Behind The Product

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 ahead in a fast-moving AI landscape.Key Takeaways:AI as a Collaborator, Not a Replacement - Kraftful leverages AI to analyze user feedback and generate PRDs and user stories—giving product teams a head start while preserving human creativity and oversight.Evolving Role of the PM - As AI automates tasks like project management, tomorrow's product managers will become product builders—more strategic, hands-on, and deeply integrated into the creative process.Building Trust in AI Tools - Transparency and control are essential. Kraftful emphasizes user trust by making AI decisions visible and editable—letting humans stay in the loop and in control.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!Timestamps:02:51 - The Role of AI in Product Development15:50 - The Evolution of Kraftful: From Concept to Launch18:51 - Navigating AI Regulations and User Trust29:51 - The Evolution of Product Management in the Age of AI34:12 - Navigating Change in Product Management

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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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. He argues that a product should enable users to achieve their goals efficiently, minimizing the need for human intervention in support and customer service.Macroeconomic Trends and Product Development: The conversation delves into how macroeconomic factors and the pandemic have influenced the rise of user-centric experiences. Satya notes that products must cater to a global audience, requiring teams to prioritize compelling user experiences that can operate independently across diverse geographies.Strategies for Scaling: Satya outlines a strategic approach for product teams looking to scale, which includes identifying their current development stage, clarifying strategy and resource needs, and hiring experienced individuals who can guide them through the scaling process. This structured approach is vital for building effective systems that support growth.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 Natasha share insights on how they leverage public resources to spur private investment, bridge market gaps, and support entrepreneurs across Indiana. Whether you're in a startup, BigCo, or investment firm; understanding this ecosystem could help you move your innovation forward. A few key moments:The role of IEDC in Economic DevelopmentThe support for Diverse Business ModelsPublic-Private Collaboration and Market AdaptationWe'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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 credit unions. Through partnerships, FORUM continues to enhance its offerings to best serve their members. In this episode we discuss many aspects of FORUM's journey with a few key points:FORUM Credit Union was an early adopter of online banking, offering it in the mid-1990s via floppy disks and modems.They developed their own online banking platform in-house after their initial vendor went bankrupt, leveraging their experience building a loan origination system.FORUM took a member-centric approach, involving members in the design process through storyboarding sessions and pilot groups.They embraced a cooperative philosophy, sharing their lending software with other credit unions to improve the product.They successfully migrated from a 40+ year old system over a three year long project. 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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 to reflect the true strategy, and rapidly validate technical feasibility through prototyping. They emphasize the importance of a roadmap as a "prototype of strategy" and a starting point for productive strategy conversations. Some key points:Many clients come to SEP with a broad idea or goal for a product, but lack clarity on the specific challenge, approach, and steps needed to execute successfullyA major differentiator for SEP is rapidly validating the technical feasibility of the roadmap through prototyping and proof-of-concepts, giving clients confidence in their ability to deliver the strategyProduct strategy involves understanding the problem to be solved, having a guiding policy on how to approach it, and defining a coherent set of actions to takeWe'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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 product value, with marketing focused on perfect messaging while sales reverts to feature-dumping demos.The importance of crafting a sales pitch that tells a compelling story about why a customer should choose your product over competitors, rather than just listing product capabilities.Her experience launching her own positioning-focused podcast, where she was able to dive deeper into niche positioning topics than is typically possible as a guest on other shows.This episode offers valuable lessons for anyone involved in product marketing, sales, or positioning - whether at a tech company or any other type of business. Dunford's insights provide a framework for crafting more effective, customer-centric sales and marketing narratives. A big thank you to our guest co-host, Josh Colter. Josh is the CEO of Cardboardit and has great experience in marketing and positioning. 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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 practice to serve our clients. Key Takeaways:Software design sits at the crossroads of business and art, focusing on delivering user-centric solutions while meeting business objectives.Design involves more than just visual aesthetics; it encompasses system design, user experience, and addressing user needs efficiently.Balancing user goals with business needs is crucial to avoid misalignment and ensure product success in the marketplace.Design roles at SEP include interaction designers and UX designers, each contributing unique skills to create cohesive and user-friendly products.The value of design lies in its ability to enhance user experiences, solve business problems effectively, and contribute to de-risking strategies in product development.