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 on today’s menu? 🧑‍🍳

📰 Not Boring - This week’s exciting updates range from Apple’s new AirPods set to drop this autumn, to GitHub’s latest AI-powered way to fix code vulnerabilities, and Meta’s Threads getting a slew of new features. We also highlight a standalone Amazon Pay app in India, Meta's ad revenue surge, driven by AI efficiency and Procreate’s anti-AI stance that has been a hit among artists. Plus news from Mozilla, X, Amazon, Gemini and much more.

⌚ Time-Saving Tools & GPTs - Our tools spotlight this week is packed with gems like Sparkle for automatic file organisation, Actionbase for seamless interaction with top sites, and Wosily for automated SEO-friendly blog posts. Plus, another tool that promises to handle the headaches of payroll, benefits, and compliance, so you can focus on scaling your startup.

🍔 Blog Bites - In this week’s top reads for product teams we’ve got: Ed Biden’s top mental models (short, sharp, and full of insights), Elena Verna’s case for IC leadership, and Dan Hockenmair’s guide on when to join a startup. Essential reading for anyone plotting their next move.

🎙️ Pod Shots - We finish up with a podcast with Gaurav Vaid, co-founder of Venturis Inc., discussing the fascinating intersection of Ikigai and product development. Gaurav’s journey from a corporate career to entrepreneurship is a masterclass in finding purpose, iterating thoughtfully, and staying customer-focused. Hear how embracing a growth mindset and understanding your "why" can transform your approach to building products and businesses.

Plenty to get stuck into - off we go! 🚀👇

📰 Not boring

• Apple is shaking up how it manages the App Store

• New AirPod models to be included in Autumn 2024 hardware lineup

• GitHub rolls out AI-powered fixes for code vulnerabilities

• Meta’s X rival Threads gains multiple drafts, audience insights and more

• Procreate’s anti-AI pledge attracts praise from digital creatives

• X says it’s closing operations in Brazil

• Amazon is considering moving Amazon Pay into a standalone app in India

• And also brings Kindle reading to your Peloton workout, plus 10 book recommendations

• Mozilla has a brand new, prehistoric-inspired logo

• Open AI and Condé Nast have signed a content training agreement

• Samsung’s new Odyssey monitor lets you play games in 3d without 3d glasses

• Gemini in Gmail can now help polish up your drafts

• Medium, the writing platform, has finally had its first profitable month

• PayPal could challenge Apple Wallet in the EU

• Meta's ad biz booms with AI delivering over $1.1m per employee in revenue

• Vercel now lets you generate architecture diagrams / sequence diagrams / literally anything mermaid can do from text or code

• Dropbox acquires Index Ventures-backed AI scheduling tool Reclaim.ai

• Neuralink’s second implant recipient is using it to play Counter-Strike 2

• AI payment processing startup Skyfire launches with $8.5M in funding. Interesting because it enables artificial intelligence models to make purchases so could become the future of how SaaS is bought

• Wyoming mayoral candidate promises to let AI bot run government if he wins

• Want even more news?? View more here →

⌚️ Time-Saving Tools & GPTs

• Sparkle: Organise your files automatically with AI

• Actionbase: Programatically interact with top
  sites without worrying about brittle or complex automation scripts

• Wosily: automatically draft and publish relevant blogs weekly on your behalf increasing your SEO organically

• Central: Payroll, benefits and government bullsh*t; automate everything you need to operate a compliant startup

🍔 Blog Bites - Essential Reads for Product Teams

Learn: Ed Biden’s Top 10 Mental Models

Ed Biden and the Hustle Badger team continue to put out really useful short, simple and easy to digest posts both on their website and LinkedIn. This one on mental models was one of my recent faves and well worth checking out.

Opinion: You Don’t Have To Be A Manager

In this recent post, Elena Verna makes a great case for normalising IC leadership. Here’s the TL;DR:

Being a great IC does not mean you will be a great manager, yet that’s how managers are chosen. And it often results in a) losing a great contributor, and b) gaining a crappy manager.

The people who really want to be managers often shouldn’t be. And the people who love IC work are often best rewarded for great work by keeping them on that track.

Career: When To Join A Startup

In this recent essay, Dan Hockenmair looks at each form of risk present in startups and the questions you can ask to understand if they’ve been solved. He then goes on to explore how these typically play out over a startup’s lifecycle, and what the good entry points are for those considering joining.

Well worth a look for anyone thinking of taking the startup plunge.

🎙️ Pod Shots

This week we cover a podcast from Charleh Knighton where Gaurav Vaid, co-founder of Venturis Inc.,was the guest. They delved into some really interesting topics including; Ikigai, purpose, and the journey of building meaningful products. Gaurav's story is not just about entrepreneurship but also about finding clarity and direction in life after a major personal setback. This discussion is packed with valuable insights for anyone navigating the challenges of building products and businesses.

⚒️ Ikigai and Innovation, Lessons from Gaurav Vaid on Building Meaningful Products

🎥Watch the full episode here

📆 Published: July 30th, 2024

🕒 Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes. Time saved: 30 minutes🔥

☕ The Rituals That Shape Us: From Chai to Coffee

Gaurav Vaid’s journey begins with a small but telling shift: from tea to coffee. Like many of us, Gaurav's routines have evolved over time, reflecting deeper changes in his life. His transition from chai, a staple for those from the Indian subcontinent, to coffee mirrors his shift from a stable corporate career to the more unpredictable world of entrepreneurship.

