Founder Mode Lessons from Instagram, Airbnb, and Coinbase | Sanchan Saxena

My guest today is Sanchan Saxena, SVP at Atlassian. Sanchan
worked directly with 4 of the best founders out there — Kevin
Systrom and Mike Krieger (Instagram), Brian Armstrong (Coinbase),
and Brian Chesky (Airbnb). In our chat, he shares what we can
learn from each founder’s superpowers and the 4 traits he always
looks for when hiring exceptional PMs. (00:00) The secret product
approach that sets Airbnb and Apple apart (01:21) Inside
Instagram's early days at 100 employees (03:07) Kevin Systrom and
Mike Krieger's superpowers (04:54) How "do the simple thing
first" led to Instagram Stories' success (07:15) The single
common trait shared by the greatest founders (08:50) Brian
Armstrong's golden rule, "No decision by committee" (13:36)
"Unconstrained thinking" with Brian Chesky at Airbnb (18:21) What
Brian Chesky learned from Disney movies and storytelling (23:29)
Why obsessing over metrics kills product quality (27:43) Shifting
focus to prioritize customers and craft in your company (30:55)
Climbing the ladder From PM to product director and VP (33:38)
Mastering the yin and yang of product management (42:02) How to
set yourself up to get lucky in your career Get the takeaways:
https://creatoreconomy.so/p/sanchan-instagram-airbnb-coinbase
Where to find Sanchan: LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanchans/ YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@therealsanchan Subscribe to this channel
– more interviews coming soon!