UW PM Podcast

This episode flips the usual format. Instead of chatting with someone who's already graduated, we sat down with Palak Agarwal, a 4A Computational Math student who's navigated multiple PM internships - from early-stage startups to companies like Scotiabank, Arteria AI, and Gamma - and is heading to Microsoft next.Join us for refreshingly honest conversation about navigating PM internships, building skills, and what it really means to grow in product. If you're a student curious about product management but unsure how to actually get started, this episode's for you.We cover:How the PM role evolves across different companiesActionable ways to grow PM skills when you don't have the title yetTips on intentional networking that actually work (even when it's awkward)How to prep for your first product interviews - "without shortcuts"!Real talk about U.S. co-opsKey takeaway? Be curious. Don't take shortcuts. Start before you're ready.

From starting as a software development intern to becoming a Senior Product Manager, this episode dives into the ups and downs of navigating a career in product management. We talk about the challenges of making the leap from intern to PM, the importance of self-advocacy, and how treating your career like an MVP can help you grow and adapt. There are stories about overcoming setbacks, finding confidence, and the unique perspective of being a woman in tech. It's an honest and relatable look at what it takes to build a career in product management while staying true to yourself!

This episode features a recording of our fireside chat at ProdCon with Jeffrey Chan, Senior Manager at TD Invent. The conversation dives into Jeff's strategies for driving industry-first innovations, balancing vision with execution, and cultivating an intrapreneurial mindset. From launching Canada's first mobile commerce store at Dell to pioneering groundbreaking customer service advancements at TD, Jeff shares actionable insights for aspiring PMs and innovators looking to make a lasting impact in corporate environments.

In this episode, we dive into the contradictions of product management with Prashanth Rajendran, Senior Manager of Product Management at Samsung Research. From balancing technical expertise with business knowledge to navigating data-driven decisions and intuition, we discuss what it takes to succeed in this challenging and ambiguous role. Drawing from his 14+ years of experience, Prashanth shares practical insights for aspiring product managers on how to build the skills needed to lead with confidence in these 'grey areas' in the future.

We dive deep into Product with Curtis from how he got his break into Product to advice to his younger self.

Today we're here with a very special guest, Iris, who is a Waterloo alumni and has previously worked in product management roles across both Canadian and American landscapes at companies like Google X, Microsoft, Neo, and Scale AI. Currently she is working with Arteria AI. On the side, she is also completing a Masters degree in Analytics and AI. Iris formerly founded an impact-driven non-profit called OpenMeal and led a team of 50 at her own startup, Neutrify.

In this podcast, Frank, a recent graduate and currently a PM at Microsoft, shares his journey into product management. Despite his initial lack of technical expertise, Frank's determination and strategic approach enabled him to gain valuable experiences through various internships and leadership roles in college. He found his passion for product management early on and leveraged his experiences to secure a PM role at Microsoft, showcasing a blend of leadership and technical skills in his career progression. Frank's highlights his proactive approach in pursuing his passion for product management from high school to college. His early exposure to the field through a podcast and interviews with industry professionals sparked his interest, leading him to establish a product management club in his senior year to help others navigate this career path. His insights into the differences between working as a PM in traditional and technology-centric industries, along with his diverse experiences, showcase the multifaceted nature of product management and the importance of adaptability and continuous learning.

In this podcast episode, we meet Justin Ford, the co-founder of Javelin Sports, a company on a mission to combat social isolation through sports. They initially set out to create a platform for adults to connect through sports but had to pivot when the pandemic hit. [00:00:02]: Introduction and Welcome [00:00:33]: Introducing Justin Ford, co-founder of Jafflin Sports [00:00:44]: Javlin Sports' mission to tackle social isolation crisis [00:02:05]: Choosing volleyball as the focus for Javlin Sports [00:02:40]: Initial challenges and the pivot during the pandemic [00:05:32]: Success with COVID screening app and relaunch into sports [00:06:57]: Importance of timing and execution for startups [00:08:08]: Identifying timing trends and executing on them [00:08:57]: The importance of having one great idea in a startup [00:09:10]: The opportunity for improvement in skill level at games

Discover the captivating journey of Manon Modi, a product management expert with a diverse background in government and big tech. Join him as he explores the dynamic world of startups, fintech, and the profound power of making a positive impact. Tune in to the UWPM podcast for an inspiring and insightful episode you won't want to miss! Timestamps 00:00-Introduction and Background 3:15-Work before PM 5:15-Skills for PM 6:30-Role at Big Tech vs Startups 8:05-Projects worked on 10:10-About his book 13:30-Problem identification as a PM 15:43-Developing product sense 18:00-Side projects in school 18:55-School things that led his career progression 21:25-Thoughts on hustle culture 24:00-Things you do in free time 25:20-Why PM is so entrepreneurial 28:50-Side projects Manan is working on 28:50 31:45-General advice

