Product and Cake

Forget bloated launches and over-engineered first steps. This episode is all about Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) that deliver real value without wasting resources. Ghonche Tavoosi and Paul Lunow share their sharpest insights on how to define, design, and deliver an MVP that works. Whether it’s an explainer video, a landing page, or a single feature, they unpack creative strategies to validate you...

Static roadmaps are like fragile promises—they shatter under real-world pressure. Ghonche Tavoosi and Paul Lunow share how to avoid this pitfall with a dynamic “Now-Next-Later” approach. Learn to create plans that adapt to change, focus your team’s efforts, and communicate effectively with stakeholders. Packed with insights on prioritization, cross-team alignment, and embracing agility, this episo...

How do you define a vision that motivates your team, aligns with company objectives, and paints a clear picture for the future? In this episode, Ghonche Tavoosi and Paul Lunow tackle the art of crafting product vision and goals. With practical examples, they explore how to create a vision that resonates, the difference between company and product visions, and why simplicity and clarity are essenti...

Customer voices are more than just opinions—they’re your best roadmap to success. Ghonche Tavoosi and Paul Lunow dive into the art of turning customer feedback into actionable insights that drive product success. Practical strategies to collect and analyze qualitative feedback. How to transform support tickets into engagement opportunities. Connecting data and feedback to refine your product decis...

From defining North Star metrics to crafting actionable KPI trees, Ghonche and Paul explore how to turn raw data into clear insights that drive decisions. Discover how to align team efforts, avoid common tracking pitfalls, and effectively balance quantitative and qualitative data. If you’re looking to sharpen your data game and improve product outcomes, this episode delivers the tools you need.

The most critical aspects of product management: continuous validation. Ghonche Tavoosi and Paul Lunow explore the importance of validating assumptions at every stage, sharing strategies like empathy mapping, competitor analysis, and the art of asking the right questions. Ghonche and Paul emphasize how customer insights can shape a product’s direction, using real-world examples to highlight the va...

Kareem Mayan, co-founder of Savio and a product management veteran with over 23 years of experience joined Ghonche and Paul today. Kareem shares his journey, from his early days building groundbreaking tools at ESPN to co-founding multiple successful startups. Together, they dive into critical topics, including: • The art of prioritization and customer feedback integration • Navigating cross-funct...

Drawing from their experiences, Ghonche and Paul discuss the importance of defining a clear user focus early on and share insights on creating a successful MVP by homing in on specific needs. From memorable anecdotes, like testing a product for seniors in a retirement home, to tips on avoiding the common pitfall of “building for everyone,” this episode is packed with actionable advice for product...

Let's explore favorite tools for task management, collaboration, and product design, offering insights on how each can enhance your workflow. But Ghonche and Paul don’t stop there: they also take a fun (and somewhat painful) look at the tools they can’t stand, including a shared hatred for a certain project management giant. If you’re looking for practical recommendations to streamline your produc...

In this insightful episode of Product and Cake, Ghonche Tavoosi and Paul Lunow break down the full product life cycle, from the initial spark of an idea to the emotional sunset of a product. Whether you’re just starting with an idea, transitioning to an MVP, or managing a mature product, this episode will guide you through each stage. The hosts offer practical advice on handling launches without p...

In this exciting episode of Product and Cake, Ghonche Tavoosi and Paul Lunow take on the question: Do you actually need a product manager? Whether you’re building a startup or managing a growing business, this episode explores when the product management role becomes essential and why it can make or break your company’s success. They break down seven key responsibilities of a product manager—from...

In the second episode of season three of Product and Cake, Ghonce Tavoosi and Paul Lunow dive into the essential skills and responsibilities required to be a successful product manager. They explore unexpected skills like meeting management, knowledge management, and communication, emphasizing strategic thinking, customer empathy, and technical literacy. The hosts also highlight adaptability, crea...

In the first episode of season three of Product and Cake, the hosts Ghonche Tavoosi and Paul Lunow dive into the fundamentals of product management. They discuss the complexities of entering the product management field, sharing personal stories and insights on the essential responsibilities of the role. This episode is perfect for anyone curious about whether product management is the right path...

Welcome to the kickoff of Season 3 of Product and Cake! In this special episode, we chat with Christoph Steinlehner, a product coach and consultant, who introduces his “Mapper Method” — a powerful tool to help product teams escape endless meetings and drive real progress. Christoph shares how mapping your thoughts and aligning with your team can lead to clearer, more effective product strategies....

Ghonche and Paul sit down together to give the podcast a new shape. A new profile. In short, we did some product work. Want to know the result? Just tune in and let us know what you think.

Summer is here! Christmas is just around the corner. A project starts or finishes. You need to rally the team. In short, it's all about team events. They are always a challenge, but today, in hybrid mode, they are even more challenging. Get some inspiration on what to do, what to serve, what to ask. Use this episode to get your head into planning mode. Make your next team event the best ever.

The tech giants are dominant in all areas. We imagine that they could just stuff 1000 people to do basically every startup idea that exists on the planet. But they don't! Why is that? Will AI save us? And most importantly: Does it make sense for you to start something today? Find the answers in this refreshing and motivating podcast episode with Ghonche and Paul.

The most undervalued function is product ops. Only with dedicated product ops people is it possible to scale a product organisation at all. The same goes for engineers and DevOps. Is it that simple? Tune in to learn about this exciting role and why Ghonche and Paul are not quite on the same page here.

We start deep. Sometimes the check-in questions get out of hand, as they did this time. But hey, that's what they're made for. The subject of this episode is also huge. We talk about product strategy. Is monetisation part of it? What makes a good strategy and do I even need one? This is your glimpse as a service (GaaS). Get your head in the game and dive into the topic of strategy.

You do it every day. Your team depends on you to do it. Your peers, colleagues, friends, family, in fact everyone has to do it, is waiting for it and will lose confidence if it is not done. Ghonche and Paul talk about decisions. And we also made a big decision to introduce something new to our podcast. Tune in to find out what has changed!

Now it is time for a return to the office. The days of working from home, recording from home and living from home are over. Ghonche phrased it as working from work. But is that really the case? Is returning to the office the only way forward? Sitting in traffic, spending time at the coffee machine. Or are there other solutions? Solutions to stay motivated, stay connected and feel a sense of belon...

It was shocking to receive the following answer to my question: How are you? I am fine. But my bank account has been emptied. What? I can't believe it! But Ghonche laughed and said: "Yes, it was unexpected, but the bank will take care of it now." Then my HR manager asked me: Paul, did you really send me that email? Someone had asked her, on my behalf, to change my bank details before the next sala...

Closing a chapter and opening a new one is very common in all product and technology teams these days. But how do you do it right, and what factors keep people motivated? These and other questions are answered by your hosts Ghonche and Paul in the final episode of 2023. We list the key factors and give a nice suggestion on how to show appreciation. Recommend this episode to someone who is starting...

What happens when seasoned product and technology experts get together to discuss how to launch a new product? It all depends. In this episode, we welcome Lukasz from LLI to discuss what it takes to get a new idea off the ground. Lukasz has founded several companies as CTO and runs a successful software development company. His insights are fascinating and inspiring. And this episode is packed wit...

And everything you need to know about the OpenAI drama. Tired of reading too? We've got you covered. Just tune in to the latest episode of Product and Cake. Enjoy the icing on the team engagement cake! Is MS Teams finally better than Slack? Is sending emoticons part of your role description? And how can you increase engagement with your remote team? Answers to these questions and more in this epis...