Shows
The MVP PodEp 1.9 - HeyMilo: Unpacking the Impact of AI in Recruitment with Sabashan RagavanIn this episode of The MVP Pod, we are joined by Sabashan Ragavan, a co-founder of HeyMilo, a generative AI voice agent providing solutions for the recruitment industry. With Sabashan we get into the journey of making HeyMilo as well as the importance of AI in conducting efficient candidate evaluations. We also dive into the future of human-AI interaction and the potential challenges that come along with innovations in AI. The conversation even extends to operating in the B2B SaaS space, the relevance of shaping the product vision as per customer feedback, and tips for new founders.
2024-02-0239 minThe MVP PodEp 1.8 - Building Conviction and Finding Certainty: Exploring the idea of Negative One to ZeroIn this episode of the MVP Pod, we delve into an intriguing concept known as "going from -1 to 0." This concept was coined by Ruchi Sanghvi, the founder of South Park Commons. We were fascinated by this idea and believe it holds immense value for product builders and entrepreneurs.
The idea of going from -1 to 0 refers to the initial phase where individuals strive to determine their path and what they want to accomplish in the next five to ten years of their lives. It's a period characterized by uncertainty, messiness, and confusion. According to Ruchi, this...2023-11-2920 minThe MVP PodEp 1.7 - Your Brand is Your Compass: How to Build an Authentic Brand with Renga Founder Jared HenriquesJared & Renga:
- Twitter (@JaredHenriques)
- Renga (renga.co)
Join us in episode 1.7 of The MVP Pod as we chat with Jared Henriques, founder of Renga, a leading brand agency. We explore Renga's success in helping clients like Float and ThreeShips raise over $250 million in capital through strategic branding. Jared shares insights on storytelling, their unique "brand therapy" process, and why a good brand is a compass. This episode is a must-listen for founders looking to differentiate their companies and master their go-to-market strategy.
As always...2023-08-0150 minThe MVP PodEp 1.6 - The Twitter Saga Continues: Instagram's Threads Comes for TwitterIn this episode of The MVP Pod, we delve into the intriguing world of social media rivalry as Instagram throws its hat into the ring with the release of their new competitor to Twitter, Threads. Building upon our previous episode where we explored Twitter's captivating story as a company, we now shift our focus to the latest development in the ever-evolving landscape of social media.
We examine the features, similarities, and key differentiators between the two platforms, exploring the strategic motivations behind Instagram's decision to come after Twitter. We also touch on the ongoing Zuck vs Elon drama, Zuck's personality...2023-07-1735 minThe MVP PodEp 1.5 - How Uber Became a Unicorn: The Inside Story of Their Founding and Early DaysIn episode 1.5 of The MVP Pod, we take a look at the founding story of Uber and how they built their MVP. We discuss how Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp came up with the idea for Uber, how they raised their initial round of funding, and how they went about launching their service in San Francisco and New York. We also talk about the challenges they faced along the way, such as regulatory hurdles and competition from Lyft.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone who's interested in the history of Uber or the startup world in...2023-06-2249 minThe MVP PodEp 1.4 - The Future of Local Media and Advertising: Chris Dinn's Vision for Torontoverse and BeyondIn episode 1.4 of The MVP Pod, we sit down with Chris Dinn, founder, and lead engineer of Torontoverse which is a local publication platform designed to empower local businesses and writers. Chris discusses the gap he noticed in the advertising space for local businesses, with Facebook currently being their only viable option, and how he aims to disrupt local media by leveraging open city datasets and building innovative tools for writers.
He envisions the ideal Torontoverse user as someone who is curiosity-driven, data-driven, and not looking for conflict, striving to create "curiosity-driven informative media." Chris also shares...2023-04-2253 minThe MVP PodEp 1.3 - Differences between VC Backed and Bootstrapping, Building off of other platforms, Acquiring startups, Navigating the current economic climate with Chao Lam from Next Small ThingsIn episode 1.3, we talk to Chao Lam, the founder of Next Small Things.
Next Small Things is a company that develops and operates multiple consumer-oriented apps and websites, and one of their more prominent apps is the Thread Reader Twitter app. Which some of you may have used or seen while scrolling through your Twitter feeds. It's one of the first Twitter bots to address the readability of long ugly Twitter threads where the app unrolls these Twitter threads and displays them in an easy-to-read blog format.
Chao has...2023-03-231h 06The MVP PodEp 1.2 - Netflix Part 2 - Netflix’s Moat, Sustaining Growth Amidst Strong Competition from Disney / Amazon / HBO, and Frameworks for Product Decisions used at NetflixIn Episode 1.2 of The MVP Pod, we build off of the previous episode on Netflix (Part 1) and dive deeper into how Netflix competes in 2023.
We talk through the competitive advantages of Netflix compared to strong competition from streaming giants like Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO. This conversation includes the content differences between the streaming platform, how streaming can be bundled with other services, and how Netflix took an analytics approach to content creation and recommendation.
We wrap up the conversation with key product decisions made at Netflix and how product leaders like Reed...2023-03-0441 minThe MVP PodEp 1.2 - Netflix Part 1 - Netflix's Founding Story, Battling Blockbuster, Spinning off Roku, and Transforming into a Streaming GiantIn Episode 1.2 of The MVP Pod, we talk about Netflix - from its inception to where it is today as a streaming giant.
We start with the founding story of Netflix and the fierce competition between Netflix and Blockbuster in the DVD rentals business including pricing strategies, M&A activity, and the approach of their respective leadership teams with regard to digital platforms.
We close off Part 1 by discussing how Netflix vertically integrated from being just a streaming platform to acquiring and creating original content with its own production studios.
As always, we...2023-03-0424 minThe MVP PodEp 1.1 - Twitter's Story, The Digital Ads Industry, and Monetization StrategiesIn this episode, Harry and Mathusan talk about Twitter's story from its inception to Elon Musk's acquisition.
They talk through early stories of Twitter, the current state of Twitter, the Ads Industry, and how Twitter's monetization strategy compares with other companies like Meta (Facebook / Instagram). They wrap up by playing a little game, where they give their take on how they'd bring Twitter to a profitable state as CEO of Twitter as that position is currently open.
As always, we are constantly looking to improve The MVP Pod to make it the best source for...2023-01-0847 minThe MVP PodEp 1.0 - Building in MedTech, Creating MVPs for IoT products for 3rd world countries, and Learning from mistakes with Kirtan Patel from Noah MedicalIn this episode, Harry and Mathusan speak with Kirtan Patel, a Systems Engineer at Noah Medical, a medical robotics company based in San Carlos, California.
They talk through Kirtan’s journey so far in building hardware products, specifically, how he went from making an IoT product for consumers in Accra, Ghana, to creating potentially life-saving robotics in the MedTech space. They also dive into the different challenges he has faced in building these products and how he has learned from failing. Kirtan provides insight and advice into what others can do differently to increase their odds of su...2022-12-051h 11
The MVP Podv0.0 - Introducing The MVP PodcastIn this episode (v0.0), Mathusan Selvarajah and Harry Sivashankaran discuss what The MVP Podcast is, what you as listeners can look forward to, and who they are. The MVP Podcast will be producing content focused on products such as product stories, talking to builders of these products, and discussing industry news. If you have any feedback for them feel free to reach out via Twitter! Mathusan - @m2s4n, Harry - @harrysiva_.2022-11-0511 min