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 products that require continuous tracking, support, and market engagement. The discussion centers on the importance of balancing business demands with customer delight and the need to build a "listening machine" within organizations to continuously gather and integrate customer feedback into the product development process. Our conversation provides practical insights for product leaders on how to effectively listen to customers, drive product improvement, and enhance customer retention.A few highlights:Transition from Project to Product: The modern market expects products to be enduring concerns, rather than fixed-time projects. This shift necessitates continuous tracking, support, and market engagement for products, impacting the brand and its market approach.Importance of Customer Listening: Oji and Ezinne emphasize the importance of listening to customers to refine products and achieve customer delight. They argue that delight leads to customer loyalty and retention, which are crucial for profitable growth. They also distinguish between listening (tuning into existing feedback channels) and discovery (finding new opportunities).Building a Listening Machine: Product leaders should create systems within their organizations to continuously listen to customers and inform the product roadmap. This process involves collecting customer feedback, triaging it, and integrating it into the product development process. Our guests describe this as building a "listening machine" that operates continuously, much like a circulatory system in a body.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 infrastructure/talentWe'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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 organization and their customers. Josh hasn't done this alone and he shared many of the things he's learned and the resources that have helped he and his team to reach many milestones. We talk about many things but a few to point out:Don't just rely on your technical skills, lean into the people sideLearn from resources from outside your organization, books are your friendStart small and build the value flywheel over timeGive yourself time, this is a marathon 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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 productsThe importance of leaning into data-driven decision making as a Product LeaderCognitive biasGetting comfortable not being right and the importance of making betsChristine has a wealth of experience and her road to Product and organizational strategy was really interesting to me. Anyone heading in either of those directions would benefit from hearing her thoughts. 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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 focusA deep dive on the Indy Tech EcosystemJeron's lens on some recent news in Indy and where he sees things headedThe most interesting part of conversation to me was his view on strategy. As someone who loves to learn and challenge my own thinking in this area, I really appreciated his candor and perspective. This conversation left me thinking a little differently for one of the hats I wear here at SEP. 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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 things you may want to consider for yourself or your business. A quick disclaimer: this is only our opinion as product development leaders. We are not legal experts, so please seek proper counsel when making decisions for yourself or your company.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 companyWhy she finds the work at Cloverleaf so encouragingKirsten's ‘Ah Ha' moments in building this product. The most surprising thing we talked about was how she discovered that less time for users on their platform was a good thing. Cloverleaf is an automated and scalable coaching platform for companies who want to help their employees be the best versions of themselves. You can find out more information about them and even try them out for free at Cloverleaf.me. 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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 barrier for some folks and what might need to be true to overcome them. If Marketing is your thing or you find it interesting, Holder's platform offers some unique advantages due to the underlying technology it's built on. 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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 Vandever, also a former professional athlete, knew they needed to up the level of care for these men and woman who serve our community. They spent the first years focusing on the physical needs of the job with tremendous success. And most recently they saw the need to care for the behavioral health side of the job for these First Responders. So they embarked on building SHIELD, a mobile-first product that launched earlier in 2023 to help First Responders assess where they are in 6 key categories.SleepStressPTSDAnxietyDepressionSubstance AbuseFinancial Wellness (**Soon to be released**)ProTeam is not a typical tech company, they are more tech enabled; and yet their journey to build a digital product to aid in this pursuit was one of learning and compromise. There will always be more features than time and money allow for. This team learned how to focus on the most important features to get the most for the users they serve. There are practical take-a-ways from this conversation: why deciding to say no to a feature is good, why a solution in search of a problem can hinder success, and the power of getting feedback from your target users. 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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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. They also discuss how Hamilton quickly adapted during the pandemic, pivoting to remote immersive experiences that lower friction for both clients and attendees.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

