Product Growth
Product Growth Podcast
21 Harsh Truths about Product Management in AI | Scott Jones, VP of Product at Realeyes
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21 Harsh Truths about Product Management in AI | Scott Jones, VP of Product at Realeyes

From the latest in AI space & using AI as a VP of Product, to the craft of Product Management and navigating the PM career — Scott Jones takes us through a masterclass in this episode!
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Brought to you by:

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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

  1. AI Tools for Music:

    • Suno AI (for music generation)

    • Moises (AI tool for parsing music tracks)

    • 11 Labs (audio AI)

  2. 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)

  3. People:


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

Discussion about this podcast

Product Growth
Product Growth Podcast
The latest insights into how great products grow, how to be a better PM or product leader, and how to get a PM job.