Shows
Cieden PodcastWhy products need high-quality AI, not vibe design?Mohammed Abdoolcarim spent years at the heart of innovation at Apple and Google. Now, as the co-founder of Beacon AI, he’s applying those lessons to build the next generation of intelligent design tools.In the race to ship AI features, are we losing sight of what makes a product truly great? This episode cuts through the hype around "vibe design" to explore the strategic tension between launching fast and crafting experiences that last. We dive into the realities of building AI-native products, the hidden story of iteration behind breakout successes like Siri, an...2025-07-1731 min
Cieden PodcastProactive empathy: only REAL action builds great teams and products | Dane MaddamsDane Maddams is a Director of Product at Culture Amp. In this episode, he challenges the idea that empathy is a soft skill, arguing it's the foundation for team performance. He unpacks the lessons from his "zombie-themed" keynote on psychological safety and discusses the balance between ruinous empathy and radical candor. We also explore the empathy deficit in B2B and how to lead teams through the uncertainty of AI.Learn how to build the psychological safety that unlocks speed and innovation. Discover a practical approach to empathy that strengthens teams and drives results.Let’s...2025-06-2626 min
Cieden PodcastAmazon's framework to make strategic product decisions in the AI era | Marcelo CalbucciMarcelo Calbucci is the author of The PRFAQ Framework. He previously held roles at Microsoft, Amazon, and numerous startups.In this episode, Marcelo unpacks Amazon's PRFAQ framework and discusses the "Four Horsemen of Strategy Failure." We also explore AI's threat to customer empathy and a practical framework for delegating tasks to AI.Learn how to apply Amazon's strategic thinking to your own products. Discover a clear method for leveraging AI without sacrificing strategic depth.Let’s connect on LinkedIn:🎙 Ana Mudryk, Podcast Host, Head of PdM and BA at Cieden🎙 Marc...2025-06-1229 min
Cieden PodcastWhy I hire ONLY AI-native product builders | Bruce YangBruce Yang is a Head of Product at Way2B1. He previously led product management at Triumph, Forge, and others. In this episode, Bruce discusses building an AI-centric culture and the importance of hiring builders over predefined roles. We also explore aligning team biases and establishing an AI Center of Excellence.Learn how to transform your organization into an AI-native powerhouse. Discover strategies to implement AI policies that foster collaboration over fear. Let’s connect on LinkedIn:🎙 Ana Mudryk, Podcast Host, Head of PdM and BA at Cieden🎙 Bruce Yang, Head of Produ...2025-05-1536 min
Cieden PodcastGood products start with the right problems | Javier BargasJavier Bargas left a 14-year career at Google, where he led UX research across YouTube and Google Play, to launch Astrolabium — a training company for UX professionals. In this episode, we dive into building impactful research teams, avoiding AI hype traps, and what it really takes to drive user-centric innovation in 2025. Founders, designers, and product leaders — this one’s for you.What’s in here:Rapid Research at GoogleAI’s role in UX and product validationLearning from failures in techWhy “Junior” doesn’t mean “less valuable”What Twitch got wrong about user researchLet’s connect on Lin...2025-04-1033 min
Cieden PodcastWhat is Product Delight? | Rodolfo Ferro CasagrandeRodolfo Ferro Casagrande is the Head of Design at Helcim, a payments company that delivers an easier, smarter, and more affordable payment experience with a human touch.
In this episode, Rodolfo unpacks the art of crafting delightful digital products. Drawing on over a decade of experience in product and brand design, Rodolfo reveals how to create user experiences that resonate, blend creativity with functionality, and inspire design teams to aim beyond the basics.
Delight isn't an afterthought — it's a driving force behind user engagement and loyalty.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn:
🎙 Yuriy Mykha...2025-01-1754 min
Cieden PodcastHow fintechs can beat big banks | Peter HazlehurstJoin us as we talk with Peter Hazlehurst, Co-founder and CEO of Synctera, a fintech company that raised $33M Series A to help connect banks and fintechs.
