LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast

By LogRocketBusiness Technology Careers Management

LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast episodes

July 24, 2025Inside Apartment List’s AI-Powered Product Team | Sierra Hahn-Ventrell, Dir. of PM (Apartment List)
Today on LaunchPod AI, we’re talking with Sierra Hahn-Ventrell, Director of Product Management at Apartment List. In this episode, we discuss how they:
Analyze customer interviews with ChatGPT, even uncovering a missed insight that led to a full product strategy reset
Built an AI Slack bot to flag issues in a new customer-facing tool before they become big problems
And transformed sales enablement and automated documentation using NotebookLM and Claude
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahnventrell/
Apartment List: https://www.apartmentlist.com/
Tools
ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/

Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/

Claude: https://claude.ai/

NotebookLM: https://notebooklm.google.com/
Storylane: https://www.storylane.io/
Chapters
00:00 Introduction

02:47 AI Slack Bot for Property Management
03:59 Hackathon Project and Implementation
07:20 Challenges and Solutions in AI Integration
10:19 NotebookLM for Sales Enablement
13:10 AI in Product Strategy and Market Fit
16:52 Pushing AI to Its Limits 17:44 Using ChatGPT for Product Strategy
18:36 Guiding AI for Accurate Market Analysis
20:53 Leveraging Gong and AI for Sales Insights
24:40 Automating Documentation with AI
26:41 Balancing Innovation and Control in AI Adoption
31:36 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Sierra Hahn-Ventrell.
32 min
July 22, 2025Growing to 42 Million Users: Audiomack's Growth Playbook | Charlie Kaplan, VP of Product (Audiomack)
Today, we’re talking with Charlie Kaplan, VP of Product at Audiomack about Product Market Fit and how to tell if you’ve got it or not
In this episode, we discuss:
How he drove 50x user growth at Cymbal, and why that still didn’t matter because they lacked strong fit
The story of how he launched Audiomack’s product org and scaled to 42M MAUs, on the back of strong product market fit
How he transformed failed features into new revenue streams—helping Audiomack grow into a platform big enough to host Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and more
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliekaplan/
Audiomack: https://audiomack.com/
Resources
The Lean Startup, by Eric Rise: https://theleanstartup.com/
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
05:23 The Rise and Fall of Cymbal
13:12 Lessons Learned and the Birth of Audio Mac
16:54 Finding Product Market Fit at Audio Mac
28:40 Innovative Growth Strategies and Experiments
35:11 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Charlie Kaplan.
34 min
July 15, 2025The 4 Essentials of Killer Product Storytelling | Lanie Schenkelberg, VP of Product Marketing (Inovalon) | LaunchPod
Today, we’re talking with Lanie Schenkelberg, former product manager and current VP of Product Marketing at Inovalon.
In this episode, we discuss:
The 4 essential elements of compelling product storytelling
How to spot weak messaging - and what strong positioning really looks like
How Lanie’s team led a storytelling overhaul that contributed to Inovalon’s growth
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laineschenkelberg/
Inovalon: https://www.inovalon.com/
Resources
Make it Punchy, By Emma Stratton: https://punchy.co/make-it-punchy-book/
Obviously Awesome Positioning, April Dunford: https://www.amazon.com/Obviously-Awesome-Product-Positioning-Customers/dp/1999023005
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:48 The Importance of Messaging and Storytelling in Product
03:01 How to go from Product Management to Marketing
06:10 Understanding the Customer's Big Win
12:45 The Hero Story Format
15:12 The Role of Positioning and Differentiation in Product Marketing
21:23 How Lanie Scaled Positioning at Inovalon
31:29 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Lanie Schenkelberg.
33 min
July 08, 2025Designing AI for the ICP That Doesn’t Trust New Tech | Deepti Mehtani, VP, AI (NextGen) | LaunchPod| Deepti Mehtani, VP, Clinical & AI Solutions (NextGen) | LaunchPod
Today, we’re talking with Dr. Deepti Mehtani, VP of Clinical and AI Solutions at NextGen Healthcare.
In this episode, we discuss:
How Dr. Mehtani’s team proved AI can be trusted with sensitive medical data - So why are you avoiding it in your own product?
The key lessons behind NextGen’s AI that turns doctor-patient conversations into medical-grade, accurate, structured data
And how Deepti and her team won over skeptical doctors and turned them into AI champions - saving them hours per day in the process
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdeeptimehtani/
NextGen Healthcare: https://www.nextgen.com/
Resources
Spotlight Interview: https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-deepti-mehtani/
How To Say "Not Yet" To Enterprise | Deepti Mendiratta, VP Of Products (HungerRush) | LaunchPod: https://youtu.be/WHapWGbuS0Q
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:04 From Medicine to Tech
03:41 NextGen Healthcare Overview
04:54 AI Solutions for Clinicians
09:17 Patient Summaries and Ambient Assist
18:46 Building Trust in AI
21:12 Data Privacy and Security
27:51 Improving Patient Access
33:10 Cross-Industry Insights
34:56 Conclusion
