Product People Podcast

Welcome to the last episode of the 5th season of the Product People Podcast! For this special occasion, we’ve sat with Andrew Quan, VP of Product at Moonfare. In this episode, Andrew reflects on his journey from strategy consulting to product leadership across companies like PayPal, Google, and Tier Mobility.Andrew shares how product teams get stuck in feature-factory mode and what it actually takes to escape it: shifting decision-making culture, treating top-down decisions as hypotheses, and tying outcomes to team-level accountability. The conversation dives into the real role of product leadership at scale, where influencing without authority, building trust, and understanding people matter more than any framework.We also explore how Moonfare is approaching AI beyond hype: from productivity gains and developer efficiency to revenue uplift, operational automation, and synthetic user interviews for hard-to-reach customer segments. Andrew closes by outlining what he looks for when hiring PMs today: curiosity, agency, empathy, and the ability to zoom out before zooming in.A must-listen for PMs and product leaders navigating growth, AI adoption, and the human side of building products in mid-stage organizations.About us:Product People is the premier destination for Product Management services in Europe. We cover parental leaves, discover/deliver great products, and accelerate transformation by acting as bar-raising pacesetters. Our in-house recruitment process has a 0.5% acceptance rate.We empower our Product community of 60,000 members to share knowledge generously whilst managing the unglamorous hands-on work of a Product/Program Manager or Product Ops, on an interim/fractional basis (3-12 months). We onboard fast, align teams, and deliver outcomes.Selected clients include eBay, DeepL, and the World Health Organization.Join us here too:🤩 Community Chat on Telegram📆 Upcoming events on MeetUp🎥 Talk Recordings on YouTube📌 Updates and Product Opportunities LinkedIn📍 Our In-Person Events in lu.ma This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit getproductpeople.substack.com

In this episode with Janis Bode (Managing Director & VP Product and Technology Operations at N26), we unpack what it takes to lead product at the VP level: adapting communication styles to different stakeholders, using OKRs as alignment tools (not busywork), and why “stating the basics” builds clarity and trust. We explore how a consulting background shapes leadership—structured problem-solving, crisp narratives, and fluency in the executive team’s lingo—and how to quickly map how your org “ticks.” Janis shares his wide experience — from consulting to leadership —and how he solved one of the most difficult projects of his career. About us:Product People is the premier destination for Product Management services in Europe. We cover parental leaves, discover/deliver great products, and accelerate transformation by acting as bar-raising pacesetters. Our in-house recruitment process has a 0.5% acceptance rate.We empower our Product community of 60,000 members to share knowledge generously whilst managing the unglamorous hands-on work of a Product/Program Manager or Product Ops, on an interim/fractional basis (3-12 months). We onboard fast, align teams, and deliver outcomes.Selected clients include eBay, DeepL, and the World Health Organization.Join us here too:🤩 Community Chat on Telegram📆 Upcoming events on MeetUp🎥 Talk Recordings on YouTube📌 Updates and Product Opportunities LinkedIn📍 Our In-Person Events in lu.ma This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit getproductpeople.substack.com

In the world of digital products, customer acquisition is the lifeblood of success. But what if your strategy is built on a shaky foundation? In this episode, we sit down with Björn Darko, Director of Product Management - SEO at AVIV Group, to challenge the conventional wisdom. We'll explore why thinking about SEO as a mere marketing add-on is a critical mistake. Björn shares his insights on how to embed SEO directly into your product development process, turning your digital product into a powerful, self-sustaining customer acquisition engine. Tune in to learn how a shift in mindset can lead to lower acquisition costs, higher-quality traffic, and long-term business growth.About us:Product People is the premier destination for Product Management services in Europe. We cover parental leaves, discover/deliver great products, and accelerate transformation by acting as bar-raising pacesetters. Our in-house recruitment process has a 0.5% acceptance rate.We empower our Product community of 60,000 members to share knowledge generously whilst managing the unglamorous hands-on work of a Product/Program Manager or Product Ops, on an interim/fractional basis (3-12 months). We onboard fast, align teams, and deliver outcomes.Selected clients include eBay, DeepL, and the World Health Organization.Join us here too:🤩 Community Chat on Telegram📆 Upcoming events on MeetUp🎥 Talk Recordings on YouTube📌 Updates and Product Opportunities LinkedIn📍 Our In-Person Events in lu.ma This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit getproductpeople.substack.com

Are you ready for the second part of the Podcast episode with Itamar Gilad?Itamar has been in the Product Management game for +15 years. He has worked for Google and Microsoft, and now he is an author, keynote speaker, and coach, sharing his broad knowledge of our field.In this second part of the full interview, we dive deeper into the Confidence Meter, the framework Itamar has created to help PMs make decisions based on data.About us:Product People is a Product Management community and Interim Product Management services. Our mission is to help companies discover and deliver great products faster. We empower Europe's Product Management community to share knowledge generously for free. We earn money with Interim product management services for parent leaves or when hiring is slow. We manage the unglamorous hands-on work of a Product Manager/Owner, Product Ops, or Product Leader on an interim basis (3+ months). We onboard fast, align teams, and deliver outcomes.Join us here too:🤩 Community Chat on Telegram📆 Upcoming events on MeetUp🎥 Talk Recordings on YouTube📌 Updates and Product Opportunities LinkedIn📍 Our In-Person Events in lu.ma This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit getproductpeople.substack.com

It is time to uncover one of the best interviews we did this season at the Product People Podcast: the one with Itamar Gilad. Itamar has been in the Product Management game for +15 years. He has worked for Google and Microsoft, and now he is an author, keynote speaker, and coach, sharing his broad knowledge of our field.In this first part of the full interview, we go through his background and dive into the Confidence Meter, the framework he created to help PMs make decisions based on data. About us:Product People is a Product Management community and Interim Product Management services. Our mission is to help companies discover and deliver great products faster. We empower Europe's Product Management community to share knowledge generously for free. We earn money with Interim product management services for parent leaves or when hiring is slow. We manage the unglamorous hands-on work of a Product Manager/Owner, Product Ops, or Product Leader on an interim basis (3+ months). We onboard fast, align teams, and deliver outcomes.Join us here too:🤩 Community Chat on Telegram📆 Upcoming events on MeetUp🎥 Talk Recordings on YouTube📌 Updates and Product Opportunities LinkedIn📍 Our In-Person Events in lu.ma This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit getproductpeople.substack.com