Nikhil Agrawal

I recently did something I haven’t had to do before- drafted up a Mat Leave plan! Few good learnings from this process- 🕗 Start earlier than you expect I started drafting up my plan ~6 weeks ago, socializing it with different stakeholders, and adding sections after having conversations with people where I realized additional inputs would be helpful. I was also pretty aggressive about actively opening up the doc and talking it through *live* with folks to ensure they were active shapers of the content vs. just passively sending a doc around and folks only reading it for the first time after I was already gone and they needed something (guaranteed to lead to freakouts). 🤔 There aren’t a ton of models for how to do it “right” In fact, I really only found one template that resonated for me/ my role (thanks Tamara Hinckley & Lenny's Newsletter! https://lnkd.in/g4gyb5uD) Given this, you can shape whatever doc you want but starting *super* bare bones and building it iteratively as I talked to folks and actually figured out what questions they had worked well for me. 👥 Prioritize people first The part of my plan I spent the most time on by far was ensuring my team would be taken care of while I’m out. This included interim management responsibilities as well as writing detailed performance review notes. I also pre-delivered performance feedback to my team for the (majority of the) Half to ensure they heard the feedback from me first-hand and there weren't any surprises. 🤰 It’s important that leaders model taking leave I was lucky to see strong examples of this early in my career. In my mid-20's, one of my role models Laura Jones joined Uber pregnant and took a full leave only a couple months into her tenure. She was joining as the first Product Marketer at the company, establishing an entirely new function, and took leave only a few months into the new gig. Talk about GUTSY. She went on to build a 50+ large PMM Org at Uber, have a ton of impact on the company and brand, and is now CMO at Instacart, so I’d say things turned out okay. 😄 But what watching Laura taught me is that there's never a “good” time to have a baby and take leave, and no matter how important or senior you are you’re never going to get your child’s first few months of life back. Take the leave, and show your team they can take it too. I’m super grateful to Statsig for being a startup that recognizes that life happens- even when you’re building a company!- and offering a generous leave for both mothers and fathers at all levels. Excited for what this next chapter will bring and how it will change me as a doer and a leader… see you in a few months ✌️

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2017: Joined Juspay before India's fintech boom 2020: Tried everything PM at Razorpay 2023: Now, Building for scale at Paytm Navigating the world of product management has been a journey filled with learning and growth. From honing my tech, system thinking & abstraction skills at Juspay. To laying the foundation for product thinking, execution & GTM at Razorpay. To leading a high-performance team at Paytm. Each step has been an integral part of my career progression. While my path has seen its share of challenges, I have received the necessary support at each stage of my career and have not shied away from asking for help whenever required. On similar lines, when I wanted to upskill myself, I joined GrowthX®, and the learning has been invaluable. Putting effort is in your hands, so focus only on that with discipline. Key lessons? As Dhoni said, "Focus on the controllable." Huge thanks to the GrowthX community for their relentless support and knowledge sharing. It truly embodies the spirit of community-driven learning without expectations of monetary return. PS: the deadline to apply for the 4 Week Growth Program is Nov 30th. Join me at GrowthX with my link in the comments. 🌱

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🚀 Swiggy's IPO DRHP is a gold mine of data 📊 Average Order Value (AOV): Swiggy Food Delivery: ₹428 Instamart: ₹460 Dineout: ₹3,129 📈 User Growth & Engagement: 112.73 million users have transacted on Swiggy's platform as of June 30, 2024. Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs) for Food Delivery and Quick Commerce continue to rise, hitting 15.99 million in Q1 FY25 Swiggy One membership (5.7 million members) shows an impressive 7.4x order frequency, nearly double the platform average of 4.5x. 💼 Operational Scale: Swiggy works with 223,671 monthly transacting restaurant partners and 457,249 monthly transacting delivery partners, reflecting its massive operational scale and reach. Active Dark Stores increased to 557, supporting the Quick Commerce business and ensuring rapid deliveries.