To celebrate three years of the Behind the Product podcast, we're revisiting the top three episodes from the past year.Lindsay Boccardo - Episode 26Speaker, 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 30Author, speaker, and thought leader Bob Moesta shares tools, philosophies, and practices for optimizing product management. You can find our full conversation with Bob on Episode 30.Abhishek Nayak - Episode 25Abhishek Nayak, Co-Founder and CEO of Appsmith, shares what he's learned through founding multiple startups and how he pursues simplicity at scale. You can find our full conversation with Abhishek on Episode 25.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

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 advice for folks wanting to hop into this niche.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Cloud expert Surya Oruganti joins the show to share about Argonaut, a DevOps platform that simplifies cloud infrastructure and app deployments.In this conversation, Surya discusses the challenges teams face with their cloud infrastructure and explains how Argonaut empowers organizations to scale.To wrap up the show, Surya shares a couple of his hot takes related to cloud infrastructure tools.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Roads are a critical piece of modern infrastructure, but the technology we rely on to maintain and build them is nearly two centuries old. Enter Luna Lu, Founder and CEO of Wavelogix and Acting Head of Civil Engineering at Purdue University. In this conversation, she shares how her team is using IoT and AI to disrupt and advance the concrete industry. She explains how her "smart concrete" solution enables more intelligent and efficient construction decisions, decreasing costs and environmental impact.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Digital transformations can be a distraction from serving your customers well.Brendan Wovchko, CTO at Ramsey Solutions, joins us to share how he leads with simplicity while leveraging tools like Opportunity Solution Trees to optimize customer outcomes. He shares common problems he sees in product discovery, how his team has matured their product development practice, and how he empowers product teams.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Do you have a great idea but no clue how to turn it into a reality?In this conversation, Andy Chen and Chris Shinkle share how to:Develop a product-centric approachOvercome organizational constraintsCreate alignment and facilitate better decision makingMove from rigid plan to organizational agilityWe share how to use the North Star framework to accomplish these goals and create alignment in your organization.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

In today's volatile labor market, it feels like we're constantly flip-flopping from "everything's great," to "everybody panic." At least, that's how our guest Mike Seidle, Co-Founder at PivotCX, summarized the situation. Wes Winham, CEO and Founder at Woven, and Raman Ohri, CEO and President at SEP, also join us for this conversation about trends in recruiting.We discuss the challenges recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates are all facing in the current market, specifically in the tech space, and share options for addressing these challenges effectively. Whether you're struggling to get candidates' attention, navigating compensation shifts, or wondering how to engage with recruiters as a candidate, you'll walk away from this conversation with an actionable piece of advice.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 this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Christian Idiodi, Partner at Silicon Valley Product Group, has worked on 205 products throughout his career and has learned a thing or two about modern product management. He joins us to share how he equips product leaders and gives them a framework for leading within their organizations.Christian emphasizes the importance of understanding the why, not just the what, behind ideas and problems that need to be solved. He shares how product managers can build trust within their organizations and with customers, allowing them to drive change and build great products. You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

We're doing something a little different for this episode - giving you a peek behind the scenes at SEP. We asked three of our peers at SEP (SEPeers, if you will) to share their perspectives on how we approach sales at SEP. Spoiler alert: we're a little non-traditional!Mike Mumau, VP of Customer ExperienceRaman Ohri, President & CEOMaddie Beadle, Business Operations Analyst

Transitioning from a decades-old manual processes to a modern, digital process is no small feat, but that's the job Tracey Kantrud and Katelyn Renner, Product Managers at FBS, are tackling.In this conversation, Tracey and Katelyn explain the way they gradually introduce product changes to customers to minimize disruption to users while continuing to evolve the product. They share how they align on organizational priorities and simplify decision making with opportunity solution trees. They also address the challenges of customization, legacy features, and evaluating trade-offs.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Ego is a product-killer. It's what keeps us from empathizing with users and building the right thing. It doesn't always start from a place of selfish intentions, but if we don't keep ourselves in check, we can quickly slip away from creating products that benefit users.Tony Poon, Chief Product Officer at R-Zero, joins the show to share how he battles his own ego in product leadership. We discuss balancing intuition and data-driven decisions, the challenge of product management in a new market, and the importance of listening well.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Innovation is a skill you can learn, according to author, speaker, and thought leader Bob Moesta.Bob joins the show to share some of the tools, philosophies, and practices he's developed by working on 3,500 products throughout his career. He emphasizes the impact of his many mentors, the multiple hats we need to wear as product developers, and the danger of relying on luck. Through it all, he explains that his ultimate goal is to help people make progress in their own lives.Bob also shares about his new book, Learning to Build, which helps innovators and entrepreneurs round out their portfolio of product thinking skills.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

We recently attended the Agile2022 conference put on by the Agile Alliance and wanted to share our conversations with a few of the speakers and attendees. This episode is a conversation with Josh Kerviesky, a long-time Agile practitioner and speaker, and Chris Shinkle, SEP's Director of Innovation. We sat down with Josh prior to his keynote at the conference to talk about his journey in the Agile community and software product development world.Note: The audio for this is not our normal in studio quality, so thanks for bearing with us.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

