So far on the Product Growth Podcast, you’ve heard from founders, big tech PMs, and unicorn product minds on what it takes to build a great product.

Today, we’re bringing you a fresh perspective — from an operator who’s deep in the trenches, building products for multiple companies and startups as a Fractional CTO.

But that’s not all; he’s also a founder, offering us the unique opportunity to hear different perspectives from the same person.

What makes this episode even more exciting?

He’s been honing his craft for 15 years, working across industries, collaborating with diverse teams, and doing it all at the same time.

We're covering:

Preview – 00:00:00

How Much Time Should a CTO Spend on Product? – 00:01:10

Profile of a Good Early-Stage Startup PM – 00:03:08

Compensation of an Early-Stage Startup PM – 00:10:00

Best Way to Hire Early-Stage PMs – 00:15:30

Challenges with the "Trial-Based Work" Approach – 00:18:38

Stanford Study: "10% of Engineers Are Ghost Engineers" – 00:22:43

Rule of Thumb Behind Product Hires – 00:25:07

Who Should PMs Report to in Startups? – 00:28:55

Mental Model for Scaling the Product Team – 00:34:44

Mistakes Early-Stage PMs Make – 00:37:46

Minimum Viable Process for Developing Features – 00:41:40

Believing in a "Cutting Down Scope" Philosophy – 00:46:18

Why You Should Launch Early – 00:49:24

Honest Opinions on Scrum – 01:00:11

Managing in a Global Workforce – 01:07:35

Hidden Incentives for Big Companies – 01:15:32

Aakash’s Experience Before and After COVID – 01:17:15

Are AI Tools Worth the Hype? – 01:19:53

How Should PMs Use AI Tools? – 01:26:31

What’s Going on in Sergio’s Professional Life – 01:36:12

How He Manages Time to Do It All – 01:42:01

Brought to you by:

Vanta: Automate compliance, manage risk, and prove trust

Attio: The next generation CRM

Where to find Sergio:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Startup

Newsletter

Website

Email [email protected] to discuss advertising or guest opportunities.

We have some great podcasts coming from Pierre Herubel ( B2B Content Expert, 122K+ on LinkedIn), Mario Gabriele (Founder, The Generalist; Former VC), and Marily Nika (AI PM at Google, Former Meta).

I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe

Today, we have an extraordinary guest with a story that will inspire you to believe in yourself.

He started as a Wall Street credit trader but took a bold leap into entrepreneurship, bootstrapping not one but two profitable SaaS companies.

His latest venture RB2B went from 0 to $4M MRR in just 20 weeks.

No ads. No extravagant budgets. No big teams.

Beyond his SaaS success, he’s built a loyal LinkedIn following of 113k, sharing his unconventional wisdom on building lean, profitable companies in today’s competitive landscape.

And today, he’s generously pulling back the curtain on all his strategies, lessons, and hard-earned insights in this 2-hour episode:

We're covering:

Guest Introduction – 00:00:00

From Credit Trader to B2B SaaS – 00:02:09

Their Initial GTM Motion – 00:11:35

Why He Didn't Raise Capital Even After Reaching $4M ARR Quickly – 00:17:20

Is $4M ARR (Profitable) a Path to Wealth? – 00:23:54

Why He Decided to Sell His First Venture – 00:29:18

The Beginning of Retention.com – 00:33:20

How Much He Paid for Retention.com Domain – 00:39:06

The Growth Motion Behind $25M ARR – 00:46:48

You Don't Always Need to Follow the Playbook – 00:49:22

Hiring a COO – 00:51:02

Higher Churn Story After $25M ARR – 00:56:54

"Everything Comes Down to Churn in the Subscription Business" – 01:03:43

Retention and Churn Metrics They Look At – 01:06:00

The Team Structure After Layoffs – 01:15:47

Goals for 2025 (Currently $12M Run Rate) – 01:18:28

How RB2B Was Born – 01:22:50

The GTM Motion Behind RB2B – 01:34:06

How They're Planning to Improve Churn – 01:40:34

His Product Growth Mindset Summarized – 01:50:43

The Future of Building SaaS With 5 FTEs – 01:59:07

The Shift From PM to Lean SaaS Founder – 02:09:32

Why He Started to Build in Public – 02:12:10

Alternative Way to Building a Personal Brand – 02:18:08

How Much He Pays Himself – 02:21:26

Brought to you by:

Attio: The next generation CRM

Vanta: Automate compliance, manage risk, and prove trust

Where to find Adam:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Youtube

Retention.com

RB2B

Email [email protected] to discuss advertising or guest opportunities.

