Breaking Into Product – Shaun Russell on The Product Experience

Berlin-based Product Coach Shaun Russell was always destined to work in Product. He co-founded Audiobubble while still in school and gave himself all the responsibilities of a Product Manager years before ever hearing of the title. In the years since he's put a lot of thought into the development of his practice and has spoken about it at a number of conferences. All of which made him the perfect guest for this episode of the podcast, sponsored by Amplitude, where we focused on the transition into a product role.

Listen for the answers to these questions and more:

• Why do you want to be a Product Manager?
• How do you know if you're doing a good job?
• How do previous experience and skills shape being a Product Manager?

Quote of the Episode

If you don't have the part which is uncertainty, then essentially you're still just a project manager -whereas the uncertainty is the thing that makes you a Product Manager.

Related Links

• Follow Shaun on Twitter and LinkedIn, and learn more on his site
• ProductTank Berlin, where Shaun is an organiser
• Facebook VP's Find Focus And Create Conditions For Intentional Work
• Shaun's article, Want To Be A Product Manager?

Get in Touch, Rate Us and More!

• Know the perfect guest? Great! Suggest them here
• Chat to us on Twitter or in our dedicated Mind the Product #podcast Slack channel
• Review us on your podcast app so that we can use your feedback to be better
• Like our theme music? It's Hamburg-based Pau, featuring ProductTank Hamburg’s Arne Kittler!

Our Hosts

The Product Experience is hosted by Lily Smith and Randy Silver.

Lily enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Head of Innovation at Go Compare and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol (which now has 800+ members!) and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.

Randy has been working as an interactive producer and product manager across the US and UK for nearly 20 years. A recovering music journalist and editor, he launched Amazon’s music stores in the US and UK, and has worked across sectors including museums and arts groups, online education, media and entertainment, retail and financial services. He’s held Head of Product roles at HSBC and Sainsbury’s, where he also directed their 100+-person product community. Randy's book, What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19 is out now, with all profits going to COVID-19 relief efforts.