Hey UW PM listeners!  We are switching it up a bit for our design folks by welcoming UW PM alumni Catherine Hoang! Soon to graduate from the GBDA program Catherine currently works as a Program and UX Strategist at Adobe. She also used to create gaming content on Youtube and worked previously as a Go-to-Market Manager Intern for Microsoft's Minecraft for Education. In this episode, Matthew talks with Catherine about her journey transitioning from business to design and the key learnings she grasped in the industry from numerous informal chats and external internships. This episode functions well as a starting point for students to understand the field of program management as well as career development in the business and design space. Timestamps 0:00-Who is Catherine Hoang? 2:34-Business & Design Roles 4:19-Product vs Program Management  7:20-Tips for External Recruiting 10:50-Transitioning into UX & Marketing Yourself 13:23-Design Specific Resources 15:05-PM Related Resources 15:34-Soft Skills to Highlight during Interviews 19:03-Life Near Post-Grad & Work as a Contractor  21:04-Studying Abroad 23:19-Final Advice From Catherine

Welcome back UW PM listeners! It's been a few years and we're super excited to start the podcast back up again! What better way to kick off the podcast than to talk with previous UW PM podcast host Kasey Fu! Kasey is a Waterloo and UW PM Alumni currently working at Microsoft as a Search and AI Product Manager. Kasey is also an avid writer, publishing medium articles related to AI and Product Management. He has a passion for creative writing, publishing 2 books! In this episode Josh talks with Kasey about his journey navigating the PM industry, the clubs he's been part of at Waterloo and the internships he's experienced along the way. Kasey talks about his current role at Microsoft, the challenges he faces as a PM, and the AI industry. We also talk about writing and his contributions to the Product Coalition, the world's largest independent Product community. We talk about Kasey's passion for creative writing and his view on the future of writing with the advancements of Generative AI.  Learn more about Kasey: https://seykafu.com/ Check out Kasey's Medium Articles: https://seykafu.medium.com/ Product Coalition Medium Articles: https://productcoalition.com/ Timestamps 00:00-We're Back! 1:23-Breaking into PM 4:20-Clubs & Community at UW 7:50-Internship Experiences 14:40-Working at Microsoft 18:30-Navigating the AI Industry  23:40-Writing & Product Coalition 30:00-Creative Writing vs Generative AI 

Meet Helen, the co-founder of Co.Lab - a program providing aspiring technical folks with real-world experience launching products. Today, Gogilan sits down with Helen to discuss her unique and untraditional pathway into PM as a Earth Sciences major, her lessons and advice from on the job at Microsoft, and her new life building a business and its relationship to building products. Check out the program at Co.Lab: https://www.joincolab.io/

Welcome back to all UW PM Podcast listeners! We're starting this term off with an awesome long chat that your co-host Kasey had with his former manager at SAP, José! José is not only a proud Waterloo CS and Laurier MBA grad, but he also has over 20 years of product management and cross-functional experience under his belt. His extensive journey in technical B2B software while working with sales, engineering, marketing and designers is a must listen and is a prime example of how one's PM career journey can play out throughout their career! In this episode, he'll go over and summarize his years of experience in a way that lets people learn about how product has transformed over the years and the various product-related roles in B2B software, and learn how they can better prepare themselves in this route early in their careers!

Meet Sung - a Senior Product Manager at Udemy, down in San Francisco. Today, Seeam sits down with Sung to talk more about his journey through the University of Waterloo, the ups and downs of his early co-ops, and the strategies he leveraged to break into product management. He also shares additional insights as to how you can excel within your new PM role - whether that be as a co-op or a new grad. He has tremendous experience leading product across enormous businesses like Groupon and Udemy, so you don't want to miss this episode!

A final episode for this semester with UW PM features Neil, who's currently an EPM at Apple! Neil's experiences at Apple are rich in content and his knowledge of product management as an intern brings amazing discussions to the table with UW PM's co-host, Kasey. Neil talks about what it takes to land a PM role, as well as the cross-functional and highly applicable experiences he's had that landed his job at Apple.

In today's episode, Seeam sits down with Adam Thomas, the former Director of Product at Informed.co and a seasoned product author. Here, the two dive deep into Adam's story of how he discovered product management during his earlier years and then soared to become the highly reputable leader he is today. In addition to his journey, he discusses how existing PM's can give back to the community by developing the courage to publish blogs, podcasts, and other pieces to share their passions for product with the world. This is a great episode for any seasoned product managers that are looking to make the next big step to becoming an all-time great leader!