We recently attended the Agile2022 conference put on by the Agile Alliance and wanted to share our conversations with a few of the speakers and attendees. This episode is a conversation with Dan Vacanti, an author and speaker in the product development world, and Chris Shinkle, SEP's Director of Innovation. We asked Dan some follow-up questions to expand on his talk from earlier in the conference. To illustrate how we interpret data, Dan used a story about Wilt Chamberlin's record breaking total points in a single basketball game. Dan emphasizes that all data have noise and it's easy to mistake noise for signal.Note: The audio for this is not our normal in studio quality, so thanks for bearing with us.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

It's no secret that recruiting, especially in today's market, is tough. But Mike Seidle, Co-Founder and CTO of Indianapolis-based company PivotCX, believes that only 10% of recruiting is about finding people, and the other 90% is about screening.In this episode, Mike shares how his team combines tech and human touch to dramatically reduce time to hire and onboard new employees. He sheds light on the recruiting process and shares tips you can apply to your hiring strategy. We also discuss how customer feedback in a challenging time led Mike to re-imagine his business and turn it into what it is today. You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

The tension we feel between generations is much deeper than Millennials versus Gen Z or Gen X versus Boomers. The difference between us actually boils down to developmental psychology.Speaker, trainer, and coach Lindsay Boccardo joins the show to shed light on the causes of generational divides and shares how we can navigate them well as individuals and organizations. She explains the influence of developmental stages on what matters most to people, the importance of investing in leaders' emotional intelligence, and how internal leadership programs can prepare companies for future success.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

With multiple successful startups under his belt, Abhishek Nayak has learned a lot about finding product/market fit, defining a niche, and, most importantly, simplicity. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Appsmith, an open source project that helps organizations build and maintain custom internal tools. The heartbeat of this product? Ease of use.On this episode, Abhishek shares the challenges he's faced while pursuing simplicity in scaling products. We discuss the importance of understanding your customers, what B2B products can learn from B2C products, and the biggest reasons products fail.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

We've got Dawn x2 on this episode!Dawn Lively, CEO of FullStack PEO, joins the show as our guest and Dawn Bunting, Director of HR at SEP, joins us as a co-host. Both Dawns share their perspectives on the challenges employees are facing today, how to best care for them, and how companies are responding to the current labor market. We also discuss the need to provide flexibility, the pros and cons of remote work, and how to support people in the transition back into the office.

We're giving you a sampling of several of our favorite snippets from our last 20+ shows. Think of it like a flight of drinks, giving you a taste of several flavors, but in podcast form.Host Zac Darnell and Guest Host David Mathew share four excerpts from the podcast so far. If any of the clips piqued your interest, you can find the full episodes here:Ryan Larcom - Avoiding Innovation TheatreRik Sansone - Delta FaucetDuane Musser - Engineering More Than Just ProductsSEP: A Peek Behind Our Walls

We all know what a product is. We buy and use them all the time. But, what does it mean where you work? Why is there so much resistance to creating great products where you work? Jeff's talk focuses on how to recognize the mindset that gets in the way of effective product design and development. He shares how to know when you, your leadership and the processes you use have slipped into anti-product mode, and gives you tips to fight it.This episode is a re-broadcast of a talk from Jeff Patton, author of the bestselling book User Story Mapping. Jeff uses drawings throughout the talk, so if you'd like to see the sketches he mentions, you can find the video replay of the event here.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Marty Draper, COO of Vibenomics, joins us to dive into the concept of being human first at work.Marty has been a leader in technology at different companies and has great insights on how things have changed over time, hopefully for the better. No one is perfect, but Marty has found that if you have good intentions, you can build a thriving organization that cares deeply.

We're doing something a little different for this episode - giving you a peek behind the scenes at SEP. We asked three of our peers at SEP (SEPeers, if you will) to share their perspectives on how we work:Jon Fuller, Director of Software EngineeringGiuliana Taylor, Senior Software EngineerChris Atkinson, Vice President of EngineeringWe aren't perfect by any stretch, but we want to share what works well for us in hopes that it helps you.If you have any questions or thoughts about what we share in this episode, reach out to us at podcast@sep.com or find host Zac Darnell on social media at @zacdarnell.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Tim Lancaster of Indigo BioAutomation and Mark Perkins of The Binding Site join us to share how they're bringing artificial intelligence and mass spectrometry together to make significant improvements in the world of multiple myeloma.Mark's team saw a massive opportunity to improve multiple myeloma diagnostics, but they knew they needed a software partner. Tim's team at Indigo Bioautomation proved to be the perfect fit. Mark and Tim share about their powerful partnership and their journey from turning an idea to a tool that will change patients' lives.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

