Rapid Prototyping, Lightning Pods & the End of PRDs: Redefining product development & EPD in the age of AI w/ Nissim Lehyani #223

The Engineering Leadership Podcast

When Nissim Lehyani (VP of Product at Life360) used AI to build a math game for his son, he didn’t just prototype a game, he rewired how he thinks about product development and the relationship between engineering, product, and design. In this episode, Nissim shares how that personal “aha” moment sparked a shift in how his teams build, collaborate, and ship. We dive into how AI is accelerating product iteration from months to hours, why it’s time to drop the “M” from MVP, and how prototypes are replacing PRDs as the central artifact of product work. Plus how product rituals and building cadence are evolving, strategies for scaling a prototype-first workflow, and we deconstruct the “lightning pod” model and how it’s changing the dynamics of product building & EPD collaboration.

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ABOUT NISSIM LEHYANI

Nissim Lehyani is the Vice President of Product at Life360, where he leads product strategy for the family safety platform used by over 60 million users worldwide. With more than two decades of experience across startups, global tech companies, and entrepreneurial ventures, Nissim is known for scaling impactful products that blend technical depth with business strategy.

Prior to Life360, he was Senior Director of Product at Indeed, where he oversaw a portfolio of 13 consumer products reaching 300M+ monthly users, and led a team of 40+ product managers across global markets. Nissim previously held leadership roles at GoDaddy, where he helped 18M+ SMBs grow their businesses through strategic partnerships with Facebook, Yelp, and Google.

As a founder, he built and led two ventures: Shopial (acquired by Magento) and Urban Place, raising millions to support small businesses and entrepreneurs. He also brings deep technical roots from his engineering leadership at Cisco and early career in Israeli Military Intelligence.

Nissim is a 2024 Product Leader Award winner and active mentor in the startup ecosystem through roles at Mixpanel and SV101 by ICON. He’s passionate about user-centric innovation, data-driven growth, and the intersection of AI, engineering, and product management.

SHOW NOTES:

• How Nissin & Patrick got connected (2:19)
• Nissin’s light bulb AI moment (4:03)
• Building first & defining later (5:33)
• How AI accelerates product iteration from months to hours & fills skill gaps (6:49)
• Recognizing your AI aha moment (9:44)
• Why it’s time to drop the “M” from MVP (11:21)
• New expectations for the first iteration of a product (13:37)
• Nissim’s #1 product principle (15:56)
• Why prototyping is replacing PRDs (17:57)
• Strategies for socializing a prototype-first workflow in your org (19:54)
• Tactics for inspiring AI adoption: find one annoying thing & show vs. tell (22:22)
• Rethinking product cadence and how product rituals are evolving (24:08)
• Defining the “lightning pod” model (25:29)
• How “lightning pods” change the dynamic between engineering, product & design (27:20)
• A live AI product demo: recreating Nissim’s original aha moment (29:10)
• Iterating product in real-time (31:06)
• How Nissim evaluates code & product outcomes (33:38)
• Rapid fire questions (34:15)

This episode wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:

Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-Host

Jerry Li - Co-Host

Noah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/

Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan’s also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/

Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/