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Deepti Mehtani.
34 min
July 01, 2025How to scale $0 to $25M ARR | Michael Park, VP of PM (Buffini & Co) | LaunchPod (Repeat)
Today, our guest is Michael Park, VP of Product and Project Management at Buffini and Company.
In this episode, Jeff talks to Michael about:
His six lessons from scaling product from zero to $25M ARR
The nuance that comes with the “founder mode” discussion
And what a self-imposed sabbatical taught Michael about product leadership.
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gotothepark/
Resources
Spotlight Interview: https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-michael-park/
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
02:58 The Burden of Digital Inventory and Tech Debt
06:17 The Importance of Focus and Time Management in Product Development
06:48 Challenges and Realities of Product Management Practices
07:37 Michael Park's Sabbatical and Reflections on Product Leadership
13:37 The Value of Consistency and Fundamentals in Product Management
18:25 Hiring for Cultural Fit and Communicating Company Goals
20:47 Transitioning from Founder to Product Leader
27:22 The Role of a Product Leader in Scaling a Business
28:43 The Importance of Founder Involvement
30:45 Balancing Founder Mode and Professional Management
36:19 The Parent-Child Analogy in Business Leadership
41:53 The Debate on Roadmaps: Rigid vs. Squishy
46:32 Product Evangelism and Cross-Functional Collaboration
50:18 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Michael Park.
44 min
June 24, 2025Automating PRDs and Beyond with AI | Roman Gun, VP of Prod. (Zeta Global) | LaunchPod AI
We're excited to kick off a new show focusing on the real-world AI applications that product teams are using to become faster, more efficient, and smarter.
Jeff has been traveling across the country meeting product leaders, and he keeps having the same conversation: every product person wants to know how their peers are using AI in their teams and their workflows.
So we’re bringing you those conversations about how your peers are using AI in their day-to-day to move faster and more efficiently than ever before.
In our first episode, we’re welcoming back Roman Gun, VP of Product at Zeta Global. In this episode, we talk about:
The prompting and workflow orchestrations Roman created to automate writing PRDs, one of the most disliked tasks of product managers, and how he has made them into living, breathing documents that initiate collaboration
The AI communities and platforms he uses, including Reddit and Discord, to stay ahead, learn new tricks, and gain early access to the best new tools
And Magic...not actual magic, but we have a little fun with Roman’s side-project centered around Magic: The Gathering, and how he built tools to prototype new decks and beat players with far more experience
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romangun/
Zeta Global: https://zetaglobal.com/
Resources
Real-world AI products with Roman Gun, VP of Product: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7syxCetzHU
Leader Spotlight: Right-sizing processes, with Roman Gun: https://blog.logrocket.com/product-management/leader-spotlight-roman-gun/
Inside Gemini 2.5 | Logan Kilpatrick | PodRocket: https://youtu.be/2LGKwf2xH7g
Tools
OpenAI: https://openai.com/
Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/
Claude: https://claude.ai/
Figma: https://www.figma.com/
Coda: https://coda.io/
Notebook LM Discorder: https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16268096?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
Cursor: https://www.cursor.com/
Windsurf: https://windsurf.com/
Loveable: https://lovable.dev/
ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/
Chapters
00:25 AI in Action
01:27 Real-World AI Applications
02:41 Community and AI Learning
06:12 Automating PRDs with AI
11:51 Training AI for Better Outputs
14:48 Prototyping with AI Tools
16:03 Generating Baseline Code with AI Tools
16:17 The Power of Prototyping and User Feedback
16:36 Accelerating the Creative Process
18:18 Magic: The Gathering and AI Deck Building
19:28 Challenges and Innovations in AI Deck Building
21:35 Learning and Applying AI in Real Life
25:30 The Future of Junior Roles in Tech
30:21 Final Thoughts and Encouragement
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Roman Gun.
30 min
June 17, 2025How To Modernize Million-User Products | Kamal Srinivasan, SVP of Product (Alludo) | LaunchPod
Today on the pod, we’re talking with Kamal Srinivasan, SVP of Product Development at Alludo.
In this episode, we discuss:
How CorelDraw was modernized from a legacy desktop tool into an AI-enabled, collaborative SaaS product, including:
The user research approach that balanced less mature users with the needs of long-time power users
And How they utilized AI to power entire workflows, helping all users behave like pros
We also discuss Kamal’s navigation of a major roadmap misalignment with senior leadership, including:
The real negotiation tactics he used to diffuse the initial conflict
And his “squiggly line” framework for balancing near-term revenue with long-term product vision
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamalsrinivasan/
Resources
Tell Your CEO They're Wrong (And KEEP Your Career) | Steve Nash, Dir. Product (GumGum) | LaunchPod: https://youtu.be/oeEBy8mJfB0?feature=shared