Key takeaway:
Small changes in your daily routine can reflect larger shifts in your mindset and life. Being mindful of these changes can often signal a deeper transition in how you approach your work and purpose.

🎯 The “Why” Behind Venturis Inc.: Starting with Purpose

When Gaurav co-founded Venturis Inc., it wasn’t just another business venture; it was the culmination of years of experience and a personal journey that began with a life-altering event—a stroke. This incident not only changed his physical life but also sparked an inward journey, leading him to question his career, purpose, and the impact he wanted to have.

Key takeaway:
Starting with "why" is crucial. Whether you're building a new product or pivoting your career, understanding the deeper purpose behind your actions can guide your decisions and provide clarity during tough times.

🧘 Ikigai: The Intersection of Passion, Skill, and Need

Ikigai, a Japanese concept that Gaurav discovered during his introspective journey, plays a significant role in his life and work. Ikigai is about finding the intersection between what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. For Gaurav, this realization came after his stroke and during the global pause that COVID-19 brought about.

Key takeaway:
Finding your Ikigai is not just a philosophical exercise; it’s a practical framework for aligning your career and business with your passions and strengths. For product managers, this can mean focusing on products that not only meet market needs but also align with your personal and professional values.

🛠️ Applying Ikigai to Product Thinking

Gaurav emphasises that entrepreneurship is about claiming agency—having control over what you build and why you build it. He suggests that founders naturally solve problems they are passionate about, which aligns with the first two quadrants of Ikigai. However, staying true to the “why” throughout the product development process is essential.

Key takeaway:
When developing products, always return to your "why." This focus will keep you aligned with your passion and purpose, ensuring that the products you create are not just technically sound but also resonate deeply with the market.

🧠 Embracing a Growth Mindset: Lessons from a Stroke

Gaurav’s stroke was a defining moment that shifted his perspective on life and work. It taught him the importance of embracing a growth mindset—a concept popularised by Carol Dweck. This mindset shift is particularly important for entrepreneurs who face failures and setbacks on their journey.

Key takeaway:
Embracing failures as opportunities for learning is crucial. A growth mindset allows founders and product managers to view roadblocks as part of the process, helping them to innovate and persevere through challenges.

🛤️ Listening to Your Customers: The Nested Why

One of the most critical aspects of product development is truly understanding your customers. Gaurav warns against falling into the “feature trap”—where you continually add features based on customer requests without addressing the underlying problem. Instead, he advocates for the “nested why” technique, asking “why” multiple times to get to the core of the customer’s needs.

Key takeaway:
Go beyond surface-level customer feedback. Use techniques like the nested why to uncover the deeper problems your product needs to solve. This approach leads to more innovative and effective solutions, rather than just a list of features.

📐 The PM² Framework: A Guide to Product Market Fit

Gaurav and his team at Venturis Inc. have developed a framework called PM² for Product Market Fit. This framework is built around four key areas: Purpose, Product, Market, and Money. The idea is to start with a clear purpose (your why), then move through defining the product, understanding the market, and finally, figuring out the money (how the product will generate revenue).

Key takeaway:
Whilst frameworks aren’t a magic wand to solve all problems they can be a helpful way to check you’re covering the key bases. With PM², by starting with purpose and moving through product, market, and money, you can also create a narrative that resonates with both your team and your customers.

🚀 Iterating Towards Success: Knowing When You’ve Got It Right

Iterating is an integral part of product development, but how do you know when you’ve got it right? According to Gaurav, it’s when you no longer have to sell your product aggressively—when customers start coming to you. This is a sign that you’ve achieved product-market fit, and your product is solving a real problem for your target audience.

Key takeaway:
Iteration is key. Keep refining your product until you reach a point where customers are drawn to it organically. This is the true test of whether your product meets the market’s needs.

🔍 Finding Your “Why” If You’re Stuck

Not everyone starts their journey with a clear sense of purpose. For those who are struggling to find their “why,” Gaurav suggests turning to Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle framework. Watching Sinek’s 18-minute TED Talk could be the spark that helps you start asking the right questions and discovering your purpose.

Key takeaway:
If you’re struggling to find your purpose, start by exploring frameworks like Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle. Sometimes, all it takes is the right question to set you on the path to clarity.

🎤 Conclusion: Finding Your Path

Gaurav Vaid’s journey from a corporate leader to an entrepreneur focused on purpose-driven product development is a powerful reminder that our paths are rarely straight. Whether it’s incorporating a small change like switching from tea to coffee or a life-altering event like a stroke, every experience shapes our journey. For founders and product managers, the key takeaway is to stay connected to your purpose, iterate thoughtfully, and always keep the customer at the heart of what you do.

If you’d like to connect with Gaurav or learn more about his frameworks, you can find him on LinkedIn or check out Venturis Inc. and their podcast, Venturi Stories.

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

📅Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 - Introduction

• 00:05:30 - Transition to Discussing Ikigai

• 00:11:35 - Importance of Finding Passion and Purpose

• 00:16:54 - Importance of Customer-Centric Approach

• 00:19:31 - Framework for Product Market Fit

• 00:24:27 - Iterative Process in Product Development

• 00:29:56 - Recognizing Product Market Fit

• 00:31:18 - Finding Purpose with Simon Sinek's Golden Circle

• 00:32:53 - Importance of Self-Reflection and Empathy

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 🍽️.