Mitali Pattnaik
Co-founder, Intro. Former PM at Twitter, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft
Discussion
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
Hi I'm Mitali. I am co-founder and CEO of Intro - a professional networking platform for Slack teams. Intro creates a professional network for each Slack so that team members can reach people they need for sales, recruiting, and any other purpose using their team's common connections. We recently launched our beta product on the Slack App Directory and already have 1000s of teams using us.
Before starting Intro I was an Entrepreneur In Residence at Foundation Capital and prior to that I spent almost 15 years in product management roles at Twitter, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft (life-long PM!)
I'm excited to be here and share my thoughts on product management, startups, my career, being a woman and immigrant founder, or anything else :-)
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Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
During your 15 years in product management, how, if at all, has PM evolved? What parts of it have become more important/prevalent? On what did you spend most of your time in years 1-3 vs. years 10-15?
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
@tomstocklein this is a great question! the biggest change is how much more data driven PM is as products have moved away from packaged software (where I started!) to web 1.0 (limited data) to web and mobile apps (tons of data). i am extremely data driven and i think this is a great thing, however i do feel like some of the art of listening to and observing users has been lost in the process. there is no replacement for empathy - core skill of being a good PM.
Charles Kunene
@charles_kunene · Co-founder & Product Designer @Obaa
How has your PM background affected how you lead as CEO? Also, what advice do you have for product oriented CEO's who sometimes take over the reigns and possibly overstep into the domain of others?
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
@charles_kunene this is a great question and one i have thought about a lot. in some ways a PM background is a big asset - because early on at a startup the most important thing is to be able to build a product (sometimes multiple products if the first doesn't work), get it to product-market fit. but it can have some pitfalls - one is constantly solving every problem with a product mindset, be it sales, or fundraising, or PR. the 2nd risk is not understanding that once you have a product that is working with its initial market, distribution becomes *much* more important to the success of your company than the product.
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
What is it like being an EiR? What do those days look like typically?
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
@bentossell it varies a LOT by person and firm. in a way its what you make of it. the typical outcomes of an EIRship are: you start a company, you join one of the VC firm's portfolio companies, or you join the firm itself as a VC. its best to decide early on which of these is your desired outcome so you can optimize the rest of your time there. for me it was #1 so i used my time mainly to look at a lot of interesting ideas, talk to founders building in those spaces and decide what i wanted to build
Farhan
@frrank_1 · CEO at Avveu
As immigrant founder what were your biggest chellenges to overcome and what's your advice for others who are in the same position as you were?
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
@frrank_1 H1-B! i came to the US in 1996 and despite working at all those places, I didn't get a green card till 2011. so that was the first time i could even leave to start a company. its a huge problem for the country, our economy and the startup ecosystem. one firm that is fixing this in a very American way - is Unshackled. they are a VC firm who give H1-B visas to the founders they fund. I am a proud investor in them.
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
Having majored in Philosophy, how did you secure your first PM role? (Btw, Philosophy is an awesome major, but some hiring managers may prefer CS/Engineering or Design majors for the PM role...)
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
@tomstocklein I am a computer science and philosophy double major - so yeah sadly i fit into the "CS degree required" category tho i do believe this requirement is a mistake that companies should get rid of.
Michael Novotny
@michaeljnovotny · Product, randrr
What is the most valuable asset you brought to the table or wish you would have known when you first started as a PM?
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
@michaeljnovotny LISTEN! and WATCH! nothing beats listening to and observing your customers directly. I had the great fortune of starting my PM career at Microsoft Office under Steven Sinofsky and this was ingrained in us pretty early on.
Ben Tossell
@bentossell · Community Lead, Product Hunt
If you could be a Tech CEO for one week, who would you be and why?
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
@bentossell such a great question! probably Elon Musk so I can get a front row seat at the next Falcon launch. Because there's not much you can do at the company in a week so may as well get something awesome out of it :)
Snah Desai
@s_haverford · Operations Analyst, ServiceTitan
How did you get into being a PM and what advice would you have for someone who aspires to be a PM at a startup?
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
@s_haverford I started as pm in college - as a sophomore intern at Microsoft. so in a way its all i have done :) internships are a great way to make the switch to pm, or taking on a parallel role such as in product marketing or even in ops and making the switch to product once you are more familiar with the company. also good PMs are inherently curious about products - so show that you care about the product of the startup, their competitors, where they shine / where their competition does better, what else they could be doing.
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
You have achieved so much in career and have so much to be proud of. Is there anything that you regret, or would perhaps do differently in retrospect?
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Mitali Pattnaik
@mitali · Co-founder @IntroHQ. pm @ TWTR, GOOG
@ems_hodge oh i don't feel like i have achieved much! mostly i feel lucky. i grew up in Bombay in a building surrounded by slums - as most of the city is. very early on i realized i could be have been born in there instead of a few feet away in our apartment. so mostly i feel lucky :) but i do have some regrets. the biggest is prioritizing title over company / team. I have only done this once in my career but it was a mistake. ALWAYS seek out the best companies and teams that you want to work with. Regardless of your role or title.