We have some great podcasts coming from Sergio Pereira (Fractional CTO and CPO), Pierre Herubel ( B2B Content Expert, 122K+ on LinkedIn), and Mario Gabriele (Founder, The Generalist; Former VC). I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

Get full access to Product Growth at www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe

She gets laid off from Discord, then goes viral & becoming the most followed PM across platforms.

Not just that, she uses the moment to pivot her career, build a thriving personal brand, and winning big as a full-time content creator.

Today, we’re diving deep into her journey of going viral, breaking into product management, experience as a PM at Meta, TikTok, Discord, content creation, and more.

We're covering:

Guest's Introduction – 00:00:01

Filming the Layoff Video – 00:01:32

Her Views on Mass Layoffs in 2023 – 00:07:45

Inside Look at the Discord PM Team – 00:11:00

Product Culture at Discord – 00:15:36

The Approval Process at Discord – 00:19:54

Explaining TikTok Culture – 00:22:23

TikTok Algorithm – 00:29:48

The Start of Her Content Creation Journey – 00:32:40

How Big Social Companies Fueled Her Content Creation – 00:36:36

Becoming the Most Followed PM – 00:41:45

Her Role at Facebook – 00:44:51

The Culture at Meta – 00:48:25

What Makes a Good Product Culture? – 00:50:39

Breaking Into the PM Industry Without a Title – 00:55:36

How She Secured a Role at TikTok – 01:00:01

Her Must-Read Book List – 01:07:53

How She Landed a Role at Discord – 01:10:53

Advice for Laid-Off PMs – 01:16:03

Breaking the Internet with "30 by 30" – 01:17:28

The Production Process Behind "30 by 30" – 01:20:50

Pulling Off Big Brand Collaborations – 01:24:26

Her Process for Managing Collaborations – 01:29:33

How She Is Missing Out on More Potential and Money – 01:34:25

What’s Next for Chloe – 01:41:38

Brought to you by:

Explo: Embed customer-facing analytics in your product

Attio: The next generation CRM

Vanta: Automate compliance, manage risk, and prove trust

Where to find Chloe:

Youtube

Instagram

TikTok

Threads

LinkedIn

Twitter

Email [email protected] to discuss advertising or guest opportunities.

We have some great podcasts coming from: Adam Robinson (CEO @ Retention.com & RB2B), Sergio Pereira (Fractional CTO and CPO), and Pierre Herubel ( B2B Content Expert, 122K+ on LinkedIn).

I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe

1M+ TikTok Followers. Given a TED Talk. Thought leader in AR/VR and spatial computing.

In today's episode, we've got Bilawal Sidhu who went from Deloitte consultant to Senior Google PM.

Not just that, he managed to get 3 promotions in 5 years.

Without any doubt, he has bunch of insights to share on transitioning into the PM industry, thriving as a PM in big tech, and shaping the future of innovation.

That’s exactly what we’re covering today:

Introduction to the Guest - 00:00:01

Is Spatial Computing Just Hype? - 00:01:57

How Generative AI is Helping AR/VR Progress - 00:04:22

Why Vision Pro Was a Flop - 00:10:18

Why Meta's Quest Outsold Vision Pro - 00:13:15

Why He is Still Bullish on Google - 00:17:23

How He Landed a Role at Google (After Transitioning from Deloitte) - 00:28:01

Product Management Trends in 2008 - 00:36:19

The Less Glamorous Side of Being a PM at Google - 00:39:00

Working Experience in Google Cloud vs. Google Maps - 00:43:38

Decision-Making Processes of Google Maps Teams - 00:51:44

How He Got 3 Promotions in 5 Years - 00:59:26

Two Lessons from the Promotion Story - 01:05:25

Building an Innovation-Centric Mindset as a PM - 01:18:38

AI Tools and Their Use Cases for PMs - 01:23:17

Managing Time at Google - 01:28:02

The Future of PM Roles - 01:35:23

Step-by-Step Guide on Transfers and Transitions - 01:45:16

Why He's Blown Away by Procedural 3D Modeling - 01:54:40

What's Happening in the NERFs Space? - 02:01:01

Leaving Google and Becoming a Creator - 02:07:41

His Focus as a Content Creator - 02:18:30

Income Streams Breakdown - 02:28:24

2024 Review: Creator Life vs. Google Year 5 - 02:31:54

Brought to you by:

Attio: The next generation CRM

WorkOS: Your App, Enterprise Ready

Vanta: Automate compliance, manage risk, and prove trust

Where to find Bilawal:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

TED show

Newsletter

YouTube

Email [email protected] to discuss advertising or guest opportunities.

We have some great podcasts coming from: Chloe Shih (Most Followed PM creator on Instagram + YouTube), Sergio Pereira (Fractional CTO and CPO), and Adam Robinson. (CEO @ Retention.com & RB2B).

