Sunsetting features is rarely a celebrated milestone in product, but it’s often one of the most critical. In this episode, Ronie Ben Aharon CPO and CTO of Craft.io, joins Lily and Randy to share how his team made the tough call to retire a key feature—and what they learned in the process.

Ronie walks us through a real-world example of removing Craft.io’s visual spec tool, why trying to compete with established platforms like Figma didn’t make sense, and how they approached the transition with both technical rigour and user empathy. He also explains what happens when a sunset strategy goes wrong, and the lingering costs of keeping legacy features alive.

Key takeaways
- Sunsetting is about creating space for more impactful product work.
- Features that seem harmless because they’re underused often introduce hidden costs, especially when they complicate onboarding, UX, and development cycles.
- Data-related features are the hardest to retire. Plan for thoughtful migration and clear communication with users.
- Soft approaches, like “feature starvation,” can backfire and prolong technical debt.
- Strong collaboration between product, customer success, and engineering is key to pulling off a successful sunset.

Chapters
0:00 – Why announcing a feature sunset is rarely met with applause
1:58 – What makes sunsetting necessary, and why underused features are a risk
5:01 – How to recognise when it’s time to kill a feature
6:10 – The story behind Craft.io’s visual spec feature and why they let it go
9:01 – Navigating the difficult conversations with users who still rely on a dying feature
12:27 – Handling data migration without compromising user trust
14:04 – A sunset that didn’t go as planned: learning from the feedback portal misstep
22:44 – Managing engineering expectations and avoiding unnecessary rebuilds
24:38 – How sunsetting shapes the way new features are designed
26:11 – Final reflections on doing it right—and why it’s worth it

Featured Link: Follow Roni on LinkedIn | Craft.io | Figma | 'Sunsetting success: How to strategically phase out products in the digital age' feature by Balaji Ananthanpilla and Sabah Qazi at Mind The Product

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.

Most organisations dream of building products that delight users. But what happens when the users are your internal teams—and the product is the business itself? In this episode of The Product Experience, Randy Silver sits down with Jo Wickremasinghe, Chief Product & Technology Officer at BPP, to talk about leading transformation at scale.

Featured Links: Follow Jo on LinkedIn | BPP | 'What we learned at #mtpcon London 2025' feature by Kent McDonald and Louron Pratt

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.

This week on the podcast, we're joined by Dave Killeen, VP of Product at Pendo, who shares his go-to AI tools that can help make life a little easier for product managers—tried, tested, and ready to use.

Featured Links: Follow Dave on LinkedIn | Pendo | Claude | Manus |'What we learned at #mtpcon London 2025' feature by Kent McDonald and Louron Pratt

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.

Product management is facing a crisis — and Dave Wascha calls it The Reckoning. In this episode, Dave joins Lily and Randy to unpack the growing backlash against the product profession. He shares stories from his time at Microsoft, Moonpig, and Zoopla, revealing why product people lost the room — and how to win it back.

Featured Links: Follow Dave on LinkedIn | 'Product Management is NOT dead' feature by Dan Olsen | 'What we learned at #mtpcon London 2025' feature by Kent McDonald and Louron Pratt

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.

Mergers and acquisitions are often seen as boardroom strategy – but it's becoming ever more important for product leaders to be key stakeholders in the process. In this live interview recorded at #mtpcon London 2025, Randy sits down with Vincent Jong, CPO at Dealfront, to explore the real, unfiltered lessons of product leadership during M&A.

Vincent shares stories from inside two major integrations offering tactical insight into what product teams need to know, how to spot risk before it's too late, and why defining success early is critical. 

Featured Links: Follow Vincent on LinkedIn and his website | Join Vincent at Saas on The Beach event in May | Buy Vincent's book 'Product-Led Sales: Combine the Best of Product-Led Growth and Sales' | 'What we learned at #mtpcon London 2025' feature by Kent McDonald and Louron Pratt

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.

Featured Links: Follow Trisha on LinkedIn | Pendo | Trisha's 'The future of product management' talk at #mtpcon roadshow Amsterdam 2024

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.

In our latest conversation on The Product Experience podcast, Zan Gilani, Principal Product Manager at Duolingo, discusses the innovative use of AI in language learning, particularly through the video call feature with their character, Lily. 

He shares lessons on creating the new video feature and highlights the principles that guide Duolingo's product management approach. 

Featured Links: Follow Zan on LinkedIn and his website | Duolingo Lily feature | 'What we learned at Pendomonium and #mtpcon Raleigh: day 2' feature by Louron Pratt

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.

