The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

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The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

TheProductPivot

16 episodes

2 weeks ago

Everyone’s hyping AI like it’s a magic trick. Aaron Kesler sees it differently — it’s just really good at boring stuff. Now VP of Product at RozieAI, Aaron’s focused on solving the unglamorous problems that make real business impact. But his path to product didn’t start in a boardroom. In college, he built a startup that got acquired. Then he realized he hated coding but loved talking to customers, so he walked away from tech completely and started working at Starbucks. That’s where he learne...

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Everyone’s hyping AI like it’s a magic trick. Aaron Kesler sees it differently — it’s just really good at boring stuff. Now VP of Product at RozieAI, Aaron’s focused on solving the unglamorous problems that make real business impact. But his path to product didn’t start in a boardroom. In college, he built a startup that got acquired. Then he realized he hated coding but loved talking to customers, so he walked away from tech completely and started working at Starbucks. That’s where he learne...

Show more...

Episodes (16/16)

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | Why AI Should Be Boring — And That’s a Good Thing

Everyone’s hyping AI like it’s a magic trick. Aaron Kesler sees it differently — it’s just really good at boring stuff. Now VP of Product at RozieAI, Aaron’s focused on solving the unglamorous problems that make real business impact. But his path to product didn’t start in a boardroom. In college, he built a startup that got acquired. Then he realized he hated coding but loved talking to customers, so he walked away from tech completely and started working at Starbucks. That’s where he learne...

2 weeks ago

39 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | The Power of Saying Yes (and Figuring It Out Later)

Some pivots don’t start with a master plan, they start with saying yes and figuring it out along the way. In this episode, Eduardo (Eddie) Rosenfeld, VP of Applied AI at Lavender 💜🔮, shares how studying philosophy and writing comedy scripts in L.A. somehow led to product ops at one of the fastest-moving AI startups in sales tech. We talk about: → Why curiosity and grit matter more than credentials → The art of “doing whatever it takes” in scrappy startup roles → How to handle feedback without...

3 weeks ago

57 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | From Incubator to Product Management: Nikhil’s Journey

Not every career pivot starts with a master plan. Sometimes it starts with curiosity or even a lemonade stand. In this episode, Nikhil Punjabi (PM at Dash Social) shares how working with founders at an incubator sparked his shift into product management, and why small experiments can teach the biggest product lessons. We cover: → The power of transferable skills when moving into product → Why “done” is often better than “perfect” → How to avoid building a plane when your customer just needs a...

1 month ago

43 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | The Power of Storytelling in Hiring

Santi and Meagan sit down with Heidi Ram, a seasoned product recruiter, to uncover what hiring managers really look for in product candidates. Heidi breaks down: Why storytelling sets great PMs apartHow to optimize LinkedIn and resumes to stand outThe truth about career pivots and internal movesWhy understanding your impact (and your “why”) mattersIf you’re job seeking, pivoting into product, or just want to sharpen your career story, this episode is for you. If you’re pivoting into product, ...

1 month ago

50 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Evolution of Product Ops: A Deep Dive with Graham Reed

When’s the right time to hire Product Ops? In this episode of The Product Pivot, hosts Santi and Meagan sit down with Graham Reed, Head of Product Operations at Helios, to unpack the rise of Product Ops and what it really means for growing teams. Graham shares how he “fell into” the role after a decade in product management and why he’s built product ops functions from scratch at multiple companies. We also dig into the messy middle between scrappy and established teams, and why Product Ops i...

1 month ago

50 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | From 8 Rejections to Google

Join hosts Santi and Meagan as they dive into the world of product management with Gabor. Discover Gabor's unique journey from a programmer to a product manager, his experiences with major tech companies, and his insights on the evolving role of AI in product management. Learn about the challenges and triumphs of breaking into the tech industry and the importance of continuous learning and adaptation. Key Highlights: Gabor's transition from programming to product management. The evolutio...

1 month ago

38 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | Season 2 Kickoff & More!

We’re back with Season 2 of The Product Pivot and this time, it’s bigger than just product management. This kickoff episode is part reflection, part roadmap. We look back at what worked in Season 1, what surprised us, and where we’re going next. From PM career pivots to deeper dives into leadership, operations, and scaling impact, this season will bring even more real stories and actionable lessons. You’ll learn: • What we took away from candid conversations • How “product pivots” extend beyo...