Peter, who previously led teams at Google, Uber, and Nokia, shares his insights on the evolving landscape of fintech and banking.
Discover how smaller players can be empowered to innovate and learn about the transformative potential of Banking as a Service (BaaS). We'll explore the impact of regulation, the future of consumer banking, and the exciting possibilities for interconnected financial services.
Don't miss this chance to gain...2024-12-1847 min
Cieden PodcastAgile mindset: transform your product journey and life | Joshua KerievskyJoshua Kerievsky is the CEO of the agile consultancy Industrial Logic. For decades, he has been helping companies like Google, Ford, and other Fortune 500 firms build better products and lead more fulfilling lives.
To share these insights with a broader audience, he wrote The Joy of Agility, a book recommended by Marty Cagan to all product professionals and beyond. Its mission is to challenge the common perception that Agile is just a set of rules or a product management methodology. In reality, Agile is more than that – it helps us adapt gracefully to a fast-changing world.
I...2024-08-2134 min
Cieden PodcastWhat are you trying to solve as a startup? | Magnus HillestadMagnus Hillestad is the CEO and co-founder of Sanity, a company with a gross revenue retention of 97%. Basically, nobody's leaving their product. How did they achieve that?
By being intentional. This is Magnus’s favorite word. What he means by that is asking yourself what you are trying to solve as a startup and then focusing on that using frameworks like SCQA, V2Mom, and others.
This episode distills the essence of the learnings Magnus has undergone and the myriad of books he has read. If you want to be more intentional about your product, th...2024-07-1832 min
Cieden PodcastLead and design smart, not hard | Hans GuntrenHans Guntren is the Vice President of Product Design at Demandbase, focusing on delivering customer value through AI and Machine Learning. He's a veteran technology executive and board advisor with over 20 years of product design experience.
Hans spent over a decade advising Silicon Valley technology firms and worked within IBM's Silicon Valley Lab, where he managed product design and oversaw a host of complex enterprise products. In addition to his experience with Fortune 500 companies, he helps early-stage startups develop their product vision and design.
In this episode, Hans and Yuriy discuss what's wrong with the...2024-06-1934 min
Cieden PodcastHow to build an effective product strategy | Santiago CardonaSantiago Cardona, Director of Product Management at Fingercheck, shares his insights on navigating product strategy amid uncertainty. With Fingercheck's platform experiencing rapid growth and 100K daily active users, Santiago's responsibilities are crucial in steering product development.
So, what makes his approach special is focus on weekly customer engagement, agility in strategy, and fostering collaboration within teams.
📚 During this discussion, Santiago mentioned:
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Marty Cagan's books: Inspired, Transformed
Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works, by Roger Martin, Alan G. Lafley
TLDR newsletter
This podcast is created to con...2024-06-0536 min
Cieden PodcastDesign advocacy as a daily commitment | Brighton VinoIn this episode, Brighton Vino Jegarajan, Head of Design at Aviatrix, shares how he’s promoting design thinking among teammates and across the board. He also talks about the challenges and opportunities of designing for cloud networking services, where users often have a stronger technical background than the designers and engineers.
Brighton believes the biggest modern challenge for product leaders lies in fostering cohesion across teams.
📚 During this discussion, Brighton mentioned:
The first 90 Days by Michael Watkins
The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo
PJ Onori's blog post, where he writes: 'A major in de...2024-05-2342 min
Cieden PodcastThe crucial mindset change for AI product design | Larry PeltyLarry Pelty is a product design leader with 24 years of experience, not including his background as a digital artist. Today, he holds the position of Director of Product Design at Clari and advocates for a transition from traditional product design to AI-driven product design.
Larry encourages designers to change their mindset and embrace AI as an assistive technology to refine product experiences. He emphasizes the importance of active listening and deeply thinking about how we can solve problems for users during critical moments.
In this episode, we talk about:
Navigating sales tool consolidation
Measuring...2024-05-0948 min
Cieden PodcastDesigning and building AI products: Insights from a CEO & PhD in AI | Ari KahnDive into the world of AI product development with insights from Ari Kahn, CEO of Bridgeline and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence.
