Becoming The Product

Summary:
In this episode, Naya redefines what personal branding means for product managers and creatives. It’s not about logos or aesthetics — it’s about proof. She shares how documenting in real time, building in public, and aligning every creative outlet to a purpose has shaped her brand as a product builder.

Key Takeaways:

• Branding = the proof you leave behind.

• Progress > perfection.

• Build a brand that functions, not just exists.

• Every piece of work you share is a micro-proof.

  Timestamps:

  • 00:00 – 01:10 → The question: “If your brand disappeared tomorrow, what proof would remain?”

  • 01:10 – 02:45 → Why branding isn’t design, it’s data.

  • 02:45 – 03:20 → Early lessons from documenting in public.

  • 03:20 – 04:15 → Proof is the new branding.

  • 04:15 – 05:30 → Build in public: why people connect with progress.

  • 05:30 – 05:45 → Make your brand functional.

  • 05:45 – 06:30 → You don’t need a rebrand, you need a record.

  • 06:30 – 07:00 → Final thoughts + CTA.

In this episode, Naya breaks down how she transformed her product management experience into structured offerings like PMaaS and Side Hustle Stories. She shares how small acts of documentation became data, how structure created clarity, and why proof always comes before scale.

Key Takeaways:

1. You don’t start by building a business — you start by building proof.

2. Your patterns reveal your first offer.

3. Structure creates clarity and scale.

4. Test in public — feedback builds confidence.

5. Your experience is your data.

   Timestamps

   • 00:00 – 02:30 | The surprising start — how documentation turned into a product journey

   • 02:30 – 05:30 | Story: From podcast reflections to building proof

   • 05:30 – 06:00 | Point 1: Start by naming what’s working

   • 06:00 – 06:30 | Point 2: Build structure around your skill

   • 06:30 – 07:00 | Point 3: Show proof before you scale

   • 07:00 – 07:45 | Wrap-up & final reminder: Proof becomes your product

   • 07:45 – 08:30 | CTA: Newsletter, Side Hustle Stories, Dive Africa

In this reflective episode, Naya shares what working with startup founders taught her about real-world product thinking. Beyond frameworks and templates, founders taught her the value of clarity, prioritization, storytelling, and scrappy validation. She connects these lessons to her own journey building PMaaS and preparing for Dive 2025 — Africa’s biggest tech and product conference.

Key Takeaways:

1. Clarity is a discipline, not an end goal.
2. Prioritize what matters now — not everything at once.
3. Storytelling is a product strategy.
4. Build with what you have, not what you wish you had.
5. Validation always beats perfection.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – 01:10 | Founders move fast — intro to today’s topic
• 01:10 – 03:50 | Observing early-stage founders: from chaos to clarity
• 03:50 – 05:20 | Lesson 1: Clarity isn’t an outcome, it’s a discipline
• 05:20 – 06:50 | Lesson 2: Prioritize what matters right now
• 06:50 – 07:40 | Lesson 3: Storytelling as strategy
• 07:40 – 08:00 | Lesson 4: Build with what you have
• 08:00 – 09:00 | Lessons I’ve applied to PMaaS
• 09:00 – 09:30 | Dive 2025 mention & reflections on community
• 09:30 – 10:00 | Wrap-up & CTAs

Key Links:

• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Smart PM Career Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Build Without Permission – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Side Hustle Stories – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Proof & Practice Bundle
• Subscribe to the newsletter
• DM me on LinkedIn about PMaaS
• The Dive 2025

In this episode, I talk about Product Dive 2025, Africa’s biggest tech and product conference, my role as an ambassador, and what the Becoming the Product community can gain from it. I share why this event is special to me, what to expect, and how to plug in ahead of December.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Intro: Something big is happening in December

• 01:30 – What Product Dive 2025 is all about

• 04:00 – My role as an ambassador

• 07:00 – Why this matters to me personally

• 10:00 – What you can get out of it

• 13:00 – CTAs + Wrap up

  Key Takeaways:

  • Product Dive is the #1 tech/product event on the continent.

  • Ambassador roles can be more than promotion — they can be storytelling bridges.

  • This is a prime opportunity to learn, connect, and grow within Africa’s product ecosystem.

    Key Links:

    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Smart PM Career Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Build Without Permission – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Side Hustle Stories – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Proof & Practice Bundle
    • Subscribe to the newsletter
    • DM me on LinkedIn about PMaaS
    • productdive.com/the-dive-2025-conference

    
    

In this reflective episode, Naya shares why stepping into incubation was one of her smartest career moves — even if it didn’t look like it at first. She unpacks how working with founders sharpened her product thinking, inspired PMaaS, and gave her strategic positioning that a traditional PM role couldn’t.

Key Takeaways:

• Unconventional pivots can sharpen unique skills and perspectives.

• Incubation offers deep exposure to multiple products and founders.

• Acting as a “fractional PM” builds operational clarity and mentorship muscles.

• Quiet moves often become powerful leverage points later on.

  Episode 14: My Most Underrated Career Move — Working in Incubation

  • 00:00 – 01:30 | Intro: Bold moves that don’t look bold at first

  • 01:30 – 02:00 | Story: Becoming an incubation manager

  • 02:00 – 03:00 | Point 1: Ecosystem exposure

  • 03:00 – 04:00 | Point 2: Operational clarity & mentorship

  • 04:00 – 05:00 | Point 3: Strategic positioning for PMaaS

  • 05:00 – 06:00 | Wrap-up & reflections

    Key Links:

    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Smart PM Career Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Build Without Permission – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Side Hustle Stories – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Proof & Practice Bundle
    • Subscribe to the newsletter
    • DM me on LinkedIn about PMaaS

    
    

In this reflective solo episode, Naya shares why not every season of building needs to be loud. She breaks down her Q3 “quiet season,” the mindset shifts that came with it, and practical ways to document and build intentionally when visibility is low.

