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Customer-First Product Management: Perspectives on Deep User Understanding vs Technical Expertise at a Series B Startup
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In this episode, we sit down with David Currie, a Product Manager at Pepper, a hyper-growth Series B startup, who brings a unique perspective on what it really takes to succeed in product management. With a background spanning engineering to solutions engineering to product, David shares hard-won insights about prioritizing customer understanding over technical prowess.
Join us for an honest conversation about building products at scale, the art of prioritization, and why being too technical as a PM might actually hold you back. If you're curious about product management at fast-growing startups and want to understand what truly moves the needle, this episode's for you.
We cover:
Why David compares his product journey to "A Sand County Almanac" and systems thinking
The career progression from engineering to product management and key lessons learned
How to build PM skills through community and continuous learning (not just interview prep)
His prioritization framework: solving real problems that align with business strategy
Why PMs shouldn't be gambling and should "test small, fail fast, learn, repeat"
The dangers of technical PMs steamrolling their engineering teams
How to balance short-term customer requests with long-term strategic vision
Why AI can't replace human empathy in customer discovery
Key takeaway? Focus on understanding your customers' problems deeply. Technical expertise is valuable, but customer empathy is your superpower.
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