I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe

Swiggy started with just 30,000 daily orders.

Today, it’s a household name handling millions orders per day.

Moreover, it recently completed an IPO as well.

So, how did it scale so fast in such a competitive market?

In this episode, Anuj Rathi takes us behind the scenes to explore Swiggy’s journey.

In today's episode, we cover:

Exponential Growth Story of Swiggy – 00:03:42

Product Features Driving Growth – 00:10:25

Advice for PMs to Evolve in Their Role – 00:22:10

Going Beyond Product – 00:25:25

Development in Leadership Roles – 00:29:44

Mastering Product Discovery and Execution – 00:32:53

Tackling Challenges in PM Roles – 00:36:36

Prioritization Framework in Action – 00:41:05

Role of Collaboration – 00:48:46

Balancing Internal and External Focus – 00:51:11

Transitioning from PM to Leadership – 00:54:19

Short Tenure in Executive Roles – 01:00:09

AI for Product Managers and Leaders – 01:01:52

The Future of Product Management Roles – 01:04:15

Adopting a Cross-Functional Mindset – 01:07:52

Job Search Strategies for Executive Roles – 01:13:14

Inbound for Product Leaders – 01:18:47

Brought to you by:

Explo: Customer-Facing analytics in your product

Attio: The next generation CRM

Vanta: Automate compliance, manage risk, and prove trust

Where to find Anuj:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Company

Email [email protected] to discuss advertising or guest opportunities.

We have some great podcasts coming from: Bilawal Sidhu, Chloe Shih, and Sergio Pereira. I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe

I have another in-person episode from my India tour!

This is with prolific podcaster Aishwarya Ashok, who had me on her show about a year ago.

In our chat from my awesome Airbnb in the heart of 100 ft road - the center of tech in India - we cover:

Why Zoho Chooses to Stay Private - 00:02:17

The Untold Origin Story of Zoho - 00:06:52

How Zoho Carved Its Unique Market Position - 00:09:23

The Secret Sauce Behind Zoho's Growth - 00:11:06

Inside Zoho: Understanding Its Scale and Size - 00:15:29

From Marketing to Management: The Transition Path - 00:18:39

Why Showing Up Drives Career Success - 00:26:57

Proven Strategies for Landing PM Interviews - 00:28:42

Mastering Self-Reflection to Thrive as a PM - 00:32:14

Leveraging No-Code Tools to Build Referral Systems - 00:35:02

Picking the Right Starting Point with Popular Tools - 00:40:13

Common Pitfalls in PM Interviews - 00:41:53

The Art of Structuring Perfect PM Interview Answers - 00:46:18

The AI Revolution: What It Means for the Future of Product Management - 00:48:59

Brought to you by:

Attio: The next generation CRM

WorkOS: Your App, Enterprise Ready

Explo: Customer-Facing analytics in your product

Where to find Aishwariya:

LinkedIn

Website

Newsletter

Email [email protected] to discuss advertising or guest opportunities.

We have some great podcasts coming from: Anuj Rathi, Bilawal Sidhu, and Chloe Shih. I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe

In this episode, Gautham Krishnan shares his playbook for mastering product strategy, apply second-order thinking to uncover hidden opportunities, and leverage pre-mortems to minimize risk.

If you’re looking to sharpen your "product sense" to accelerate your career growth and build strategic products, this episode is for you.

In today's episode, we cover:

"You're Never Late to the Party with a Strong Product Strategy" — 00:11:12

How BluSmart Is Beating Uber in India — 00:15:54

Assessing If Your Product Strategy Is Good Enough — 00:34:04

How to Gain Deep Insights Into Your Users — 00:40:41

The Biggest Mistakes People Make During Pre-Mortems — 00:45:28

Product Strategy: Startups vs. Larger Companies — 00:49:53

Marty Cagan’s Take on Crafting Product Strategy — 00:52:33

The Most Important Lesson From 16 Years of Aakash’s Experience — 00:56:20

The Most Critical Trait Gautham Looks for When Hiring PMs — 01:03:10

Favorite Questions to Assess Customer Obsession in PMs — 01:08:19

How Gautham Landed His Executive Director Role — 01:10:14

Increasing Your Surface Area of Luck — 01:11:35

Gautham’s Best Advice for Aspiring PMs — 01:12:36

How PMs Should Leverage AI to Stay Ahead — 01:14:22

Brought to you by:

Explo: Customer-Facing analytics in your product

Attio: The next generation CRM

Enterpret: Transform customer feedback into product growth with custom AI

Where to find Maria:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Email [email protected] to discuss advertising or guest opportunities.

