Better Product

D2C is becoming the new way we buy anything. From groceries to furniture, brands are cutting out the middleman and selling their products directly to the end consumer.  Next-level products are what make this D2C transformation possible. In this series, we’re talking to the people behind a few of those products: Melanie Cummings, VP of Product at Fabletics Ben Clark, CTO of Casper Sleep Tsega Dinka, VP of Digital Product at Dollar Shave Club Liana Herrera, President & Co-founder of Bottomless We also take an inside look at building products at a company that doesn’t identify as a tech company. And of course, Christian and Meghan will share the mic in exploring the brand implications of a D2C strategy.  How does this impact the retail industry as a whole? We’ll explore that too. But mostly, this series will make you want to open up your phone and start shopping.

Meghan continues our The Minute conversations around how to start with design. Kate Donahue, Head of Product Marketing at Pitch, talks about how they were rigorous about the design decisions before they even had a product in the market.

You’ve probably seen consumer brands drop a new line of footwear or clothing, but have you considered using the same approach  with your product? We’re exploring the impact ‘product drops’ can have on your business   in this episode of Better Product. When it comes to fashion brands, these product drops generate excitement and create exclusivity helping brands break through the noise. .  Meghan and Christian explain the phenomenon while sharing examples of how brands  can apply it for themselves. Resources Product ‘Drops’ Aren’t Just for Sneaker Brands: https://builtin.com/marketing/product-drops-digital

Our last series may have been about the future of work, but another theme emerged: how to start with design. Dominik Zane, CEO & Founder of Around, shares they are a design-focused team putting an emphasis on the seemingly insignificant details. But those are the details that add up to create the delightful experience they’re known for.

In this episode, Christian & Meghan review a new app called Postdates. You read that right: It's like Postmates, the food delivery app, but with the twist of gathering all the stuff you left with your ex. That's a huge difference between the products—but the brands are nearly identical. We're calling this phenomenon of new products trailing existing brands "brand skitching," named after the skateboard maneuver made famous in Back to the Future. Listen now to hear Christian & Meghan's take on what a world of pop-up tech could look like, what happens when you take an idea too far, and how Newton's law creates interesting product opportunities.

Organizations around the world are figuring out what work will look like now and in the future. No one has the answer, but everyone is trying to crack the code to create the ideal work environment.  We’re wrapping up our Future of Work series, where we explored products that transform  the way we work, collaborate, and communicate.  In this final episode of the series, we look back on our conversations with these trailblazing leaders: Chris Byers, CEO of Formstack Kate Donahue, Head of Product Marketing at Pitch Alexander Embiricos, CEO and Co-Founder of Remotion Dominik Zane, CEO and Founder of Around Paige Costello, Product Lead at Asana We reflect on what we’ve learned and share some of the themes that stood out across conversations.

In a crowded space with established players, it can be hard to differentiate your product. Add in managing user expectations with your own innovative product vision, and you’ve got a real challenge on your hands. This is the challenge Kate Donahue, Head of Product Marketing at Pitch, has tackled. She joins us to share her journey to help shape the future of work by focusing on the entire presentation creation experience. Kate explains that her team fights inertia. They go after people who use multiple tools now and show them it’s possible to use just one. Pitch aims to be a complete presentation tool. They think about design from the start, focusing on the full user experience, from gathering assets to receiving feedback. Kate shares how user research helps determine whether feature parity or an innovative approach will be most valuable. She also explains how, by creating a minimal UI.

We’ve all felt the exhaustion of back-to-back video calls. We know studies explain some of this fatigue: seeing ourselves on camera for hours at a time, for example. But is there more to the problem? Alexander Embiricos, Co-founder of Remotion, believes that the problem is work isn’t meant to revolve around scheduled meetings. Teams need to build relationships, collaborate, and do solo work on their own time. Taking call after call can suck the creative energy out of the best of us. So, what can we do? Alexander thinks we need to focus on meeting at the right times — and not at the wrong times.  He also believes that we need to prioritize strong relationships and geographic diversity to grow sustainable teams. Remotion helps remote teams connect better, and Alexander shares the journey he experienced with his co-founder — the problems they confronted first-hand and the solution they built to solve them.

The future of remote work is playful. Introducing play into a work environment doesn't make you less productive. It opens the space to be creative and it leads to better output. It’s exactly why Dominik Zane built Around. He joins our Future of Work series to share how his team identified problems with remote work and how they built a solution to fit the new wave of collaboration. It means allowing for playful, frictionless teamwork that keeps all participants engaged. Dominik explains how Around solves the pain he and many remote teams experience. His story of innovation will leave you looking for opportunities to develop solutions for new use cases.