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What metrics would you track for WhatsApp, Zomato , Meesho or Flipkart ? . . If you have given product interviews, you are highly likely to have come across this question. This is indeed a very important area for a product manager to identify what metrics to track for a product or a feature. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This is not just a line, but an integral part of a PM’s day-to-day work and that’s why this question is asked in most of the product interviews. Let’s see how we approach these questions. Before answering, ask these 4 questions to get more clarity: [𝟭] 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲/𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀? This is really important to understand who will consume these metrics because the depth and technicality of metrics will change accordingly. If you were to tell your salary to your grandma vs to your Chartered Account for tax filing - would you tell the same way? No, right? For the same reason, the depth and technicalities will change. The CEO might want to look at high-level numbers (40,000 ft); the Product Head may look at 10,000 ft; whereas the PM will look at 1,000 ft. Be mindful of the consumer. [𝟮] 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀? → If the objective is just to track day-to-day performance, then you will approach in good depth. → If the objective is competitive intelligence, then you will identify those metrics for which you will have competitor’s data. You will not always have all the data for competitors, be mindful to do apples-to-apples comparison. → If the objective is Root Cause Analysis, then approach it in a very targeted manner and you identify only those metrics that may help you solve the problem. [𝟯] 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁? The metrics may change significantly for Web (Desktop/mWeb) vs Android vs iOS. Metrics such as app installs, uninstall rate, app store rating, etc. will be relevant only for app-based products. Metrics such as SEO traffic, bounce rate, etc. may be relevant only for web-based products. [𝟰] 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁? There can be 2 or more user types of the product. Uber has drivers and riders. Airbnb has hosts and guests. YouTube has creators and consumers. Likewise, you need to identify the user for whom you are capturing metrics. 𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 Amazon? #ProductManagers #Amazon #Uber #Metrics #Airbnb #Flipkart

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The Decision That Doomed a Dream 📽️ 🎬 What if your most hyped product idea became the reason your company collapsed? This is the untold story of a decision that sent a $2 billion startup spiraling. Priya: “Remember Quibi? The short-form streaming platform that raised $2 billion only to crash and burn in six months?” Amit: “How could I forget? But wasn’t their whole idea—quick bites of content on mobile—a good one? People are obsessed with short videos now.” Priya: “Exactly! The concept was solid, but the product decisions? Not so much. One of their biggest missteps was locking all their content behind a paywall with no free tier.” Amit: “Wait, they didn’t offer even a single free episode? Not even ads-supported content?” Priya: “Nope. They banked on the idea that people would pay $5–$8 a month upfront for content they’d never seen before from a brand they didn’t know. Add to that the fact they launched during the pandemic, when people were glued to their TVs—not mobile phones.” Amit: “Oof. That sounds like a classic case of not reading the room.” Priya: “It gets worse. Their product didn’t allow screenshots or sharing clips on social media. Imagine trying to launch a video platform in 2020 without virality built in.” Amit: “So, they made themselves invisible on the platforms where their audience hangs out. That’s a killer mistake. Did they try to fix it?” Priya: “Too little, too late. By the time they introduced features like TV support and extended free trials, their subscriber numbers had tanked. They shut down just six months after launch.” Amit: “Man, all that money and talent—and it was decisions, not the idea, that sank them. Makes you wonder how many product decisions are make-or-break moments in disguise.” Sometimes, the right product decisions aren’t about flashy features but about understanding your audience’s needs. #QuibiStory #ProductManagement #LessonsFromFailure #StartupJourney #InnovationGoneWrong #PMJourney Photo Credits: https://lnkd.in/gtg33zHu

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🌟 🎯 Guesstimate Mastery: What I Learned from a Meta PM 🌟 I recently participated in a mock interview session organized by HelloPM, led by Sugat Nayak, a seasoned Product Manager at Meta. Alongside him was Kshitij Anand, an MBA candidate at IIM-B, who shared valuable insights. Together, they walked through the process of solving guesstimate questions, an essential skill for PM interviews. 👉 How to Approach Guesstimate Questions: 1️⃣ Clarifying Questions First: Before jumping in, always ask clarifying questions to understand the scope, timeframes, or data points. This ensures you’re aligned with the interviewer’s expectations. 2️⃣ Start with a Structured Framework: Break the problem into key variables and start with a high-level estimate. A structured approach helps you organize your thoughts and gives clarity to the interviewer. 3️⃣ Make Assumptions & Communicate Them Clearly: Assumptions are inevitable. Make them, but ensure transparency. For example, if you assume certain traffic patterns or user behavior, be sure to explain your reasoning. 4️⃣ Estimate with Reasonable Numbers: Use real-world numbers that make sense. When estimating user numbers, market sizes, or other figures, ground them in logic. If something doesn’t feel right, pause and reassess your approach. 5️⃣ Test Your Answer: After arriving at an estimate, check it using a different method. For example, test your market size estimate with another metric to see if it aligns. This helps verify your calculations. 6️⃣ Consider Variations and Patterns: Think about how factors like time of day, seasonality, or events can shift your numbers. For instance, weekends, holidays, or product launches might affect sales. Acknowledge these nuances in your thought process. 7️⃣ What to Do If the Topic Is Unfamiliar: If the topic is new, apply your problem-solving skills. Use analogies from areas you're familiar with and walk through the logic step by step. Your approach matters more than prior knowledge. 👉 Things to Note While Preparing: 1️⃣ Practice Regularly: The more you practice, the more comfortable you'll get. Dedicate time to work through different guesstimate problems to improve your problem-solving skills. 2️⃣ Familiarize with Common Scenarios: Many guesstimates revolve around market sizes, user numbers, or revenue estimates. Know the typical ranges for these factors across industries. 3️⃣ Sharpen Your Mental Math: Quick mental math saves time during interviews. While exact calculations aren’t expected, being able to estimate quickly and accurately is essential. A huge thank you to Sugat Nayak for leading the session, Kshitij Anand for the valuable feedback, and Aakash Pandey for organizing this insightful experience. I’d love to hear your thoughts! How do you approach guesstimate questions? What methods have worked for you in interviews? Let’s discuss in the comments! #ProductManagement #PMInterviews #Guesstimate #Hellopm #MockInterview #CareerGrowth #PMCommunity

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Was just thinking about how B2B product management is different from B2C. Though I had some past experience in B2C products, working at a B2B Saas startup, ZenTrades.ai, I got to spent some time deep-diving into the nuances of B2B products. One key insight? In B2B, it's not just about delighting the end-user—it's about understanding the complex web of stakeholders, long sales cycles, and the critical nature of each feature in driving business outcomes. B2C taught me the importance of user experience, but B2B has added a layer of strategic thinking and relationship management that I find both challenging and rewarding. Curious to hear from other product managers who have walked either of the paths—what differences stand out to you? #productmanagement #b2b #b2c #saas

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Great insights in simple words. Please read it like 100 times!

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A common problem among all PMs today⬇️ A recent feature update by Zomato sparked the debate on whether features should be launched at whims and fantasies of our stakeholders or should there be a data backed need for it!!🛠️ Let me know your thoughts in comments ✅ #productmanagement #features #zomato

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1. A crore is still a crore regardless of how big the company is. You’re still answerable to shareholders. 2. Even if they had a crore to spare, this would only encourage others to do the same and make a quick buck. 3. Domain squatting, while is a grey area in India, is illegal in many countries and is unethical regardless. 4. Buying a domain (and possibly many others as a backup) is not an entrepreneurial skill. It costs barely ₹300-400 to buy a domain these days.

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The fascinating battle in the Indian OTT market continues to intensify! JioCinema's recent launch of their Rs 29 JioCinema Premium plan is a fascinating development. This is an aggressively disruptive pricing strategy, and will significantly impact the players in the industry. Let's delve into the "how" and "why" behind this disruptive move. The How: - India boasts a significant user base of 800 million internet users (thanks to Jio again), and for the majority of users, affordability is key. The new plan makes content more affordable and accessible, creating a new segment of paying users for the entire industry. - While currently JioCinema does not have an exhaustive library of content, their plan is to heavily invest in creating high-quality regional content, catering to our country's diverse linguistic audience. - A recent survey revealed that 42% of Indian subscribers juggle between at least two OTT subscriptions. This could encourage users to juggle and experiment with multiple platforms, sort of cannibalizing the existing user base of other players. The Why: - The Indian OTT market is experiencing explosive growth, and JioCinema wants to capture a significant share. - Indian audiences are known to be price-sensitive and this strategy reflects a deep understanding of this user preference. - The Indian OTT market has traditionally been dominated by global players. This pricing strategy disrupts the established order, forcing existing domestic players to adapt and protect the Indian turf. However, the global players still hold the advantage of having a vast library of high-quality international content that continues to attract a loyal subscriber base. This intensifies the competition and will be interesting to witness how global players respond to this move of JioCinema. Will it again be a similar case study of how Jio disrupted the telecom industry? Or this time, the global players have a reverse UNO in their deck? If you're also binge-watching this competitive series and waiting to see how it unfolds, order some popcorn - this is gonna be worth it! --- Don't wanna miss any episodes? Subscribe to my newsletter for exclusive insights and analysis --> https://lnkd.in/dytzUAeV -- #ProductManagement #JioCinema #BusinessStrategy #PricingStrategy #Disruption

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Zomato: Releasing MVPs in hiring too? Deepinder Goyal's new Chief of Staff role feels like an experiment in product-market fit: Entry Barrier: ₹20L fee = premium subscription? No Salary Year 1: Freemium model vibes. Mission Fit > Resume: Prioritizing user intent! Validation Metric: Year 2, ₹50L salary = success criteria? As PMs, we call this a bold A/B test on hiring practices. The question is: are applicants the users or the product? Let the sprint planning begin! 🚀 #ProductManagement #MVP #HiringTrends #Leadership #Experimentation #StartUpLife #LearningExperience Zomato

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As a PM, How do you solve Zepto's Rapid Delivery Dilemma? Check out the details below 👇 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨: Zepto, a 10-minute grocery delivery service, sees: → 100% monthly user growth (first 3 months) → 80% monthly retention 𝐒𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝟒: → Retention drops to 60% → Rapid scaling via ads & influencers 𝐀𝐬 Zepto'𝐬 𝐏𝐌, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 🤔 Misunderstood problem space 🤔 Quality issues with rapid delivery 🤔 Loss of competitive edge 📲 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬! 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭? 𝐏. 𝐒. DoorDash faced similar challenges scaling their food delivery service. They found that rapid expansion led to quality control issues, affecting customer satisfaction and retention. By focusing on operational efficiency and restaurant partnerships, they improved their retention rates and maintained growth. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐙𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐨'𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞? 𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬! 𝐏. 𝐏. 𝐒. This is just a hypothetical problem statement. #ProductManagement #RetentionStrategy #GrowthChallenges

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Yikes. I had no idea. Many Indians pre booked Tesla by paying 1000$ in 2016 (which is a pretty decent sum in India ) . With no tesla in sight for 8 years , they are now struggling to get refunds Ps: if they had put 1000$ in Nifty , they would likely have 3000$. Had to add this comparison because people keep talking about investing in company stock rather than enjoying the product, this is one such rare case where this is correct 😬 https://lnkd.in/gqYtQEuJ

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Some Indian consumer apps show blatant unethical #productmanagement . Case in point - Payment page of Zee5 - user is unlikely to do mental math & calculate how much is being taken out of his pocket. So the PM hardcodes 'Frequency' to 'As Presented' - because if the number is shown, the user will likely catch product fraud. Low effort and fishy :( The Start and End date is auto-populated to one year even if user opted for a 6 month plan. And user is NOT given option to edit date range. Again, low effort and cagy :( Finally, user is forced to opt-in for Autopay. No other CTA available :( I wonder if such desperation to squeeze and trap every penny out of each customer comes to compensate for a lack of quality product/content?