UX is critical to creating usable, enjoyable products, but not everyone is aware of it or convinced of UX's value. Rik Sansone, User Experience & Designer - CW at Delta Faucet, joins us to share how he's been a UX evangelist throughout his career.We discuss how to handle conflicts of interest between the business and UX by sharing information to align user and business goals. Rik compares UX to the planning and setup of a Broadway show or an amusement park. The whole experience is intricately designed to meet user (or visitor) goals as well as business stakeholder goals. We also dig into learning from failure, staying objective, and uncovering root problems.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Whether you're a crime show binger or more of an inspirational pep talk listener, you've probably listened to your fair share of podcasts. While the medium started primarily in the entertainment and education space, it's made its way into the B2B world - and it's thriving. Adam Patarino, Co-Founder and CPO at Casted, joins us to discuss how his team is developing podcasting to help companies reach their audiences in a meaningful way.Adam discusses how the human element of podcasting makes it such an effective medium for B2B marketing. He introduces the concept of amplified marketing and explains the ways Casted helps their customers implement it in their businesses. We take a look at where podcasting has come from, where it is now, and where we think it's headed.Adam also shares a few of Casted's unique approaches to product management that keep the whole team aligned and allow them to quickly solve customer problems.

Anyone who's built a product or company knows that growth requires making hard decisions. Chris Keaney of Vibenomics joins us to share how his team has navigated tough choices as they evolve. While the specifics are context-dependent, Chris is sure about his overarching strategy: you have to stay laser-focused on your mission and make decisions that will clearly move it forward.Not only is Vibenomics scaling their business, they're also blazing the trail for a new industry category. Chris and his team saw the value in the brick and mortar experience and saw a way to create more value in it: digital audio out-of-home advertising. Chris explains this new category and shares how Vibenomics transformed a legacy experience into a dynamic opportunity.We also explore Vibenomics' evolution from SaaS to advertising and from self-service to managed services. Chris shares how Vibenomics is adapting to changes in their primary use cases and simplifying a complex process to minimize cognitive load on users.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Some people fall into product management, but other people have to work their way into it. Diana Nolting, VP of Product at SkuVault, joins us for this episode to share what she's learned from fighting her way into product management.Diana began her career in journalism, giving her a unique perspective on the world of product. Throughout our conversation, she emphasizes the importance of asking good questions, getting to the "story behind the story," and building relationships with the people you're serving. She shares her tips for successful user interviews, her go-to tool in product management.We also talk about the importance of bringing everyone together to solve problems cross-functionally. Diana shares an analogy that she uses with her team: we're all rowing together. Continuous conversations and remembering that your team is working toward a unified goal are critical for success in product.We wrap up with advice from Diana and our co-host, Dave Mathew, for people interested in moving into product management. Dave shares why he believes asking good questions is the key skill for people in product. Diana advises people interested in product to ask questions and be willing to be wrong.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Unexpected changes and multiple stakeholders make building user-friendly software a challenge, to say the least. Zotec's Joan Santiago and Don Kane know this first-hand after developing the ISDH's COVID-19 testing and vaccination scheduling application. In the midst of the chaos, they were grateful for their team's Agile approach, which has allowed them the flexibility they need to make important updates to the product.Of course, the Zotec team weren't expecting the pandemic to hit and didn't have this product planned ahead of time. Thanks to their solid foundation as a team, they were able to reimagine an existing product to work for COVID-19 test scheduling in a matter of 10 days. Later, they pivoted the product to accommodate vaccination scheduling. Zotec's goal was to create a seamless solution, not only for patients and healthcare providers, but also for the regulatory and reporting needs the State of Indiana would have. Don and Joan share the unique challenges they faced during this process, and Joan emphasizes how she's seen her team exceed what their perceived expectations time and time again.Joan and Don also share about Zotec's transition from being a pure services to being a technology-enabled services company. They discuss the importance of a championship culture, trust, and honest conversations to their long-term success.Join us to hear the full story of how Zotec empowered healthcare professionals to focus on healthcare in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In recent years and especially throughout the events of 2020, employees want to see authentic philanthropy from their employers. Josh Driver, Co-Founder and CEO of Selflessly, joins us to share how Selflessly empowers employees of small- to medium-sized companies to give back.After founding Selflessly in January 2020, Josh and his team had to quickly pivot in response to the pandemic. He shares the creative ways that the Selflessly team served the Indianapolis community with their new product. He emphasizes the importance of including thoughtful features even if they aren't revenue generators. Josh also explains how Selflessly's acquisition of Employee Vitals allows them to provide personalized philanthropic opportunities.Finally, co-host Traci Dossett gets cheesy and shares how she sees Selflessly as a lifeline to the nonprofits they serve and the employees they connect to meaningful opportunities.