In this conversation on this week's podcast, Adam Warburton, Co-Founder of Rove, shares his journey from being a Chief Product Officer at large firms like Co-op and Travelex, to co-founding his startup, Rove. He discusses the challenges and learnings from transitioning to a startup environment, the importance of prototyping and user feedback, and the balance between being product-led and sales-led.

Featured Links

• Follow Adam on LinkedIn  
• Rove  
• Co-op 
• Marty Cagan's book 'Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love'

Chapters 

• 00:00 Expectation vs. Reality in Happiness
• 05:08 Transitioning from Corporate to Startup Life
• 10:05 The Importance of Prototyping and User Feedback
• 14:58 Navigating Product vs. Sales-Led Strategies
• 20:00 The Value of Co-Founders in Entrepreneurship
• 25:13 Learning from Experience: Shaping Product Practices
• 29:46 Pragmatism Over Theory in Product Management
• 35:08 Coaching and Training: Evolving Perspectives

Key takeaways

• Happiness is expectation divided by reality.
• Transitioning from corporate to startup life brings unexpected challenges.
• Prototyping and user feedback are crucial in early stages.
• Navigating product vs. sales led strategies is essential for growth.
• Co-founders significantly enhance the entrepreneurial experience.
• Pragmatism often trumps theoretical frameworks in product management.
• Learning from experience shapes product practices.
• The importance of being adaptable in product strategies.
• Building a prototype can lead to significant traction.
• Coaching should focus on maximizing impact with available resources.

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.

In this week's conversation on The Product Experience podcast, Yorai Gabriel discusses the concept of 'drama' in the context of innovation and product management. He explores how drama arises from tensions and conflicts within teams, particularly in diverse and creative environments. Gabriel highlights the importance of understanding these dynamics to turn drama into a productive force rather than a hindrance.

Key takeaways 

• Communication can escalate tensions and conflict.
• Understanding the roots of drama can help manage it.
• Diversity in teams can lead to creative tensions.
• Drama often arises from people trying to do good.
• Identifying the causes of drama can reduce its intensity.
• Engineers and designers approach problems differently.
• Drama can be an opportunity for learning and growth.
• Misalignments in teams can lead to overwhelming drama.
• Effective communication is key to resolving conflicts.
• Workplace drama can be managed through understanding and communication.
• Graph thinking helps visualize problems for better clarity.
• The fulfillment graph articulates goals and necessary conditions.
• The price of innovation highlights common misalignments.
• Mindfulness towards drama can enhance productivity.
• Effective communication can reduce workplace tensions.
• Visual tools can accelerate conversations and decision-making.
• Understanding the source of drama can lead to better outcomes.
• Embracing different perspectives can foster collaboration.

Chapters 

• 00:00 Introduction to Innovation and Drama
• 00:59 Background and Experience
• 01:56 The Innovator's Drama: Overview and Insights
• 05:06 Understanding Drama in the Workplace
• 08:59 The Nature of Drama: Escalation of Tensions
• 12:03 The Role of Diversity in Drama
• 14:56 Engineering vs. Design: Approaches to Problem Solving
• 20:39

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.

In this week's podcast episode, we speak with Shannon Scott, SVP, Global Head of Product at Airwallex, who shares insights on product leadership, career paths, hiring strategies, and the challenges of building enterprise products.

Featured links: Follow Shannon on LinkedIn | Airwallex | Grow with, not through by Shannon 

Key takeaways 

• Understanding the product leads to better outcomes.
• Career decisions in startups are reversible.
• Belief in the product is crucial for success.
• Hiring requires a balance of experience and adaptability.
• Reference customers are vital for enterprise success.
• Product management skills can be applied in various roles.
• Evaluating a company's growth stage is essential before joining.
• Diversity in hiring brings different perspectives to the team.
• Critical thinking is key in product management roles.
• Building enterprise products requires understanding complex customer needs. Your customers expect it to be complex.
• Building a strong relationship with customers is crucial.
• Understanding the intricacies of your product is essential.
• Mistakes in startups can lead to valuable learning experiences.
• Creating a culture of accountability helps prevent repeated mistakes.
• It's important to adapt quickly to market changes.
• The best products come from deep understanding of customer needs.
• Utilizing infrastructure effectively can enhance customer experience.
• Communication with customers can lead to better product fit.
• A direct organizational culture fosters better outcomes.

Our Hosts
Lily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She’s currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She’s worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury’s. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group’s Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He’s the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager’s Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon’s music stores in the US & UK.