Behind The Product

SEP has been building software products for over 30 years, but data as a dedicated practice is newer. In this episode, Zac Darnell sits down with SEP's Director of Data, Jason LaJeunesse , and Solution Architect Jason Dossett to unpack how SEP thinks about data: what it is, why it matters now more than ever, and what companies get wrong when trying to move fast on AI without the right foundation u...

In this episode, host Zac Darnell and co-host Raman Ohri sit down with The Purdue Data Mine's, Executive Director, Mark Daniel Ward and COO, Katie Sanders . Mark and Katie walk us through how they’ve built a program where students from every major, not just data science, tackle real data problems for industry partners, and why that intentional cross-disciplinary design is exactly the point. We dig...

In this episode of Behind the Product, host Zac Darnell and co-host Raman Ohri sit down with Karen Hyman , VP of Data Governance at Rolls-Royce . Karen shares her journey from software engineer to leading data governance across a highly regulated, global enterprise and what it really means to balance compliance with innovation at scale. We dig into the nuances of managing data across multiple busi...

In this episode of Behind the Product , host Zac Darnell and co-host Lauren Lecoffre sit down with Sentry's Director of Engineering, Indragie Karunaratne . He shares how Sentry transformed from error monitoring into a multi-product observability platform. We discuss the hard-won lessons of product expansion, balancing AI experimentation with focused execution, and maintaining developer experience...

In this episode of Behind the Product , host Zac Darnell and co-host Raman Ohri sit down with AI strategist Angie Carel for a refreshingly candid conversation about the human side of AI adoption. From why skipping AI literacy is a guaranteed misstep, to how “corporate recess” can spark innovation. Angie brings clarity, empathy, and a touch of urgency to a rapidly evolving space. Whether you're a s...

In this episode of Behind the Product , Zac Darnell is joined by Yana Welinder , co-founder and CEO of Kraftful , an AI-powered toolkit for product teams. Together they explore how AI is transforming product management—from turning user feedback into actionable insights to evolving the very role of the product manager. Yana also shares her views on trust, regulation, and what it takes to stay ahea...

We thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite 'things' from 2024 as a way to reflect on the year and share things we've been learning. Pod regular Chris Shinkle and host Zac Darnell share our favorite products, thought-leaders, habits, and advice from 2024. We'd love to hear from you! Reach out to podcast@sep.com to share your feedback on this show. You can find more information about t...

In this episode of Behind the Product, host Zac Darnell talks with Satya Ganni , CEO of Userflow and Beamer , about the evolving landscape of user-centric product design and its implications for product management. Key Points from this episode: User-Centric Product Experience: Satya emphasizes the importance of measuring "time to value" for first-time users and "time to outcome" for repeat users....

In this episode of "Behind the Product," we sit down with Ryan Locke and Natasha Jensen-Matta from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) to explore how this unique quasi-government organization is driving economic growth in Indiana. From supporting early-stage startups to attracting international businesses, the IEDC plays a pivotal role in the state's business ecosystem. Ryan and Na...

We welcomed CEO, Doug True and CTO, Cameron Piercefield with FORUM Credit Union. FORUM has a long history of embracing technology to better serve its members, from being an early online banking pioneer to developing in-house software solutions. Their member-centric approach and cooperative philosophy have been key drivers, involving members in the design process and sharing innovations with other...

In this episode, our guests are Chris Shinkle and Mike Cronin from SEP to discuss how the company approaches product strategy engagements with clients. They explain SEP's philosophy of clarifying the problem, defining a guiding policy, and outlining coherent actions - going beyond just creating a PowerPoint strategy deck. They share examples of helping clients align stakeholders, refine roadmaps t...

In this episode, we sit down with April Dunford , founder of Ambient Strategy and author of the books "Sales Pitch" and "Obviously Awesome". She is most known for her expertise in market positioning, having personally launched 16 products and influenced many others. Our conversation covers several key insights from Dunford's work: The disconnect between how marketing and sales teams communicate pr...

In this episode, Zac and Noelle Webster-Milam delve into the world of design, aiming to demystify its complexities and shed light on its significance in building great products. Noelle shares her thoughts on how design brings value to software product development as a key team member, alongside engineering and product management. She also shares how SEP thinks about design and has organized our pr...

