Mar 10 2025 47 mins
Today, I'm connecting with Shipra Mahindra, Principal Product Manager at Octopus Deploy. Let’s just say—Shipra’s peers can’t stop raving about her. She made her mark as the first product manager at Canva, working closely with co-founder Mel Perkins and the early mobile team. Shipra takes us through the highs, lows, and many celebrations that came with launching and scaling Canva’s first mobile app. She shares how she found her rhythm as a product manager and the lessons she's learned, both as a human and a product leader, during rapid growth at Canva, Xero, Creatively Squared, and now at Octopus Deploy. And when she’s not leading product, she’s showing how New Zealand can be an incubator for world-leading, world-class companies as a Partner at Phase One Ventures.
A note from your host, Laura:
My goal for Calling Operator is to open-source stories from startup operators across various functional areas and learn how they excel at building and scaling companies. As a Chief of Staff, I often find myself in (virtual) rooms with people facing similar challenges and reinventing the wheel. I want this podcast to open a line for operators across Australia and New Zealand to learn from fellow operators. Each episode shares personal stories, the execution behind big ideas, career-defining moments, successes, failures, and lessons.
Guest ideas?
Do you have an operator on speed dial who could be perfect for the show? Please share your suggestions with me via LinkedIn.
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