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“Enterprise PM work can take 18 months. Startup PM work takes days.”
How do you bridge this gap?
Scott Jones has done it at HPE, Lenovo, and now as VP of Product at AI startup Realeyes.
In this episode, he shares how he brought startup speed to Fortune 500 companies, turned an RFI into a multi-million dollar product line in 14 months, and how to navigate your career with multiple job hops.
Scott is one of the most senior PMs in the Triangle area, and another one of my friends. He has 15 years of PM at places like HP, Lenovo, Digital Turbine, and now RealEyes. So, it goes without saying that he has a ton of lessons to share with us.
In today's episode, we cover:
The Computer Vision AI Space and Using AI as a VP of Product | 14:41
Effective Ways of Product and Sales Collaboration | 54:11
Approach Towards De-Risking Features | 57:08
“Try-before-you-buy”: The New Way of Hiring? | 01:01:44
Career Topics in PM: Job Search, Interviews, and Homework | 01:21:36
Scott’s Previous Tenures and Thoughts on Job Hopping | 01:31:21
Here are the Key Takeaways
Here are some of my favorite lessons:
1. Bringing Startup Mindset to Enterprise
You can bring startup thinking to large companies by:
Building relationships and finding allies across the organization
Challenging existing processes while showing respect for their purpose
Showcasing value through small wins
Connecting siloed teams working on similar problems
Creating repeatable patterns others can follow
Your focus shouldn’t be on breaking everything but on showing how things can be done differently while bringing others along for the journey.
2. De-Risking Product Development Through Incremental Validation
Scott advises to avoid big upfront investments without validation:
Build a vision of the "Ferrari" but start with the minimum needed to prove value
Use "fake it till you make it" approaches where appropriate
Test hypotheses through small experiments
Focus on learning fast and finding opportunities
The goal is to validate assumptions before making significant investments, similar to how Scott's team validated identity verification features before full development.
3. The Value of Work Trials
Work trials offer benefits for both employers and candidates:
Allows both parties to experience real working dynamics
Reduces risk of poor fit
Provides practical insight into company culture
Creates opportunity for meaningful evaluation
Though, it is not suitable for all situations, especially when candidates are currently in full-time roles.
4. Navigating Job Hopping
Success with shorter tenures depends more on the narrative than the timeline:
Focus on the logical progression between roles
Emphasize learning and growth opportunities
Avoid narratives about chasing money or negative experiences
Be prepared that some companies won't consider candidates with multiple short stints
The key is crafting a compelling story about your career choices that shows intentional career progression rather than instability.
For more details, listen to the full episode now!
Referenced
AI Tools for Music:
Suno AI (for music generation)
Moises (AI tool for parsing music tracks)
11 Labs (audio AI)
Frameworks/Processes:
"Now Next Later" (roadmapping approach)
Face Verification Model
GDPR compliance framework
Agile vs Waterfall methodologies
BRD (Business Requirements Document)
PRD (Product Requirements Document)
People:
Lenny - Newsletter reference
Itamar Gilad - Mentioned regarding confidence meter concept for features (Check out more about it here.)
Where to find Scott
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Up Next
I hope you enjoyed my podcast Shravan Tickoo. We have some great podcasts coming from Maria Cuasay, Shubham Khoker, and Henry Schuck. I’m so excited to share them with all of you.
In the newsletter, check out this week’s latest piece if you haven’t yet: Job Hunting Sucks: Here’s What I Learned After Four Grueling Months.
And look out for these pieces up next:
How to Win the Enterprise
How Statsig Grows
Advanced Tips: Resumes
I think you’re going to love what we have coming up,
Aakash
21 Harsh Truths about Product Management in AI | Scott Jones, VP of Product at Realeyes