Product and Cake

How do you make a role reliable in an uncertain world?

Minerva Tantoco has been answering that question her entire career — starting with her first AI startup in 1985, through a dozen years in financial services, running Asia Pacific as a regional CTO, and finally landing the call she almost dismissed as a prank: becoming the first-ever Chief Technology Officer of the City of New York in 2014.

In this episode, Paul and Minerva explore what it actually takes to step into roles that have never existed before, build the blueprint when there's no template, and lead teams through genuine uncertainty — at startup scale and at the scale of 325,000 employees.

In this special live recording from the Vention Unplugged event in Berlin, Paul Lunow takes the stage to tackle one of the most polarizing questions in tech today: Is AI just a tool we trigger, or is it a teammate that can actually surprise us?.

To get past the standard "it depends" industry fluff, we forced our panel of experts into a high-stakes game. Armed with green microphones for "pro" arguments and red microphones for "contra", our guests had to switch sides mid-debate to argue the real tensions of building with AI.

Our Unplugged Panel Includes:

Catalina Turlea: Founder & CTO at LoveLays (formerly CTO of Nilo.health).

Dirk Woywod: CPTO at RuleMapping Group, building AI on legal logic.

Florian Thiel: Director of Engineering at Upvest, Europe's leading API-first investment infrastructure.

Promit Ray, Chief AI Officer & Co-Founder @ Rayol AI Solutions; CTO @ Scivalon.

Follow Product and Cake on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-and-cake-podcast and checkout our new website: https://product-and-cake.lun.io

In the season opener, Ghonche and Paul sit down with Catalina Turlea, Founder and CTO of Lovelace, to demystify the "black box" of AI integration. We explore why engineering shouldn't gatekeep prompts, how to use experimentation to avoid the "average" results of generic LLM wrappers, and why your domain expertise—not just your technical skill—is the secret to building AI that actually resonates with users.

March 26th (Berlin): Join Paul and Catalina for a live panel on "AI as a Teammate".

https://luma.com/1t5gsmse

Former Fox/DreamWorks exec turned founder Steven Puri shares how Sukha helps remote workers flip into deep focus, finish faster, and feel healthier.    We dig into body-doubling and community mechanics that measurably boost retention, the Hollywood idea of “delights” and how to engineer them in product, plus how tiny teams can leverage AI without losing soul—and the one founder habit that compounds. Click play!

UX has changed more in the last 10 years than in the 30 before — and it’s not slowing down. In this episode Paul and Ghonche talk with Nick Cawthon, veteran designer, educator, and founder of Gauge, about how product and tech leaders can adapt without burning out.

We cover:

• Why curiosity is the most underrated skill in product

• How AI is reshaping design and collaboration

• The myths and misconceptions about what designers really do

• Practical tips for managing attention and technology boundaries

Nick brings not just experience but perspective — reminding us that while tools come and go, our ability to stay curious determines whether we thrive or get left behind.

What does it really take to bring clarity, speed, and structure to a complex product organization? In this episode, Dr. Thomas Gigant, Head of Product at Lingoda, shares what he’s learned leading product at companies like Blinkist, Go1, and Adevinta.

We explore:

• How to rebuild product velocity when things slow down

• The underrated power of structure and simplification

• What AI can—and cannot—replace in product work

• How to balance people, process, and strategy

• Why courage, not perfectionism, is the real product superpower

Whether you’re scaling a team, fixing a stuck org, or thinking about what great product leadership really looks like—this episode will give you the clarity and challenge you need.

Nesrine has built products used by millions — at Google, Spotify, Microsoft, and Skype. But her focus isn’t scale. It’s emotion. In this episode, she shares how features like background blur and emoji reactions came from empathy, not roadmaps. We talk about “Product Delight,” why B2H matters more than B2B, and how great teams listen deeply before they build.

https://nesrine-changuel.com/product-delight-book/

From consultant to product director, Ghazal shares the personal shifts that shaped her leadership style — and how trust, change, and vulnerability became core tools, not just soft skills. A powerful story about growing into your voice and making space for others to grow too.

How do you keep focus when your product and team are scaling fast? Mariano shares how he stays close to users, manages chaos without over-optimizing, and why great PMs need taste, not just process.

Are you at a turning point in your product career? Shobhit Chugh a former PM at Google and now a product career coach, shares how to navigate transitions with more clarity, less ego, and a stronger sense of self. From job titles to personal growth, this episode is a calm and thoughtful reminder that your role isn’t your identity.