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Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor (Product, Figma)

Lenny's Podcast・97 minutes read

Mahika Kapoor, a design engineering PM hybrid at Figma, emphasizes creating a compelling vision rooted in research insights, vision pitches, and cross-collaboration to drive product success and innovative solutions. Figma values visual communication, brainstorms for inclusive meetings, and internal and external hype essential for product success, highlighting the significance of understanding user needs, creating artifacts, and building strong team relationships for a thriving culture and successful product development.

Insights

Emphasizing a compelling vision rooted in research insights, designs, and engineering feasibility is crucial for effective product development and team alignment.
Leveraging visual communication, detailed vision pitches combining pain points, solutions, and proof points are essential at Figma to convey ideas effectively and engage stakeholders.
Encouraging democratic collaboration, innovative brainstorming sessions, and clear communication internally are vital aspects of Mahika Kapoor's approach to product management, fostering team ownership and passion.

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Recent questions

How does Figma emphasize visual communication?
Figma's culture values visual communication, making detailed vision pitches crucial. They combine pain points, solutions, and proof points to convey ideas effectively.
What is Mahika Kapoor's approach to product management?
Mahika's PM style involves leaning into strengths while maintaining a growth mindset. She stresses the importance of continuous learning and development in the role.
How does Figma foster collaboration in meetings?
Figma's work on Fig Jam focuses on enhancing the meetings experience, particularly brainstorming, to bring people together in a common space, leveraging insights from user interactions within the company.
How does Mahika Kapoor approach visioning in product development?
Mahika stresses the significance of having a clear vision to navigate the chaotic product development cycle, ensuring that setbacks are viewed as learning opportunities rather than discouraging obstacles.
How does Figma create a culture of democratic collaboration?
Figma aims to create a workplace where democratic collaboration is the norm, with everyone contributing equally. Rituals like Kudos boards and features like music voting are used to foster teamwork and recognition among team members.

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Summary

00:00

Mahika Kapoor: Visionary Design Engineering PM Leader

Mahika Kapoor is a design engineering PM hybrid at Figma, known for leading new 0 to 1 products and spearheading the development of a new product launching in June.
She founded Design Nation, a nonprofit democratizing undergraduate student access to design education, and led product launches at Meta focused on Commerce and creators.
Mahika emphasizes the importance of creating a compelling vision that aligns with users and the team, rooted in research insights, designs, and engineering feasibility.
Figma's culture values visual communication, making detailed vision pitches crucial, combining pain points, solutions, and proof points to convey ideas effectively.
Mahika's work on Fig Jam focused on enhancing the meetings experience, particularly brainstorming, to bring people together in a common space, leveraging insights from user interactions within the company.
Figma extensively uses Fig Jam for various activities, highlighting the unique value of brainstorms in a Fig Jam file due to their democratizing nature, allowing ideas to come from anywhere.
Mahika's PM style involves leaning into strengths while maintaining a growth mindset, acknowledging the importance of continuous learning and development in the role.
She stresses the significance of having a clear vision to navigate the chaotic product development cycle, ensuring that setbacks are viewed as learning opportunities rather than discouraging obstacles.
Mahika's approach to visioning involves cross-pollination of ideas and functions, fostering innovation through diverse perspectives and collaborative efforts within the team.
Communication of the vision internally is crucial, with Mahika emphasizing the power of visual communication over words, using prototypes and mockups to convey ideas effectively and engage stakeholders.

14:42

"Enhancing Collaboration and Inclusivity in Meetings"

Brainstorms are seen as a democratic process, aiming to make meetings more interactive and inclusive.
Traditional meetings are often one-way, with one person leading and others reacting, but the goal is to make all meetings more generative like brainstorms.
The vision is to create a workplace where democratic collaboration is the norm, with everyone contributing equally.
Rituals like Kudos boards in Fig Jam are used to foster teamwork and recognition among team members.
Features like music voting are introduced to enhance collaboration and flow during meetings.
Creating a strong vision involves presenting a clear pain point, solution, and proof point, such as testimonials or data.
To ensure team ownership and passion, focus on creating a unified deliverable that everyone contributes to.
Using AI tools like Devon from Cognition can help simplify coding and prototyping processes.
Building intuition as a product manager involves having curiosity, talking to users, and accumulating a library of insights from conversations.
Having strong conviction is crucial for momentum, but it's essential to balance it with openness to feedback and the ability to pivot based on external signals.

