Product&Growth Show

Feb 22 2025 96 ep. 54 mins 64

Product&Growth Show Podcast artwork

In this podcast Pavlo Pedenko and Yaroslav Stepanenko talk to people in tech.

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

96 - From Google to Mate Academy, VC-Backed Expansion for EdTechs with Roman Apostol

Feb 22 2025 52 mins

Last week, we sat down with Roman Apostol, co-founder of Mate Academy, to talk about business expansion, transitioning from a big corporation to a startup, and staying resilient. Here’s what we covered: - How did you transition from working at Google and Preply to joining Mate Academy? - What is the Income Share Agreement (ISA) model, and how does it work at Mate Academy? - Why

95 - From Product to Portfolio: Operator's Guide in Navigating Equity & Angel Investing with Mike Oliinyk, Montonio

Feb 10 2025 46 mins

Last weekend, we sat down with Mike to discuss his impressive product career (ex-Uber, Wise, Wolt) and talk about his experience in angel investing in early-stage startups. Here's what we discussed: - How Mike has chosen companies in his product career - Picking a first product role today - Job-hopping and when to leave a role quickly - Did Mike expect Wise and Volt to grow so bi

94 - from ops led to product led, a non-traditional YC process, visualisation with Siddhi Mittal, co-founder at yhangry

Jan 26 2025 39 mins

Last week I had a chance to chat to Siddhi Mittal, a co-founder at yhangry (YC W22). Here is what we discussed: - Transitioning from a high six-figure trading job to entrepreneurship - A non-traditional YC process - Transitioning from an ops-led to a product-led organization - Startup stagnation as a near-death experience - Why generic advice never works - Running fundraising as

93 - What Makes Companies Grow and The Rise of Micro-Influencing With Ruslan Nazarenko, ScaleAI

Dec 22 2024 45 mins

- What makes companies grow? - The importance of a common language in growth cultures - A deep dive into Uber’s leaked documents - How does the growth role differ from company to company? - How to build a growth culture? - All things being equal, why does one company grow faster than another? - Can we state that companies with a strong culture actually grow faster? - Differences

92 - Diaspora Founders, Benefits of FAANG Experience, and Pattern Matching in VC with Borys Musielak, SMOK VC

Dec 13 2024 54 mins

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting with SMOK's Borys Musielak. We discussed early-stage funding, the unique strengths of CEE diaspora founders, and how FAANG experience can be both an advantage and a challenge for entrepreneurs. Tune in to learn more! What did we cover? - What does SMOK VC do? - Why focus on CEE diaspora founders? - What’s the difference between CEE

91 - How to Become an AI PM, Moats in AI with Guillaume Boniface-Chang (ex-Synthesia, ex-Google)

Dec 01 2024 39 mins

Last week, we sat down with Guillaume Boniface-Chang, formerly of Synthesia and Google Search, to discuss the role of a Product Manager in AI-first companies, moats in AI, and more. Topics covered: - Synthesia: From Building New Technology to Finding Product-Market Fit - What Differentiates AI PMs from Conventional Software PMs? The Role of a Research PM - Synthesia’s Product

90 - Thinking visually, building marketplaces, and turning spreadsheets into products with Jonathan Hey, former CPO of ZenEducate

Nov 22 2024 55 mins

Last week I had a chance to chat with Jonathan Hey, former CPO at ZenEducate. What we discussed: - Is writing books more exciting than building products? - Where does Jono’s love for sketching come from? - How can PMs learn sketching to communicate their ideas more efficiently? - The power of explaining ideas visually - ZenEducate and the problem they are trying to solve - Why

89 - How to Build an Edtech Unicorn in 2024 with Rhys Spence, Brighteye Ventures

Nov 02 2024 43 mins

In episode 89, we talked to Rhys Spence, Head of Research at Brighteye Ventures, one of the most active edtech VC firms in Europe and the UK. Here’s what we discussed: - Hyperfocusing on a specific market might lead you to unicorn status; going to the U.S. is not the only path to success. - How did Byju’s downturn impact edtech VCs? - Why is building a unicorn in K-12 so chal

88 - Building Africa’s Largest Fintech from London with Parminder Mann, VP of Product at Flutterwave

Oct 27 2024 57 mins

This time, I had the pleasure of chatting with Parminder Mann, VP of Product and Design at Flutterwave, Africa’s largest startup. Flutterwave is essentially what you’d get if Stripe and Wise combined forces and decided to focus on Africa. Topics Covered: - The problem Flutterwave is solving - Flutterwave’s target countries - Product playbook used by Flutterwave’s product

87 – Brand in Marketplaces, Internationalization with Danny Martinez, Hiring Humans (ex-Airbnb).

Oct 20 2024 49 mins

In episode 87, we sat down with Danny Martinez (formerly of Airbnb and eBay) to chat about building and scaling marketplaces. - Starting with marketplaces, from finance to eBay, all the way to Airbnb. - Why is Airbnb’s business model underappreciated? - Lessons learned at Airbnb and the power of its brand. - Creating emotional connections in marketplace businesses. - A playbook