerberg reflected on one of Meta’s biggest missteps—betting on HTML5 for mobile development before their IPO. It was a strategic error that forced them to rewrite their mobile apps natively. He stressed that mistakes are inevitable but course corrections are crucial for survival. He also touched on Meta’s focus on controlling key technologies, like AI, to avoid reliance on external platforms.

Key Takeaways:

• Be ready to pivot: If a strategy isn’t working, don’t be afraid to shift direction. It’s better to course-correct quickly than to stick with a losing plan.

• Own your core technologies: Owning your technology stack gives you control over your product and protects you from platform restrictions.

• Strategic missteps are recoverable: Even major mistakes, like Meta’s initial mobile strategy, can be fixed with decisive action.

🔍 Section 7: Zuckerberg’s Advice to Founders—Stay Lean and Flexible

Zuckerberg offered timeless advice to founders: stay lean and flexible in the early days. He shared how Facebook started as one of many projects he was working on, which gave him the freedom to pivot and scale when needed. By keeping teams small and nimble, founders can better adapt to market changes and new opportunities.

Key Takeaways:

• Stay lean: Avoid over-hiring and overcommitting resources early on. Keep your team small until you’ve achieved product-market fit.

• Maintain flexibility: Flexibility allows you to pivot quickly if needed, especially in the early stages when your business is still finding its path.

• Test multiple ideas: Don’t commit to a single idea too early. Experiment with different products to see what gains traction.

🎯 Conclusion: The Long View—Meta’s Future

Zuckerberg wrapped up the conversation with a look toward the future. His focus is not just on what Meta is today but what it can become over the next 10 to 20 years. Whether through AR glasses, AI, or open platforms, Meta is positioning itself to define the future of human connection, making bold bets on emerging technologies.

Key Takeaways:

• Think long-term: Great companies aren’t built overnight. Plan for the next 10 to 20 years, and make decisions that will position your business for long-term success.

• Make bold bets: Don’t be afraid to invest in new technologies that could reshape your industry. Be willing to take risks for big rewards.

• Adapt and evolve: The ability to iterate and learn quickly will ensure your company can navigate technological shifts and stay competitive in the long run.

Want to know more quickly? Just ask the episode below [web only]👇️🤯
or if you prefer, 🎥Watch the full episode here

📅Timestamps:

• [00:01:09] Interview with Mark Zuckerberg.

• [00:06:03-00:07:26] Entrepreneurial journey challenges.

• [00:08:42] Learning through suffering.

• [00:12:50] Holograms in social experiences.

• [00:15:11] AR glasses development and potential.

• [00:19:51] Technology and human connection.

• [00:23:53] Learning and iterating quickly.

• [00:28:49] Product creation: invention or discovery?

• [00:32:10] Open source technology's importance.

• [00:34:48] Open-source and AI integration.

• [00:38:56] Mobile ad integration challenges.

• [00:42:30] Self-criticism and company challenges.

• [00:45:06] Responsibility in the tech industry.

• [00:51:04] Startup misconceptions and governance.

• [00:54:17] Future of augmented reality.

• [00:57:50] Building awesome things.

• [01:00:03] High quality beef production.

• [01:04:06] Brand evolution and future vision.

• [01:09:48] Future of open platforms.

• [01:12:15] Inspiring future generations.

• [01:17:28] Energy and infrastructure behind AI.

• [01:19:41] Founders' long-term commitment.

• [01:25:04] Meta as Mark Zuckerberg's amplifier.

That’s a wrap.

As always, the journey doesn't end here!

Please share and let us know what you would like to see more or less of so we can continue to improve your Product Tapas. 🚀👋

Alastair 🍽️.