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:56 From PhD to Product Management
02:47 The Value of a PhD in Product Management
05:26 Challenges in Modernizing Legacy Products
06:11 Understanding Vector Graphics Design
09:47 Democratizing Design Tools
16:23 User Feedback and Product Development
19:49 Incorporating AI in Design Software
21:43 Integrating AI into Design Workflows
22:51 Enhancing Productivity with AI
24:15 Proactive Issue Detection with AI
27:21 Understanding Parallels Virtualization
29:50 Challenges and Strategies in Product Development
38:20 Effective Communication and Leadership
41:52 Conclusion and Future Plans
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Kamal Srinivasan.
41 min
June 10, 2025Kickstarter's Comeback | Mahesh Guruswamy, CPTO (Kickstarter)
Today, we’re talking with Mahesh Guruswamy, CPTO at Kickstarter.
In this episode, we discuss:
How daily reflection on hard moments helped him grow as a leader—and led to his widely praised book How to Deliver Bad News and Get Away with It.
How Kickstarter went from “printing money” and experiencing “insane” PMF to plateauing - and how they created urgency and competition to quickly turn it around
The actual process Kickstarter used to activate its creator and backer communities to shape a better UX, build real loyalty, and re-ignite growth
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maheshguruswamy/
Website: https://www.maheshguruswamy.com/
Substack: https://maheshguruswamy.substack.com/
Resources
How to Deliver Bad News and Get Away with It: A Manager's Guide, By Mahesh Guruswamy: https://www.amazon.com/How-Deliver-Bad-News-Away/dp/B0D7FHTTNN
Tell Your CEO They're Wrong (And KEEP Your Career) | Steve Nash, Dir. Product (GumGum): https://youtu.be/oeEBy8mJfB0
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:09 Mahesh's Background and Kickstarter Connection
02:08 The Power of Writing and Self-Reflection
04:28 Publishing a Book: How to Deliver Bad News
05:53 Effective Communication and Feedback
06:46 Navigating Tough Conversations
11:03 Kickstarter's Evolution and Challenges
14:16 Listening to Customers and Adapting
19:36 Navigating Market Shifts and Growth
20:34 Prioritizing Customer Feedback
25:59 Building and Engaging the Community
29:54 Competitive Strategies and Organizational Culture
34:05 Leadership and Legacy
37:03 Conclusion and Future Prospects
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Mahesh Guruswamy.
36 min
June 03, 2025Inside MailChimp's PLG Engine | Lauren Schuman, VP of Prod. Growth (Bitly) | LaunchPod
On today’s episode, our guest is Lauren Schuman, VP of Product Growth at Bitly & former Sr. Dir. of Product Growth at MailChimp.
In this episode, we discuss:
How Lauren created product-led growth (PLG) as a discipline at MailChimp and turned it into a systematic growth engine
The turnaround story behind a failed product launch, and how it led to a 183% spike in adoption overnight
Why lagging engagement pushed her to lead a ground-up rebuild of MailChimp’s core email editor to improve growth
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenschuman/
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Lauren Schumann
03:09 Transition to E-commerce and PLG
07:15 Joining MailChimp and Early Challenges
09:50 Implementing PLG at MailChimp
13:43 Navigating Organizational Politics
19:03 Improving User Experience at MailChimp
19:26 Defining Key Customer Journey Metrics
20:30 Challenges and Solutions in Email Activation
21:40 Balancing Core Competencies and Expansion
22:59 The Role of AI in Product Management
24:50 Human Touch in the Age of Automation
27:48 Future of AI and Personalization
34:50 Outro
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Lauren Schuman.
36 min
May 27, 2025How to compete with Apple — and win | Steve Chazin, CEO & Founder (Skytech.io) | LaunchPod (Repeat)
On today’s repeat episode, our guest is Steve Chazin, CEO & Founder of Skytech.io and formerly VP of Products at Alarm.com.
In this episode, we discuss:
Steve’s experience working at Apple, competing with Final Cut Pro, and his current role at alarm.com
The time he said no to Steve Jobs — and how that pushed his career forward
The importance of user-centered product design and the impact of AI in home security
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chazin/
Chapters
00:00 Intro
03:05 Reviving Apple: The University Consortium
07:04 The iMac and Think Different Campaign
07:37 Lessons from Steve Jobs
11:35 Competing with Apple: The Avid Story
19:05 Current Role at Alarm.com
21:41 The Future of AI in Home Security
27:15 Advice for Aspiring Technologists
29:49 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Follow LaunchPod on YouTube
We have a new YouTube page! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe!
What does LogRocket do?
LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com.
Special Guest: Steve Chazin.
31 min

About LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast

From the publisher's feed

LaunchPod is a product management podcast hosted by LogRocket's CEO, Matt Arbesfeld, and VP of Marketing, Jeff Wharton, where they talk to product leaders about the issues they faced in their careers,…

Share LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast

Sign up to save your podcasts

LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast

LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast episodes

About LaunchPod | Product Management Podcast