Ari boasts 20 years of experience growing SaaS companies. He co-founded FatWire, which was later acquired by Oracle for $160 million. Under his leadership, FatWire expanded globally with offices in 13 countries and received top industry analyst ratings. Following this successful acquisition, Ari served as Chairman and CEO of resort development company Great Land Holdings, navigating it through the 2008 recession and transforming it into one of the region's most successful businesses.
Currently, Ari is a member...2024-04-1748 min
Cieden PodcastHow to make product design matter in a highly technical domain | Robin TitusRobin Titus is a self-taught designer who built one of the first design teams at Capgemini 10 years ago. He started as a product manager and then ventured into design to follow his aspirations.
Throughout the 25+ years of the product journey, Robin has had a varied career that includes involvement with startups, scale-ups, and corporates.
Currently, he leads the product design team at Aiven, a triple-unicorn scale-up based in Helsinki, Finland. Robin founded two startups and is an active mentor and coach of early-stage ventures in a corporate incubator based in Germany.
In this me...2024-04-0345 min
Cieden PodcastDelivering great SEO software to enterprises | Will CritchlowAs the founder of an SEO agency and a software product, SearchPilot, Will Critchlow has spent over 20 years bringing businesses more revenue through SEO.
Unlike influencers who proliferate buzzwords, Will tells us the hard truth: to increase revenue with SaaS SEO, you need to test everything patiently. And if you are a startup founder, there's a high chance SEO is not even for you.
This episode dives deep into the potential of SEO for startups and enterprises, separating fact from fiction in the SEO landscape, especially with the growing impact of AI.
Feel...2024-03-061h 01
Cieden PodcastThe essence of design management | Michal KolasaMeet Michal Kolasa, the Design Director at Chili Piper, a leading billion-dollar startup revolutionizing B2B sales. With over $25 million in ARR, Chili Piper offers a suite of products, including lead routing, form scheduling, SDR-to-AE handoff, and much more.
In this video, Michal shares his vision of product design and expertise in enhancing user experiences. We'll also discuss the state of modern design education and how to make remote design teams more creative and productive.
We do podcasting to connect with fellow tech and design leaders. So, we'll be happy to meet you on LinkedIn...2024-02-1548 min
Cieden PodcastThe unfaded product strategy for sales tools | Todd BuslerThe sales tech platform category is blowing up. Apollo raised $100 million and hit unicorn status in 2023. Lots of other sales intelligence tools release more and more go-to-market workflows.
How to compete with that? How to think ahead and build the right product strategy? How to nail a product launch, go-to-market plan, and messaging?
When it comes to mastering these challenges, there's no one better suited than Todd Busler.
Todd has truly lived through the problems of selling B2B software tools. He was the first sales hire at Heap when the company only s...2024-01-3047 min
Cieden PodcastHow UX design powers MarTech | Tal FlorentinTal Florentin has designed 250 digital products before transitioning to the role of founder and CEO of the AI-driven startup, Summurai. Among his numerous accomplishments, he has won multiple UX awards and published books titled 'Design for a Perfect Screen' and 'Upwork Hacks.'
He is also the founder of the Israeli UX Certification Program, a speaker at multiple conferences, and a guest on various podcasts.
Currently, Tal studies how B2B professionals consume content and learn, with a focus on product features that can enhance user experience and educate busy individuals more effectively.
...2024-01-1050 min
Cieden PodcastThe secret sauce to customer-led growth in eCommerce | Jennica ChiangWhat does it take to apply a customer-led growth strategy for a startup?
Join Anastasiya Mudryk as she chats with Jennica Chiang, CEO and Founder of Shop Suki. Shop Suki is an eCommerce startup that became the No.1 grocery store and delivery in the Philippines on the App Store.
In just three years, amidst the pandemic, without massive ad campaigns and huge budgets, the team achieved an NPS score of 78.
In this episode, we'll reveal the secret sauce Jennica added to her customer support and marketing to build authentic relationships with customers.
2023-12-2036 min