Kevin is a product manager on the Uber Eat's team and has extensive knowledge in product and engineering, as well as leadership activities back when he was a student at Waterloo. Being a Kleiner Perkins fellow and a founder of Hack the North (Canada's largest hackathon), he bring many great suggestions and expertise to the table. In this episode, Kasey and Kevin chat about Kevin's journey to PM and his advice to aspiring product folks!

In today's episode, Seeam sits down with Kai Gandhi, the former Co-Founder of the UW PM Team and an Associate Product Manager at Verizon Media, down in San Francisco. Here, we dive deep into Kai's journey co-founding his own startup after graduation, named EPOCH. He discusses different aspects of his journey, from the ups and downs, all the way to how he leveraged his background in product management to help the company succeed. He also comments on his transition into product management, as well as his different internships at companies such as Groupon, which allowed him to reach the place he is today.

Daivik is a current Waterloo computer engineering student, PM intern at Tesla, former member of UW PM, an accomplished product author, and a podcast host himself. Today, Kasey sits down remotely (amidst the COVID-19 crisis) with Daivik and together they chat about product management responsibilities, PM job search advice for students, applications, and future outlooks and career paths!

Meet Jocelyn, a current PM intern at Veeva who also worked at a robotics company called Avidbots and a startup called Avail, all within a PM role. Today, Kasey sits down with Jocelyn (remotely, amidst the COVID-19 crisis) to talk about her co-op experiences, how she obtained her first co-op in PM, and how future and current students can leverage their current network and experiences to obtain their dream PM internship.

Mario carries with him years of experience in the product management field, as well as years of experience as a software engineer. Having worked with Veeva for 5 years, Mario is a full-time principle product manager who is a leader in the product management practice at Veeva Systems. Holding a both a degree in software engineering and an MBA, Mario talks about his path to jumping into product from the software side, the benefits of understanding software in product management, and advice to current students and graduates looking to grow into the role!

Today, Seeam sits down with Mark Azer, a graduating student at the University of Waterloo and former Product Manager at Datadog, BlackBerry, and SAP. Here, they discuss his transition from software engineering to product management, even covering all kinds of in-between topics such as nailing your first interview. This is a great resource for any students interested in breaking into the field!

Hi everyone! Today Kasey sits down with Karan Jain, a student from the University of Waterloo who is a current product owner at Top Hat! Karan studies chemical engineering and shares his story of how he got into product management, and awesome advice for anyone who wants to pursue the role and nail the interview. In this episode, Kasey and Karan also chat about Karan's different experiences in his internships and the different PM roles they have both encountered, as well as share other general advice on becoming an awesome product manager intern!

Hello again! Today's episode features former podcast host Nick Yang and the featured guest, Anish Ganesh, who is a current Product Manager at Rangle.io! Rangle.io is a digital transformation consultancy company headquartered in Toronto! In this episode, Nick and Anish discuss both their experiences in product, how Anish got into product management, and tips and advice for anyone looking to get into product management and what the best traits of an ideal PM should be!

Hey everyone! Meet Ashwinder Cheema, a current product manager Intern at SAP and a former product manager intern at Blackberry Messenger! Ashwinder has a very great internship portfolio under his name including data and project-related gigs at Sun Life Financial and the Canadian Government. He sits down with Kasey Fu, one of the podcast hosts for this series to talk about his experience in his internships, how he got into product, his experiences in both B2B product management and B2C product management, and how other aspiring students can obtain that awesome product internship!

Hey everyone! Meet Prashant Bagga, a former product manager at Microsoft based in Canada. He brings and shares with us years of experience from his past internships, especially his most recent venture in product at Microsoft! He explains how he got into Product, what the role means to him, and how aspiring students can also put the effort to become a product manager at their dream technology company.

Hey everyone! Meet Max Vu, a current student at the University of Waterloo studying a unique combination of biotechnology and economics. Max has worked at several interesting career-changing placements, including a start-up at Velocity called Medella Health, Manulife as a Project Coordinator, and Microsoft as a Product Marketing Manager. This episode will focus mainly on Max's experience in product at Microsoft, his most recent internship.

Hey everyone! Meet Sefunmi Osinaike, a recent engineering grad of UW, and also a past president of UW PM! He has done internships at Microsoft and Apple and is currently working full-time for ecobee as a Product Manager. Doing a Thing Podcast Timestamps: 0:13 Tell me about yourself 3:14 Struggles in School 4:43 How to get into product management 9:43 Changed assumptions about product management 12:29 What do Product Managers Do? 15:13 Different types of PMs 20:26 Difference between a Good and Great PM? 23:20 How to get into PM?