28:47

Effective Communication and Hype for Product Success

Direct communication is crucial for creating a culture where everyone feels comfortable giving their opinion and communicating their level of confidence.
Directness should be two-way; if one person is direct and the other is afraid to talk, it can lead to communication issues.
Feedback should be constant, not just during official feedback cycles, and should be acted upon promptly.
Creating hype around an idea or product is essential for its success, both internally and externally.
Building momentum and excitement for a product is the responsibility of the person spearheading the idea.
Leveraging large forums and events to showcase products can generate excitement and provide valuable insights.
Internal and external hype are both crucial for a product's success, requiring emotional engagement and celebration.
Understanding a product's brand and its unique value proposition is key to generating hype effectively.
Immersion in the user base and understanding their needs is vital for creating products that resonate with users.
Regular communication with users through various means like meetings, events, and chats is essential for staying connected with their needs.

43:15

"User Engagement Key to Product Success"

Figma targets a niche audience, starting with design teams and expanding to the entire product development cycle.
Immersing in user circles is crucial for product success.
Engaging with users and non-users for feedback is essential for product improvement.
Conversations with non-users can provide valuable insights for product development.
Understanding user needs and perceptions is vital for product success.
Building relationships between different organizational departments is recommended for product growth.
Operationalizing insights involves using tools like Fig Jam for brainstorming and sharing insights with the sales team.
Creating artifacts and videos to showcase product use cases can help in product evangelization.
Storing non-actionable feedback in a backlog for future consideration is a practical approach.
Understanding and aligning assumptions is key to resolving disagreements in product strategy.

57:47

"Culture, Creativity, and Adaptability in Leadership"

The individual excels in creativity, empathy, culture, and adapting to change.
The concept of being a "culture carrier" at Figma is discussed.
The "hot seat" tradition at Figma is explained, emphasizing the importance of team bonding outside of work.
The "figgies" event, inspired by a sales kickoff awards ceremony, is detailed as a way to appreciate and celebrate the product team.
The significance of focusing on culture as a Product Manager is highlighted.
The importance of establishing trust through culture and building connections with team members is emphasized.
The individual shares personal experiences in founding a national design conference to democratize design education.
The challenges faced in securing funding and resources for the conference are discussed.
The importance of adaptability and resourcefulness in pursuing goals, even in the absence of formal backing, is underscored.
The individual's high agency and proactive approach to problem-solving are commended.

01:12:17

"Design Nation: Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Buy-In"

Design Nation can be found on Google and has an Instagram page, hosting speakers like Stuart Whitesman and Joe Gebbia from Airbnb for design-driven college students.
The focus of Design Nation is not only on capital D designers but also on design-minded engineers and marketers to foster innovative solutions.
High conviction can be beneficial for selling ideas but may lead to skepticism without user proof points.
Scrappiness in thriving in ambiguity and last-minute tasks can be a strength but may not always be appreciated by others.
Getting consumed by details can be advantageous, but knowing when to defer decisions is crucial.
Every superpower has a shadow, highlighting the downsides of strengths and the importance of focusing on what one is good at.
Companies need to stay entrepreneurial to remain competitive, with Figma encouraging a culture of innovation through hackathons and bottom-up projects.
To bring an idea to life successfully, one needs the right idea, secure buy-in, and make it spread like wildfire within the organization.
User empathy and alignment with company goals are crucial in coming up with the right idea for a product.
Securing buy-in for an idea requires optimism bordering on delusion, persistence in pitching, and leveraging company-wide forums like hackathons for momentum and support.

01:27:04

Figma's Staging Process: Feedback and Success

Figma has a unique multi-month staging process for product development.
The process involves putting products on staging for feedback before launch.
Emphasizes the importance of vulnerability and feedback in product development.
Putting products on staging early benefits the team by receiving direct feedback.
Early staging involvement makes people feel invested in the product.
Encourages a constant feedback loop and collective investment in product success.
Understanding team motivations is crucial for successful team management.
Directly asking team members about their involvement preferences is key.
Recommends books like "Harry Potter," "Pachinko," and "Creativity Inc." for creativity and inspiration.

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