Join us to learn about The Last Mile, a program that prepares incarcerated individuals for successful reentry through business and technology training, from Jen Browning, Technical Program Manager at Indiana Department of Correction and Jacob Briggs, The Last Mile Graduate & Apprentice Software Engineer at SEP.Jen shares the origin story of the Last Mile, how they've grown from California across the US, and how they created web development curriculum that doesn't use the internet. Jacob walks us through a day in the life of a Last Mile student. He shares the unique challenges The Last Mile students face both in the program and after being released and explains that those challenges have made him a better software engineer.We wrap up the conversation by discussing the ways The Last Mile is healing returned citizens and their communities, the perseverance of the students, and the robustness of the program's curriculum.You can find Jen on LinkedIn at: linkedin.com/in/jennifer-browning, Jacob at: linkedin.com/in/jacob-briggs, and The Last Mile at: thelastmile.org.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you!

Learn about the evolution of Experience as a Service from Genesys' VP of Product Management, Jack Nichols. Jack discusses prototyping with regulatory constraints, ways Genesys hopes to apply AI to their product, and innovation within a large enterprise.Throughout our conversation, Jack explains the growth of experience as a service. Many companies have customer touchpoints fragmented across multiple systems, leading to poor experiences for customers and employees alike. Jack believes that a single customer engagement system is the way to go, ensuring that all touchpoints with the customer are connected to provide a great experience. For example, as a leader in the customer engagement space, Genesys uses AI to route calls, creating customer and representative match-ups that are most likely to achieve positive results based on the attributes of each customer.Jack shares about their growth from product discovery to finding product-market fit to scaling the product, to now - enterprise maturity. While it was a hard decision to make at the time, Jack explains that the team's decision to focus on the security and stability of the product before moving on to building new features allowed them to scale successfully.We also get a glimpse into prototyping and scaling telephony products at an enterprise level within regulated environments. Jack shares the pros and cons of these challenges: the process of releasing new features is time-intensive, but it also leads to confidence that what's been released is rock-solid by the time it gets to users.As we wrap up our talk, Jack shares the importance of listening to customers and Genesys' plans to gather in-depth user feedback on the product.You can find Jack on LinkedIn at: linkedin.com/in/jacknichols3 and Genesys at: genesys.com.You can find more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you!

On this episode of Behind the Product, Ryan Larcom of High Alpha Innovation joins us to discuss innovation through startup creation. After beginning his career in industrial and automotive product development, Ryan became frustrated with the lack of customer voice in the design process. So, he moved into the tech world with a focus on building products people love.Ryan believes that one of the best ways for large corporations to innovate is through partnering with, or, better yet, building startups because of the learning opportunities they afford. Ryan shares how High Alpha Innovation helps established organizations do just that - create startups. They don't have a secret formula for this complex process. Instead, they have a high-level roadmap they adapt to the contexts of their customers, a toolbox to pull from, and an always-learning mindset.We dive into the lessons Ryan has learned from years of building startups. Ryan explains how to avoid "innovation theater," and instead create real value. We discuss what keeps large corporations from innovating, the importance of identifying a startup "sweet spot" as a large corporation, startup staffing strategy, and measuring success based on learning milestones. We wrap up our conversation with Ryan's bullish perspective on the Indy tech scene, overlooked opportunities in the Midwest, and how the pandemic has shifted our perspective on launching and running businesses.Thank you Ryan for joining us! You can find Ryan on LinkedIn at: linkedin.com/in/rlarcom. You can learn more about High Alpha Innoavation at highalphainno.com.You can find out more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Tim Lancaster, Indigo BioAutomation's EVP of Strategy and Technology, joins us to share his thoughts on integrating deep domains, the importance of organizational development, and the ways he's driven innovation in regulated environments. Tim's background in life science automation gives him a fresh perspective on problem solving, strategy, and continuous improvement.Tim emphasizes the importance of humility and structure when integrating deep domains. He shares that he's found over-communication, setting expectations up front, and iterating has led to successful collaboration across domains and disciplines.Finally, Tim explains his problem solving framework, including diagnosing the problem, digging deeper, and deciding what needs to happen next.Thank you Tim for joining us! You can find Tim on LinkedIn at: linkedin.com/in/timlancaster. You can learn more about Indigo BioAutomation at indigobio.com.You can find out more information about this podcast at sep.com/podcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening!