Alfredo Riggio

Bending Spoons is on an acquisition spree. They've bought 7 companies in less than 2 years. Here's what you need to know ↓ ● Timeline of Bending Spoons' Acquisitions: ✓ Sep 2022: FiLMiC (video recording app) ✓ Nov 2022: Evernote (note-taking app) ✓ Jan 2024: Mosaic Group (mobile app developer) ✓ Jan 2024: Meetup (event organizing platform) ✓ Apr 2024: Hopin's video assets, including StreamYard ✓ Jul 2024: Issuu (digital publishing platform) ✱ Post-acquisition patterns: - Converting to subscription models - Relocating operations to Europe - Significant staff layoffs ✱ Strategy insights: - Rapid expansion into diverse digital markets - Focus on enhancing product offerings - Aggressive cost-cutting measures This acquisition strategy is reshaping Bending Spoons' position in the tech landscape. They're clearly aiming for market dominance across multiple app categories. But at what cost? The pattern of layoffs and relocations raises questions about their long-term vision and impact on acquired companies. What's your take on Bending Spoons' aggressive expansion? Brilliant strategy or cause for concern? ALWAYS MAKE PROGRESS ⤴ #bendinspoons #strategy

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You need to fall in love with the customers problem if you are early stage product manager or founder. I have heard hundreds of time this statement. And every time I tried to figure out what it means. In the recent interview with Lenny Rachitsky Uri Levine, co-founder of Waze emphasizes "If you're not passionate about the problem, even though the problem might be real and significant, there is not enough drive to take you through the hardship of the journey." These are my main insights from the interview helping to understand why product managers, founders must fell in love with the problem and how to build a profound passion and personal connection to the issue. Why You Need to Love the Users Problem? ✅ To stand “a roller coaster ride with sudden drops in frequency”. Loving a problem means that it originates from your own frustration and evokes a deep emotional response from you. Levine states, “What really bothers you is what you care about.” This aspiration is essential to sustain you during the inevitable ups and downs of the startup journey ✅ To develop deep empathy for this problem and bring the team together around it Falling in love with the user's problem is about more than just identifying a large market opportunity. It's about developing profound empathy with the pain points and struggles your target users face. Levine advises, "You need to engage everyone else to fall in love with the same problem, to go into this journey, into this path and follow your leadership.” How to “Fall in Love with the Problem”? 👥 Obsessively study and understand your users For founders and product managers who are in the Pre-PMF phase, loving a problem means diving into the world of your users. Observe and interact with them to understand their fears, frustrations, and obstacles. Levine emphasizes: "The most important part of understanding users is actually meeting them...... If you belong to one group, you can't understand the person in that group until you observe them." 🔍 Validate the Problem Through User Research 1. Conduct interviews with a diverse set of users. Aim for at least 20 conversations outside your immediate network to gain unbiased insights. "If you speak with a hundred people, but if you actually speak with 20 people that you don't know, you will get validated whether or not this problem is real." 2. Pay attention to the intensity of users' reactions. Strong emotional responses indicate a real, felt pain point. "If they tell you, 'No, no, no, no, no. This is not the problem. The problem is...' and they give you their description of the problem. This is something you really want to follow." 3. Reflect on your own experiences and frustrations. If the problem doesn't resonate with you, it will be challenging to stay motivated. "Something that really bothers you, something that you care about...the problem itself needs to start from you." Find more in carousel 👇

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Let’s say your product reaches 1M$ ARR. Does it mean you’ve achieved product-market fit? Well, not necessarily. It might indicate you’re on the right track (or the opposite). Why’s that? As OpenView points out, reaching this milestone can happen in various ways, and that can change completely the perspective on it: - How many paying customers do you have, and what’s their average spend? - What’s your customer acquisition cost? - How many deals came from your personal network? - And many more. All this to say: revenue growth alone doesn’t define product-market fit. Before claiming success, seek multiple validations. #productmanagement #productmarketfit #pmf

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My last post about "Content Quality: How Sentence Embeddings Can Save AI-Generated Content and some other concerns on AI: Environmental Impact, Job Loss" Initially, a legitimate question about how we fight #hallucinations in generative #AI? If the answer is way off the rails, how do we detect it? To answer that question, apparently it is possible to validate the output of an #LLM with the help of another #LLM. Preferably a Small Language Models (#SLMs) for example as it uses far fewer resources and need less computing power or with #NLP techniques. I act as a #quality control manager, giving a sentence fingerprint comparison between human created gold standard and generated output with an LLM. Embryo for a practical strategy on validating content generated by IA Along the way, I found a mixture of resources that feed the reflection on the impact of #AI both on ecology and on the labor market. Two major issues. After all, implementing AI is compatible with broader reflection. It is also a balancing act between implementing AI and its impact on ecology and on the labor market. Much more fun, like before, with #NotebookLLM, I made a #podcast of the #post, a good #summary, and an enjoyable way to dig a topic. Post: https://wp.me/p3Vuhl-3mv Podcast: https://lnkd.in/e6ra2cqs Code: https://shorturl.at/BbApo