We have some great podcasts coming from: Aishwarya Ashok, Anuj Rathi, and Bilawal Sidhu. I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe

In this episode, Mona shares her journey as the first female engineer of Airbnb’s growth team to tackling the challenges of localization and scaling performance marketing.

If you’re looking to crack into PM, build scalable growth systems, or learn how Airbnb achieved global success, this episode is packed with lessons you can’t miss.

In today's episode, we cover:

Why and How Brian Chesky Redefined the PM Role – 00:03:03

Airbnb’s Approach After Ditching Traditional Product Management – 00:09:23

Key Considerations for Driving User Adoption – 00:13:10

The Early Wins of Airbnb’s Acquisition Team a Decade Ago – 00:23:28

Airbnb’s Biggest PR Nightmare and How They Handled It – 00:28:42

Building a Culture of Quick Experimentation – 00:39:42

The Secrets Behind Airbnb’s Localization Success – 00:53:41

From Engineering to Product Management: Lessons Learned – 01:04:10

The Journey from Software Engineer to Product Manager – 01:11:00

Brought to you by:

Attio: The next generation CRM

Explo: Customer-facing analytics in your product

Where to find Maria:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Website

Email [email protected] to discuss advertising or guest opportunities. 

We have some great podcasts coming from: Gautham Krishnan, Aishwarya Ashok, and Adam Robinson. I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe

In today’s episode, Maria Chec unpacks the identity crisis Agile faces in 2024, why roles like Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches are under fire, and how teams can move beyond rigid frameworks to drive real collaboration and value.

This is a must-listen for PMs who want to master evolving Agile practices, tailor frameworks like SAFe to their needs, and unlock tools like Kanban and user story mapping to streamline workflows and foster high-performing teams.

In today's episode, we cover:

Why Agile Thrives in Europe More Than the U.S. — 00:00:27

Agile’s Role in Digital Transformation Companies — 00:07:00

Rewriting the Playbook for Transformation — 00:09:38

The Blurred Lines Between Product Operations and Producers — 00:20:56

Why PMs Are Pushing Back Against Agile Roles — 00:23:47

The Future of Product Teams: Agile, Evolved — 00:32:55

Agile Compensation: What’s the Value? — 00:40:20

The Rise and Fall of the Agile Brand — 00:47:43

The Shift to PMs and Engineering Leaders — 00:50:52

SAFe: Friend or Foe? — 1:02:20

User Story Mapping: The Unsung Hero of Collaboration — 1:07:05

Agile vs. Scrum: What’s the Difference? — 1:12:33

The Key Ingredients of Scrum — 1:20:26

Sprint Planning in a Meeting-Averse World — 1:26:22

Principles Over Processes: Agile’s Next Step — 1:32:01

Kanban: The Flexible Framework You’re Overlooking — 1:35:30

Brought to you by:

Zeda.io: Discovery platform to turn your VoC into product insights

WorkOS: Your App, Enterprise Ready

Dovetail: The Fastest Way to Understand Your Customer

Where to find Maria:

LinkedIn

YouTube

Newsletter

Podcast

To advertise in the podcast, email productgrowthppp at gmail dot com.

We have some great podcasts coming from Mona Gandhi, Gautham Krishnan, and Aishwarya Ashok. I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe

In this episode, Ben breaks down why simplifying products unlocks growth, how Product-Led Growth (PLG) principles are transforming B2B, how to align growth models and product state frameworks, prioritize actions that drive activation, and improve user retention.

This episode will transform how you think about product growth, engagement, and retention.

In today's episode, we cover:

Why most B2B products are over-engineered — 00:00:21

“Every company will need to become product-led eventually” — 00:09:19

What companies shouldn’t pursue PLG — 00:17:58

Why zero-commission sales are perfect for PLG — 00:23:16

Product-Led Sales 101 — 00:25:46

Improving pricing and packaging — 00:28:52

How to build effective growth models — 00:34:35

Balancing collaboration between teams — 00:47:39

What engagement states really are — 00:52:16

Why you shouldn’t focus directly on retention — 01:01:27

How Snyk brought in a million developers per month — 01:10:03

Explaining the “Feel > See > Hear” model — 01:16:03

Landing a role at a $7 billion company — 01:24:06

“The best time to search for a job is when you already have one” — 01:32:06

Who Ben is listening to these days — 01:46:42

Brought to you by:

Enterpret: Transform customer feedback into product growth with custom AI

WorkOS: Your App, Enterprise Ready

Dovetail: The Fastest Way to Understand Your Customer

Where to find Ben:

LinkedIn

Newsletter

Website

To advertise in the podcast, email productgrowthppp at gmail dot com.

We have some great podcasts coming from Maria Chec, Mona Gandhi, and Gautham Krishnan. I’m so excited to share them with all of you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe