#30 Building the largest mobile wallet in the Nordics, leading Product through a Merger, the power of simplicity, and more | Ninni Høver (Head of Product, Vipps MobilePay)
My guest today is Ninni Høver - Head of Product at Vipps MobilePay, the largest mobile wallet in the Nordics.This conversation is part of my series of talks with more than 20 product leaders in Scandinavia. Make sure you subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss out!This episode is packed with lessons learned from both scaling and going through a large merger.I don’t know a single Norwegian who doesn’t use Vipps. So how does Ninni's team decide what to build? How do they balance priorities between different markets? What has changed in her leadership style before and after the merger with MobilePay? We cover all of this and so much more:* How Vipps MobilePay became the Nordics’ #1 mobile wallet* Leading Product through a merger* The power of simplicity and other product principles at Vipps MobilePay* How to navigate different market needs* Where most PMs and teams need to step up* How to test and kill a bad idea fast* And more This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com
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#29 Navigating hyper scale, leading in extreme crises, hardware vs software, and more | Tor Erik (ex-CPO at Easee) and Stian Øien (CPO at Futurehome and Ex-VP at Easee)
My guest today is Tor Erik Skårdal and Stian Øien - two former product leaders at Easee, once one of the fastest growing tech companies in Norway and the largest platform of EV chargers for homes in the Nordics.This is one of the most vulnerable conversations in the podcast so far.Most people in Norway and Sweden know how difficult Easee’s journey has been.From being one the fastest growing tech companies in Europe, to having to layoff most of its people after a sudden sales ban in a crucial market.Tor Erik (former CPO at Easee), led Product in the company at a very challenging time.Stian (now CPO at Futurehome and former VP at Easee), led Product at Easee from the early days and all the way to potentially even becoming a new Norwegian unicorn. Speaking of hyper scale…So how does a crisis like this impact your leadership approach and how product teams are led? What’s the reality inside a company that is hiring several people every week versus a company that’s forced to let go most of its people?We talked about that and much more:* Leading teams with outcomes* Killing ideas fast* Lessons learned from hyper scale* Managing hardware products vs software* The reality for Product teams in times of extreme crisis* And moreThis episode is part of a series where I interview 20+ CPOs across Scandinavia. Subscribe for free so you don’t miss out.This conversation was extra special in many ways, and also nostalgic (I worked with Stian when he was leading Product and with Tor Erik who was a PM in one of my teams).Happy to be able to share this special chat with all of you.Hope you enjoy it! :) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com
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#28 Scaling Product at a Swedish tech giant: from seed to IPO | Francesca Cortesi (ex-CPO at Hamnet)
My guest today is Francesca Cortesi, former Chief Product Officer at Hemnet - the largest housing marketplace in Sweden.This is a deep dive into Hemnet's journey into adopting the Product Operating Model and Francesca's product and growth leadership journey.Francesca shared deeply insightful stories, practical advice, and her perspective on driving change while keeping teams aligned and inspired.We talked about:* How Hemnet moved from features to outcomes.* Why Strategic context is the most important thing for a CPO* Why incremental changes beat big revolutions* The surprising power of revisiting your business model and internal incentives* Why asking for help can be a leadership growth hack.* Product Leadership lessons to recognize and adapt to new growth phases* And moreThis was a joy, Francesca's journey at Hemnet is a very interesting, practical, and real case and she's also a great human being.Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com
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#27 Pitching, thinking big, characteristics of great founding teams, and more | Cecilie Skjong (Skyfall Ventures)
My guest today is Cecilie Skjong, Investment Manager at Skyfall Ventures - a Norwegian early-stage venture capital fund.As a founder, nailing your pitch, thinking big and challenging yourself to be more visionary, and quickly testing your ideas to get a sense of the market pull are crucial.And the same applies to a cross-functional team building a new product in a scale-up. The same applies to a product leader leading a new opportunity in a large organization.After being exposed to hundreds of pitches and investing in several early-stage ventures, Cecilie shared with me:* Characteristics of great founding teams* The importance of drive and resilience when testing ideas and building products* Early signs of market pull* Thinking big and the importance of Vision* How to craft a great pitch* The power of Founder-led Sales* The importance of understanding your macro trends (Waves)* The state of the Norwegian startup scene* And moreIf you’re a founder, I recommend pairing this episode with:* Episode 1: Testing Ideas with David Bland, co-author of the book Testing Business Ideas written together with Alex Osterwalder* Episode 9: Understanding Jobs to be Done with Bob Moesta, co-creator of the JTBD framework together with Clayton Christensen* Episode 19: Nailing your Positioning with April Dunford, bestselling author of one of the most well-known marketing books out there This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com
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#26 Stepping into product leadership, making time for discovery, building products collaboratively, and more | Frederik Hansen (CPO at Ignite)
Today's episode is with my friend Frederik Hansen - CPO at Ignite. Ignite is a leading sustainable procurement platform that enables companies to take control of their purchasing from suppliers, comply with regulations, and reduce costs, emissions, and risks - all in one place.Before Ignite, Frederik was CPO at Bookis. He is also the co-founder of Produktleder.no - the largest community for product managers in Norway - and a co-organizer of the ProductTank in Oslo. A true contributor to the product community in Norway. In this conversation, Frederik and I discussed: * Starting a CPO role with a 1-month grace period* Healthy principles in strong product teams* Cross-functional collaboration in practice * Making time for discovery at Ignite * Creating an environment for product teams to thrive* Examples from Frederik’s journey on how to test ideas fast using different techniques* What Frederik looks for in a PM (traits)* And moreEnjoy :) Hey there, Afonso here 👋I've interviewed more than 30 Product leaders in Scandinavia, and this is one of those conversations. Subscribe for free so you don’t miss out on future interviews! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afonsofranco.substack.com
South Africa