SochCast by Product Soch
by Abdul Ghaffar
A Pakistani podcast that dives deep into the world of product management, growth & product marketing.
Podcast episodes
Season 2
SochCast SC2 EP1 - Product Leadership and the Future of Product Management feat. Aakash Gupta
Get ready for an insightful conversation in this week's episode of SochCast as we sit down with Aakash Gupta, CoFounder at Product Growth, to delve into the world of product management and its evolution over the years.Aakash discusses the changes and advancements in Product Management, the skills required, and ways to achieve clarity of thought. They also cover sharing knowledge, virality and network effects. Aakash advises on balancing product strategy and management responsibilities, essential traits for Product Leaders, and characteristics of high-performing teams.Whether you are a seasoned Product Manager or just starting out in the Product Management field, this episode offers valuable insights and practical tips to help you succeed. About the Speaker Aakash Gupta is a renowned Product Leader having worked with giants like Google, Epic Games, and Affirm. He's also one of the leading content creators on Product Leadership and Product Strategy, helping shape the next generation of product managers. Chapters 0:00 Aakash’s Introduction 1:37 Aakash’s journey into Product Management 3:20 How has Product Management evolved over the last decade? 6:15 What factors drive popularity of Product Management as a profession? 7:23 How to be a clear thinker as a Product Manager 11:48 Should PMs start publishing content with thin domain expertise? 14:27 What role do virality and network effects play in driving a company's success 17:22 Principles of Product-Led Growth 20:20 How can PMs avoid a delivery-focused mindset? 24:12 How doe s the PM role evolve as they ascend the career ladder? 27:20 How to focus on product strategy vs management responsibilities 30:26 Traits of effective Product Leaders 33:15 What do top product teams at tech giants have in common? 35:46 Impact of AI on Product Management Role 40:02 Evolution of Product Management Role with AI 41:43 Recommended Readings Recommendations from the episode Kite Runner by Khaled Hussaini https://www.amazon.com/Kite-Runner-Khaled-Hosseini-author/dp/1526604736 Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654 Give and Take by Adam Grant https://www.amazon.com/Give-Take-Helping-Others-Success/dp/0143124986I nspired by Marty Cagan https://www.amazon.com/INSPIRED-Create-Tech-Products-Customers/dp/1119387507
Season 1
SochCast Ep 12 - Building AI Products feat. Zaki Shaheen
In this week’s episode of SochCast, Abdul Ghaffar sits down with Zaki Shaheen, Engineer at Tome - to unpack the great insights on building AI products and its impact on our future. Throughout the episode, Zaki shares his insights and expertise on how to create AI products, how openAI fundamental models can be modified, and how jobs will evolve around AI. Whether you are a seasoned Product Manager or just starting out in the AI field, this episode offers valuable insights and practical tips to help you succeed. Tune in to hear Zaki in a thoughtful and engaging conversation about all things building AI Products. About the Speaker Zaki Shaheen is a seasoned software engineer working at a Silicon Valley startup called Tome - an AI tool that transforms documents into presentations. After graduating from FAST in 2008, Zaki worked for a few years in Pakistan’s software services ecosystem before getting the nod from Yelp in San Francisco to work on their iOS app. Soon after that, Zaki was hired by Meta (then Facebook) at Menlo Park where he worked on products like Facebook Avatars and Whatsapp. Chapters 0:00 Zaki’s Introduction 2:41 Idea Behind Tome 4:34 What it means to build an AI Product? 9:19 How to modify openAI Fundamental models? 12:34 How do social biases works in AI? 17:10 How do you go about building AI Products? 25:17 What are some of your favourite AI Products? 26:38 Upcoming AI Products? 29:42 AI Role in AR/VR 31:31 AI's future: what does it hold? 41:27 In the age of AI, how can one future-proof themselves?