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Hey PMs, Zepto added Vicks Drops to carts for free. But why? 🤔 The Cart Product Manager at Zepto must have targeted the below metrics 👇 1. Customer Retention & Loyalty: Free samples enhance shopping experiences, fostering repeat purchases. 2. Average Order Value (AOV): Increased perceived value nudges customers to add more items. 3. Conversion Rate: Free items can push hesitant shoppers to complete purchases. 4. Product Awareness: Introduces new products cost-effectively. Why it Works: 1. Promotional Partnerships: Leveraging brand collaborations to add value. 2. User Engagement: Surprising customers with freebies creates positive experiences. 3. Inventory Management: Efficient way to clear stock and promote new items. Kindly ensure it enhances user experience without being intrusive. 📈 What's the takeaway for you ? Let's discuss! Have you implemented similar strategies? Share your thoughts! 💬👇 #ProductManagement #Ecommerce #CustomerExperience #GrowthHacking #Metrics #UserEngagement

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How did i crack one of the leading OTT platform for product role (but joined an PropTech later as CPO) CPO : Sanket, I give you 10 minutes. How do you make us grow & successful in 5 simple steps. Tell us all you would plan, strategise & execute. Me : Sure. I would follow data funnel in below 5 steps : Visits : People hitting landing page or mobile app screen Signups : The number of people who sign up (create account) Value Generation : The number of people who do the thing the product was made for Retention : The number of people who then subsequently come back & do that valuable thing again Spread the product (Virality) : The number of people who want other people to know about your product (Sharing, Word-of-mouth, Sales/Subscription etc) CPO : Lovely ! Its tough to explain something with this ease ! Now lets talk about culture here. You would love working here. What matters is the basics. You should deeply understand what exactly the company wants user to do. Once that is clear, then working backward will help a ton to the team ! #startup #leader #product

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🚀 Porter’s New User Feedback Initiative! 🚀 I use Porter daily to get my afternoon tiffin delivered at my office from home 🍱, I recently noticed a new trend! Porter now asks users a few quick questions during the booking process. So, what’s the #impact of this seemingly small change? 1️⃣ Enhanced Product Decision-Making: By asking if a user is a “Business Owner” or “Employee,” Porter gathers valuable insights into user personas. This helps them tailor services and offers, prioritize features, and optimize the booking flow for different user types. 2️⃣ Data-Driven Analysis: With these insights, Porter can analyze patterns in user behavior, peak usage times, and specific needs. This data can guide targeted marketing campaigns, resource allocation, and product updates, leading to a more personalized user experience. 📊 3️⃣ Potential Improvements: Imagine a personalized onboarding screen where Porter recognizes your preferences based on past interactions. Or, they could add suggestions based on role—for instance, recommending bulk booking options for business owners. Quick Feedback : - User feedback can be more engaging using emojis, sliders, star ratings, more options to choose etc.. - It would be great to see a nice UI for the same that looks more appealing. 👉 Porter’s proactive approach to understanding users' needs directly impacts user satisfaction, retention, and growth! 💼 Join my video based “Feature Breakdown” group now on Genuin !! : https://lnkd.in/d2yqwZne #ProductManagement #FeatureBreakdown #LogisticsTech #DataDriven #porter #featurebreakdown #userfeedback

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To those claiming Zomato is favoring only wealthy candidates I respectfully disagree Paying the amount shows commitment It reflects that you are invested in the opportunity for the long term Someone who has paid 20L is highly unlikely to leave the company midway. This makes it an effective way to filter candidates for Chief of Staff role. PS : I know people who weren’t financially well-off but took significant educational loans because they believed in the ROI. In many ways, the knowledge and experience by working with Deepinder Goyal may surpass what any MBA program can provide. #Zomato

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