Tim Salau is the self-anointed, Mr. Future of Work. We had him on awhile back to spotlight his product, Guide, a B2B learning and talent development app, helping remote teams and knowledge workers learn the skills they need to succeed on the job and in their careers. One thing we wanted to bring back to our community is his point on how the future of work is really all about the future of living. Take a listen.

Struggling to help your team see that their work really matters? Is there a disconnect between your day-to-day and your big-picture vision? Paige Costello of Asana joins our Future of Work series to share how she and her team solve these problems. We discuss the importance of clear prioritization and outcome-oriented goals to keep your team engaged and working purposefully. Paige also shares how she builds confidence in the midst of uncertainty and defines customer-focused metrics. Oh, and how her team achieves all this without using email.

A customer-first approach is tried and true, but sometimes we narrow in on customers so closely that we miss opportunities to innovate. Chris Byers, CEO of Formstack, joins us on our latest series: The Future Of Work. In our conversation we discuss the topic while previewing featured products and discussing ways of innovating efficiently.  We dive into lessons Chris has learned about remote work, inviting designers to cast a vision for your product, and balancing the future with the present. If you want more information on this topic, check out Formstack’s podcast Ripple Effect hosted by Chris. https://www.formstack.com/podcasts

The way we work will never be the same, from where we work to how it gets done. We’re bringing you a new series, The Future of Work, exploring products that are powering the change behind the way we work, collaborate, and communicate. Buckle up for conversations with these trailblazing leaders sharing the products they’ve built: Chris Byers, Formstack Kate Donahue, Pitch Alexander Embiricos, Remotion Dominik Zane, Around Paige Costello, Asana Tim Salau, Mr. Future of Work In this kickoff episode, Meghan and Christian discuss the products, companies, and leaders we’ll be meeting during this series. They share their thoughts on the future of work, the questions we’re considering in this series, and why we chose to focus on these products and people.

We often have to leave part of our conversations on the cutting room floor. As we were sweeping up, we stumbled upon this clip between Christian and Christina Goldschmidt for The Minute. While today she’s the Head of Product Design, that’s not how she started and as you’ll soon hear, her unconventional career experience has been an invaluable asset as a leader for Etsy.

Design solutions happen at the intersection of business value and customer needs. If we want our teams to be able to create these solutions, we need to empower them with the information they need to understand business performance and strategy. That’s what Etsy’s Head of Product Design, Christina Goldschmidt, joins us to discuss. We talk through practical steps to invite designers into conversations that show them where their work fits in the big-picture user experience, product, and business strategy. Christina also shares how she’s focusing on agency and transparency with her team and why experimentation is so important to confidently building new things.

In this episode, Christian and Meghan ask Nick Volpe, Product Designer at Etsy, what he’s most looking forward to. We're not gonna ruin it for you, but let’s just say it has to do with something they’re launching.

There’s an invisible balancing act happening in a two-sided marketplace. As a designer or product manager, how do you balance both a buyer’s and seller’s priorities? And how do you innovate on one side without disrupting the other? Nick Volpe joins us to share how he balances these two experiences as a product designer at Etsy.  Nick gives us the inside scoop on the importance of listening to users, incorporating features that are fun and not just functional, and how Etsy experiments to constantly evolve into a better product for their users.

Heather Campbell joined Christian in our Behind the Product Series featuring Etsy. Halfway through the conversation, Christian went a bit rogue. You’ll just have to listen. 

What’s an idea worth? Most likely, nothing. Yet, they run rampant in our businesses, across our networks, and in our minds. Leaving us with this question, is it a good idea?  The truth is: if that’s what you’re asking then you’re asking the wrong question. From the creators of Better Product comes a new original show, The Business of Product. This show is for the CEO, the Founder, the high-growth leader looking for the hockey stick effect. In-depth conversations, with host Austin Westerfeld, cut through the product jargon of tech stacks and product features to help you do one thing: take your company to the next level. Follow along wherever you get your audio experience.

Conversion is what keeps businesses alive, but to get there we have to back up to the customer outcomes and milestones that lead to conversion. Heather Campbell joins us to share her perspective on the customer journey as a Product Manager at Etsy.  We discuss creativity in product management, how to create long-term buyers, and the steps that lead to conversion. And Heather shares Product Managers’ pivotal role in making this possible by fostering collaboration.