SochCast Ep 11 - Building a Product Strategy feat. Moe Ali
In this week’s episode of SochCast, Abdul Ghaffar sits down with the one and only - Moe Ali, the CEO and Founder of Product Faculty - to unpack product strategy and the potential of AI in product management. Throughout the episode, Moe shares his insights and expertise on how to create a sound product strategy, how to pivot effectively, and what traits great Product Managers possess. Whether you are a seasoned Product Manager or just starting out in the field, this episode offers valuable insights and practical tips to help you succeed. Tune in to hear Moe Ali in a thoughtful and engaging conversation about all things product strategy. About the Speaker Moe Ali is a prominent figure in the world of Product Management, with extensive experience in leading product positions at renowned companies like Loblaw Digital, Bell, Invista, and Apple. In 2016, he founded Product Faculty, a leading training institution that provides Product Management training to Product Managers, coaching them to become their best. As the CEO and Founder of Product Faculty, Moe Ali has dedicated himself to advancing the field of Product Management and helping others succeed. Moe Ali's expertise and insights are sought after by companies around the world, including IBM, McKinsey, and Pearson Education, for whom he serves as a product advisor. He is recognized for his thought-provoking and insightful posts on LinkedIn, where he has amassed a following of nearly 50,000 followers. Chapters 0:00 Moe’s Introduction 1:30 What is product strategy? 5:06 Product strategy for true innovations 9:45 How does one understand the problem space? 14:24 How do you strategize for companies in different stages? 17:09 How do you know if you're a 0-1 or 1-N PM? 19:08 Examples of products with great strategy 26:26 Do larger companies let smaller ones innovate only to acquire them? 30:16 How do successful PMs utilize data? 35:12 How will AI impact product management? 37:49 How can PMs future proof themselves? 40:10 Traits of great Product Managers 45:39 Recommended Readings Recommended Readings Shreyas Doshi Twitter: https://twitter.com/shreyas Shreyas Doshi LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shreyasdoshi
SochCast Ep 10 - Tech Entrepreneurship in Pakistan feat. Yasser Bashir
In this episode of Sochcast, Abdul sits down with Yasser Bashir, the CEO of Arbisoft, one of the largest software development companies based in Pakistan with a thriving product arm. The discussion centers around tech entrepreneurship in Pakistan, the startup funding situation in the country, and the role that Arbisoft is playing in supporting entrepreneurship. Yasser Bashir shares his insights on the challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs in Pakistan. Abdul and Yasser also unpack the exciting potential of AI and its potential impact on the tech industry at large. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of tech and entrepreneurship in Pakistan. About the Speaker Yasser Bashir is the co-founder and CEO of Arbisoft, a software development company based in Pakistan that employes over 800 employees. Along with software development services, Arbisoft also boast a strong product culture with products like edX, Sentimeter, Fatafat and more. They have been able to materialize strong exits for a number of their product lines. Yasser is a Stanford and LUMS graduate. After starting his career in software engineering and a stint at Orthoclear, Yasser started Arbisoft. Under Yasser’s leadership, Arbisoft has led the development of 3D/CADD systems, enterprise software including ERPs and CRMs, web, cloud, and mobile applications. Moreover, Yasser is committed to promoting tech entrepreneurship in Pakistan and supporting the growth of the tech industry in the country. Chapters 0:00 Yasser’s Introduction 1:46 How & Why Yasser started Arbisoft 3:26 Why Yasser chose to start a software dev company 6:55 How has the entrepreneurial landscape evolved in Pakistan? 9:55 Will private equity interest return to Pakistan with the same momentum? 18:30 Role of governance in Pakistan’s tech sector 23:58 Role of Pakistani entrepreneurs to lift the tech sector 25:06 What should Pakistani tech entrepreneurs aim to do? 31:42 Dilemma around brain drain 35:02 Arbisoft's role in the future Pakistani entrepreneurship 39:51 Potential of AI in context of Pakistan 49:39 Is Artifical General Intelligence coming? 58:25 How might AI be exploited? 1:02:39 Advice to Pakistani entrepreneurs 1:06:23 Will doors to funding re-open for Pakistan with the same vigor soon? Recommended Reading ChatGPT is a lossy compression of the internet https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/chatgpt-is-a-blurry-jpeg-of-the-web
SochCast Ep 9 - Role of AI in the future of Products - ft. Ali Rehan
In this episode, Abdul sits with Ali Rehan - Director of Engineering at Motive - to dive into the fascinating world of Product Management in AI, exploring how AI PMs differ from regular PMs, the impact of AI on our future, the importance of AI ethics and much more. This is a a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of AI, technology, human impact and business. About the Speaker Ali Rehan is a seasoned Product & Engineering Manager with a proven track record of building successful products, especially in the AI domain. Ali started out as a Product Manager at Motive where he managed their Dashcam products and now currently leads the core AI/Vision team. Before joining Motive, Ali co-founded Groopic, an app that revolutionized group photography with its innovative technology. Under his leadership, the app achieved over 1 million downloads and was recognized by major media outlets such as CNN, TechCrunch, and Gizmodo. With a background in computer vision research and a passion for UI/UX design, Ali's expertise has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Best Startup + Media & Ent Tech Award at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards from 2013 to 2015. With a Bachelor's and Master's from LUMS, Ali is now bringing his wealth of experience to his role as Director of Engineering at Motive. Recommended Resources Harvard Innovation Labs https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm_WkN0wg49-eG4SymAQ_4g Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely https://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expanded-Decisions/dp/0061353248/ref=sr_1_1 Tribe of Mentors by Timothy Ferriss https://www.amazon.com/Tribe-Mentors-Short-Advice-World/dp/B082VM5VZN/ref=sr_1_1 Chapters 0:00 Introduction 2:50 Ali’s academic & professional journey 6:17 Journey after Groopic (product) 8:20 Journey into KeepTruckin’ 9:36 The drive behind Ali’s early work 13:30 Products Ali worked on during undergrad 15:18 Reflecting on the Groopic app 22:53 Potential to productize Groopic for other businesses 26:47 What is Artificial Intelligence? 33:26 How has Motive productized AI? 39:45 Role of AI in self-driving cars 46:51 How can we better prepare for the ethical challenges of AI? 53:51 What is AI Product Management? 58:58 What AI PMs need to be wary about 1:06:00 Does an AI PM need to be technical? 1:08:46 Will AI lose impact over time? 1:15:39 Recommended Readings