2 months ago

37 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | Fractional PM Unpacked

In this episode of The Product Pivot, we chat with Trevor Acy—a fractional product manager and coach—about his journey from marketing into product, how he broke in without the title, and what real product thinking looks like inside companies. We also dig into: What founders and early-stage teams get wrong when scalingWhy unscalable work is often the smartest workHow Trevor built his fractional practiceTrevor’s mission to grow Mississippi’s tech ecosystemIf you’re exploring fractional work, th...

7 months ago

52 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

From Newsrooms to Roadmaps: Olympia's Journey

Olympia Bardis, Product Manager at CNBC, joins us to share how she made an unexpected pivot from journalism into product management. From managing content at Fox News to building investment tools for retail users, Olympia’s story is a masterclass in self-advocacy, transferable skills, and building confidence through rejection. We dive into: How Olympia transitioned from journalism to product Advocating for yourself at work The underrated power of storytelling in product Rejection as redir...

7 months ago

35 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | Is Product Management Evolving or Disappearing

In this episode of The Product Pivot, we sit down with Brody Clemmer, Lead Product Manager at Little Otter, to discuss the future of product management and how the role is evolving. We cover: • How Brody landed in product without a degree • The biggest misconceptions about product management • Why living in the problem space is the key to success • The real difference between PMs at startups vs. large enterprises • If product management will still exist in 10 years and what might replace it ...

7 months ago

50 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | Big Tech Myths - A PM’s Journey to Microsoft

In this episode of The Product Pivot, Santi and Meagan sit down with Varsh, a Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, to discuss her journey from solutions engineering to building Gen AI products like Copilot. She debunks myths about breaking into big tech, shares actionable advice for aspiring PMs, and highlights the power of transferable skills. Whether you're looking to pivot into product management or grow your career, this episode is full of insights, strategies, and real-world advice to he...

7 months ago

44 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | From Marketing to Product Management

From Marketing to Product Management – Tyler Johnson, Product Manager at Nectar, shares how he made the leap from customer and product marketing into a PM role. In this episode of The Product Pivot, hosts Santi and Meagan sit down with Tyler to discuss: How his marketing background helped his transition Why customer obsession is crucial for product managers Challenges he faced as a first-time PM The importance of cross-functional collaboration How to build stro...

8 months ago

40 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | Meet Your Hosts

Welcome to another episode of The Product Pivot! In this episode, hosts Santi and Meagan share their personal journeys pivoting from customer support to product management. They also answer the lingering question: how did The Product Pivot get started? What you'll learn in this episode: Meagan’s transition from customer success to founding PM at a startup Santi’s unique journey from retail management to SaaS product managementThe importance of mentorship and how it shaped the...

8 months ago

39 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | From PI to PM

In this episode, co-hosts Santi and Meagan chat with Rachel, a Product Manager at Liferaft, about her unique journey from private investigator to PM. They dive into the power of transferable skills, breaking into product without prior experience, and overcoming challenges like perfectionism and learning on the fly. Plus, Rachel shares insights on the "Product Management is Dead" debate and some fun, unexpected facts - including her controversial food opinion! Follow us: Santi: ⁠LinkedIn...

8 months ago

29 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

The Product Pivot | Creativity in Product Management

In this episode, hosts Santi and Meagan sit down with Brandon Green, a Staff Product Manager at Buffer, to explore his unconventional journey from music school to tech and how he navigated the world of product management. Brandon shares pivotal moments in his career, the challenges he faced, and how adaptability has shaped his success in different work environments. He also discusses the role of creativity in product management, offers insights into today’s job market for PMs, and empha...

8 months ago

31 minutes

The Product Pivot: Stories of career shifts, breakthroughs, and advice for PMs.

Welcome to The Product Pivot: Your Guide to the Product Management Journey

Welcome to The Product Pivot Podcast!Join hosts Meagan Glenn and Santiana Brace as they explore the world of product management. Whether you're looking to break into the field or level up your career, you're in the right place. In this intro episode, we share our mission to inspire and equip aspiring product managers, career changers, and anyone curious about the product space.We’ll dive deep into the highs, lows, and unexpected twists of the PM journey with real stories from people who’ve su...

11 months ago