Key Takeaways:

• Quiet seasons are powerful for strategy and foundation work

• Value doesn’t disappear just because it’s not visible

• Document your journey quietly now — share later when the time is right

• Silence can be strategy, not stagnation

  
  

  Episode 13: The Quiet Build — Why Not Every Season is Loud

  • 00:00 – 01:30 | Intro: Why quiet seasons matter

  • 01:30 – 02:00 | Story: My unplanned Q3 pause

  • 02:00 – 03:00 | Point 1: Quiet seasons build foundations

  • 03:00 – 04:00 | Point 2: Visibility ≠ value

  • 05:00 – 06:00 | Point 3: Document quietly, share later

  • 6:00 – 6:05 | Wrap up & reminders

    Key Links:

    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Smart PM Career Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Build Without Permission – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Side Hustle Stories – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Proof & Practice Bundle
    • Subscribe to the newsletter
    • DM me on LinkedIn about PMaaS

    
    

  
  

In this practical solo episode, Naya shares her Notion system for managing a full portfolio career without a team. From holistic goal planning to project management across multiple hustles, and even using Notion as a website, this is the behind-the-scenes look at her real operating system.

Episode 12: How I Use Notion to Run 3 Hustles

• 00:00 – 00:38 | Introduction: How I manage multiple hustles solo

• 00:38 – 01:21 | Life before Notion: scattered docs, sticky notes, chaos

• 01:21 – 03:38 | Building my 2025 dashboard — holistic planning

• 03:38 – 05:40 | Master Task Database across podcast, PMaaS, content

• 05:40 – 07:14 | Turning Notion into backend + frontend

• 07:14 – 08:09 | Why Notion is my COO

  Key Links:

  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Smart PM Career Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Build Without Permission – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Side Hustle Stories – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Proof & Practice Bundle
  • Subscribe to the newsletter
  • DM me on LinkedIn about PMaaS

  
  

In this reflective solo episode, Naya opens up about the quieter side of ambition, the overwhelm that can come from juggling multiple creative and professional pursuits. She shares three lessons she’s applying this season to protect her peace while continuing to build intentionally: recognizing overload early, creating clear boundaries, and protecting rest and joy.

Episode 11: Protecting Peace While Building Ambition

• 00:00 – 01:03 | Introduction: Ambition can chip away at your peace if unchecked

• 01:03 – 02:11 | Q3 reality check — overwhelm, disconnect, and hitting pause

• 02:11 – 05:18 | Lesson 1: Recognizing overload early and identifying signals

• 05:18 – 07:23 | Lesson 2: Creating containers and boundaries to focus energy

• 07:23 – 09:55 | Lesson 3: Protecting joy and rest intentionally

• 09:55 – 11:39 | Reframing expectations & designing sustainable systems

• 11:39 – 12:31 | Final reminder: Your peace is not optional

  
  

  Key Links:

  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Smart PM Career Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Build Without Permission – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Side Hustle Stories – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Proof & Practice Bundle
  • Subscribe to the newsletter
  • DM me on LinkedIn about PMaaS

  
  

In this honest solo episode, Naya normalizes the messy middle of building products. Proof isn’t about instant revenue. It starts with listeners, subscribers, first sales, and community. She shares her own lessons from podcasting, launching mini courses, and validating PMaaS.

Episode 10:From Downloads to Revenue: What I’ve Learned So Far

• 00:00 – 00:42 | Why this isn’t a “10k in 10 days” story

• 00:42 – 01:29 | Proof starts with people showing up

• 01:29 – 02:23 | Downloads ≠ dollars: why podcasting builds community first

• 02:23 – 03:21 | Small sales are still validation

• 03:21 – 04:26 | Mindset shift: monetization is a long game

• 04:26 – 05:21 | Running experiments like PMaaS alongside courses

• 05:21 – 06:00 | Final reminder: proof doesn’t start with profits

  Key Links:

  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Smart PM Career Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Build Without Permission – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Side Hustle Stories – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Proof & Practice Bundle
  • Subscribe to the newsletter
  • DM me on LinkedIn about PMaaS

  
  

This week, Naya reflects on the real meaning of building in public, not just milestones, but also pauses, pivots, and messy progress. She shares lessons from falling behind, why documentation matters more than perfection, and how experiments like PMaaS add credibility even before they succeed.

Shownotes

Episode 9: What Building in Public Actually Looks Like

• 00:00 – 01:00 | Why “building in public” isn’t just shiny LinkedIn posts.

• 01:00 – 02:30 | Falling behind in Q3 — and realizing silence is part of the story.

• 02:30 – 03:20 | Lesson 1: Transparency attracts trust.

• 03:20 – 04:20 | Lesson 2: Documentation beats perfection.

• 04:20 – 05:20 | Lesson 3: Your process is your proof.

• 05:20 – 06:10 | Experimenting with PMaaS (Product Management as a Service).

• 06:10 – 07:20 | Encouragement: share one imperfect thing this week.

  Key Links:

  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Free Smart PM Career Roadmap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Build Without Permission – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Side Hustle Stories – Mini Course⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Proof & Practice Bundle
  • Subscribe to the newsletter
  • DM me on LinkedIn about PMaaS