Mentor interview
1. How did you end up starting your own company? What pain did your company heal for its customers? Did you just start it by yourself?
I started SVPG because I didn’t want to work for yet another tech company, and I found that I had many former colleagues that needed help with what I specialized in.
2. What is it like to work with some of the leading companies in the tech world such as Amazon, Twitter and Adobe?
I love working with really smart and creative people, and many of the best are at leading tech companies.
3. Was it hard to write your own book? What was the process like? Would you consider writing another?
It was very hard to write the book. The total time took 3 years. I wrote about the process here: http://www.svpg.com/product-discovery-for-non-technology-products/
I might write another in the future but right now focused on a video course.
4.What was the push for creating a video course? How did you think of this idea? Do you believe this will be truly beneficial to your company?
The purpose of the video course is to provide a more scaleable alternative to my live, in-person courses. Those courses are held just a few times a year in a few cities, and it’s also very expensive, so the video course is a less expensive and much more scaleable option.
5. What first lead you to the tech industry? What is the tech industry like and how does it play into the role of major companies today?
I was attracted to technology because my father was in it (he was a professor of computer science). He taught me to code and I really liked building things. Today the tech industry is taking over almost every other industry (cars, health care, commerce, and many more).
6. What was it like to work and HP and Ebay when they were just starting out?
HP was already a very established company when I joined (it was founded in 1939 and I joined in 1981). I was early at eBay and Netscape. I really like working with small startups and watching them grow. But it is a lot of work because when a company is small everyone needs to do everything.
I started SVPG because I didn’t want to work for yet another tech company, and I found that I had many former colleagues that needed help with what I specialized in.
2. What is it like to work with some of the leading companies in the tech world such as Amazon, Twitter and Adobe?
I love working with really smart and creative people, and many of the best are at leading tech companies.
3. Was it hard to write your own book? What was the process like? Would you consider writing another?
It was very hard to write the book. The total time took 3 years. I wrote about the process here: http://www.svpg.com/product-discovery-for-non-technology-products/
I might write another in the future but right now focused on a video course.
4.What was the push for creating a video course? How did you think of this idea? Do you believe this will be truly beneficial to your company?
The purpose of the video course is to provide a more scaleable alternative to my live, in-person courses. Those courses are held just a few times a year in a few cities, and it’s also very expensive, so the video course is a less expensive and much more scaleable option.
5. What first lead you to the tech industry? What is the tech industry like and how does it play into the role of major companies today?
I was attracted to technology because my father was in it (he was a professor of computer science). He taught me to code and I really liked building things. Today the tech industry is taking over almost every other industry (cars, health care, commerce, and many more).
6. What was it like to work and HP and Ebay when they were just starting out?
HP was already a very established company when I joined (it was founded in 1939 and I joined in 1981). I was early at eBay and Netscape. I really like working with small startups and watching them grow. But it is a lot of work because when a company is small everyone needs to do everything.