This episode features a dynamic conversation with Oji and Ezinne Udezue, both Chief Product Officers at Typeform and WP Engine, respectively. The Udezue’s draw from their extensive experience as product leaders to discuss the concept of customer listening and its role in full stack product management. They emphasize the shift from treating product releases as fixed-time projects to ongoing product...

SEP's Director of Engineering, Jon Fuller, explains his starting points for helping customers make intentional choices before they build applications in cloud environments. Whether you're building a brand new application or need to migrate from something deployed on-prem, these areas will help you make a more thoughtful choice. Jon lays out 3 areas you should think through: Risk Cost Existing infr...

This episode’s guest is Josh Haines , he is the Global DevSecOps Capability Manager & Software Factory Founder at Rolls-Royce . In this episode Josh shares his journey over the past few years focusing on Digital Transformation within the Defense organization at Rolls-Royce. His mission has been to empower the development of modern applications to both serve his business partners within the org...

Our guest is Christine Itwaru , she is the head of Product at Vitality.io . Christine recently gave a talk at Industry: A Product Conference on utilizing AI in the Product Management Lifecycle and we dove into this subject a little deeper. Our conversation took a few turns into: Considerations of AI in products The importance of leaning into data-driven decision making as a Product Leader Cognitiv...

Our guest is Jeron Peoples , he’s responsible for strategy at ARI and Sports Tech HQ . Wearing multiple hats within two organizations is fun and challenging. Our conversation focused on a few areas: Context setting on what ARI and Sports Tech HQ are and where they focus A deep dive on the Indy Tech Ecosystem Jeron’s lens on some recent news in Indy and where he sees things headed The most interest...

A new format for Behind The Product, this episode features Jordan Thayer and Raman Ohri with SEP . Jordan is the AI Practice Lead at SEP, with a PhD in artificial intelligence. Raman is SEP’s CEO and has been at SEP for over 30 years. We asked each of them to share their perspective on the recent executive order on AI, including the effect on our industry, who may or may not be impacted, and some...

Our guest is Kirsten Moorfield , she’s the cofounder and COO at Cloverleaf . We got to hear Kirsten on a panel at a conference here in Indy and really resonated with a lot of what she shared. Our conversation went a few directions but a few things stood out to us.  How Kirsten made a massive pivot to start a tech company Why she finds the work at Cloverleaf so encouraging Kirsten’s ‘Ah Ha’ mo...

In this episode, Drew Beechler from Holder shares why he wanted to build a Web3 tech company in the marketing space. He left us with some new insights and thoughts on preconceived notions of Web3 anonymity. Whether you’re a blockchain expert or new to the space, Drew had interesting thoughts on why more people should learn about this world. He also shared some ideas on why this technology is a bar...

In this episode, Jim Sorgi and David Smith from ProTeam Tactical share why ProTeam came to be and their mission of serving First Responders with the best mental health app. They take us through their journey to tackle the behavioral health aspects of the job for First Responders by applying technology to an underserved group who greatly need the support and resources! Jim and his partner Joey Vand...

In this episode, Courtney Cantor Soice and Ben Cleland from Hamilton share insights from the world of event marketing. Join us to learn how Hamilton adapts ideas from diverse industries, tackles challenges, and responds to change. Courtney and Ben share how they balance ambitious visions with budget constraints through "objective development," aligning event goals with practical booth designs. The...

To celebrate three years of the Behind the Product podcast, we're revisiting the top three episodes from the past year. Lindsay Boccardo - Episode 26 Speaker, trainer, and coach Lindsay Boccardo shares how we can navigate generational divides and bridge the gap between a variety of perspectives. You can find our full conversation with Lindsay on Episode 26 . Bob Moesta - Episode 30 Author, speaker...

Ilya Rekhter shares his journey and the story behind Megawatt , a sustainable bitcoin mining company. We learn about what Megawatt offers and how it fills a need in the market. Ilya shares stories of what he's experienced and what has been surprising over the past couple of years. He also sheds light on some of the misconceptions around waste in the bitcoin mining space. He ends with a bit of advi...