Masterclass #4 - Product w/Five9's Anand Chandrasekaran

Indian Silicon Valley with Jivraj Singh Sachar

In this Episode, I (@Jivraj Singh Sachar) speak with Anand Chandrasekaran, Executive President at Five9, as he helps us decode the black box of "Product" on the 4th Masterclass on the Indian Silicon Valley Podcast.

The Masterclass Series of the Podcast is a way to dive deeper into specific domains from the tech ecosystem and uncover them fundamentally.

Anand is a maverick when it comes to Product Thinking having had some phenomenal experiences across the years. From scaling Yahoo during its days, to building phenomenal products for Snapdeal as the Chief Product Officer, to leading the Product Development of the Messenger Platform for Facebook, to currently being the Executive Vice President at Five9, Anand has seen it all. Beyond his product accolades, Anand periodically shares his phenomenal learnings with young founders & operating teams across borders, adding immense value to the ecosystem at large.

Through the Episode we discuss the following:

1. (02:17) : Why is Product Thinking Important & What does it entail?

2. (05:42) : Decoding Product Market Fit & it's Significance

3. (9:41) : What's the difference in building in Silicon Valley vis-a-vis in India?

4. (15:01) : Understanding some essential qualitative aspects of Product!

5. (19:33) : How can Product Managers deal with Context Switching better? ~ Effective Bucketting!

6. (23:55) : Unlocking the Potential of the abundant Product Talent in India ~ What does Anand look for in candidates?

7. (28:34) : What goes into developing Contrarian Thought Process (Read: Fundamental First Principles Thinking) ?

8. (32:33) : What are some useful frameworks to think about in Product?

9. (37:46) : How has Anand navigated his career pathway? ~ You're going to be okay, eventually!

--> The 70% Rule of Decisions Making

10. (42:42) : What has Anand learned about Mentorship having worked alongside Merissa Meyer, Mark Zuckerberg and many other stalwarts!

11. (47:05) : Just reach out and ask for help!!

12. (48:44) : The final 3 Learnings from Anand in terms of Product Thinking for Early Stage Founders & Teams!

Here is the 4th Masterclass on the Indian Silicon Valley Podcast on Product!

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