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Bending Spoons/WeTransfer Short Case Study Yesterday, the Italian tech company known for developing mobile apps across various categories (e.g. video editing, fitness, productivity, etc.) acquired WeTransfer (A file-sharing service that allows users to transfer large files quickly and securely). Financial details were not disclosed. This acquisition is poised to bring exciting advancements and enhanced capabilities to WeTransfer’s robust file-sharing and collaboration platform. There is a lot of information regarding the European and US markets, as well as numbers and stats, that make it sensible to expand these locations and users. But as a product enthusiast and a WeTransfer user, especially when I had to share big files during my bachelor's degree - thank you guys - I was wondering: What's the biggest challenge they can face... in Brazil? It's time to blow my own horn and see if the WeTransfer Product Teams agree that taking a deeper look into the Brazilian market makes sense. The largest South American country presents a substantial opportunity for WeTransfer's expansion in South America. Here’s why: 1. Brazil has 8 million monthly active WeTransfer users out of 80 million monthly users worldwide. Do you think 10% of your customers regularly using your product is a good sign? 2. 25% of Brazilians work remotely at least part-time, driven by the pandemic and the subsequent shift in work culture. This trend continues to create a high demand for reliable, secure file-sharing solutions. 3. The global cloud storage market is projected to reach $137.3 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 21.3%. In Brazil, the projections say there will be an increase of 18.84%, representing almost $1.9 billion, in the same period. 4. With 82% of Brazilians having internet access, the country is well-positioned for digital solutions. This high connectivity supports the adoption of services like WeTransfer, which facilitates file sharing and collaboration. Based on that, I elicited three main strategic moves for WeTransfer in Brazil: - Localized Services: Offering localized support and language options to cater to the Brazilian audience. -> Only 5% of the population speaks English, so offering local language support is vital, even for quick usage. - Mobile Optimization: Ensuring optimal performance on mobile devices, considering Brazil's high mobile internet usage. -> Over 94% of the Brazilian online population uses the internet daily. - Targeted Marketing: Crafting campaigns that resonate with the local culture and highlight success stories from Brazilian users. -> Partnering with Brazilian influencers to promote WeTransfer’s functionalities. By leveraging these strategies, WeTransfer can tap into the burgeoning opportunities in Brazil and drive growth in South America. Any guesses? Did I miss something? Would you take any action to engage Brazilian users? #WeTransfer #ProductManagement #Brazil Good luck and congrats, Federico Simionato!

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🔗 Download the slides from the DOJ, super insightful (1st comment)

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📚 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 #1 📚 I can’t always just read novels, so in the last weeks, I’ve also been diving into some great reads about product discovery, UX, and people management. Have a look at my recommendations: 1. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀 by Teresa Torres Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) 𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥: 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. 𝗕𝘂𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸. • 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: A guide to implementing continuous discovery practices in your product development process. What does that actually mean? It provides a hands-on approach to uncovering opportunities during your discovery work, which will be key for your development and short-term strategy. • 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: This book is a masterclass in actionable advice. The examples are highly relevant and can be easily implemented in your daily work. The opportunity solution tree is a fantastic tool to use—one colleague even called it “the tree game.” I only wish there were more examples in the book. The Netflix focus is interesting but doesn’t always work for me. • 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳: Perfect mix of anecdotes and takeaways. 2. 𝗨𝗫 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 by Laura Klein Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4/5) 𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥: 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗨𝗫. • 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: This book covers the trifecta of UX: research, validation, and iteration. Laura Klein tackles all kinds of topics (MVPs, A/B tests, interviews, etc.) through numerous examples. It may not be ideal for seasoned UX designers or Product Managers with a knack for UX because much of it might already be known to them. • 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: This book is a toolbox for UX research and validation. It offers a thorough overview of all kinds of methods. For deep dives into specific topics, you might need additional resources—A/B testing alone could fill an entire book. • 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳: Very little fluff, sticking mostly to relevant UX advice you can actually use. And you better like sarcasm. 3. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝗸 by Clayton Christensen Score: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5) 𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘀 & 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀. • 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: The “Jobs to be Done” (JTBD) theory suggests that customers hire products to perform specific tasks. Christensen popularized this framework. This book helps you find the JTBD for your product and innovate in your business accordingly. • 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀: JTBD is legendary in product and marketing realms. The book’s stories, including the famous milkshake story, illustrate the concept well. Ultimately, it adds another tool to your design thinking arsenal. • 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳: Clayton Christensen’s academic background is evident. The JTBD concept could be conveyed in a much shorter format. There’s quite a bit of filler. What are your favorite PM books?

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Have you noticed how Meta is open sourcing their LLMs? And integrating with all their apps. So we can become even more passive consumers of their products. We already live in their products for large chunks of our waking lives. Now we are being presented with a constant stream of content. The need to even have users and sign ups suddenly doesn’t seem like the funnel for content. From UGC we will now live in AIGC parading as UGC. In and of itself this isn’t bad. This is definitely different. There is no equivalent yet in the real world. It will be when we have humanoid robots. Robots indistinguishable from a “person”. And online platforms will become the equivalent of imagination. Until now online platforms resembled conversation. But increasingly these platforms will just be a single player game. All you will do will interact with NPCs. NPCs all the way down. #npcs

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Apple's "Lookup" feature is already a fantastic tool, especially on the iPhone, for quickly finding the meaning of a word or facts about a phrase. But imagine if it could do even more. With the integration of Gen AI, Lookup could be taken to the next level—much like what tools like Perplexity or the new ChatGPT Search are doing. Here’s how it could work: with just a right-click or tap, users could access more detailed and contextual information from the web, complete with reference links. This would make Lookup not just a quick fact-checking tool but a powerful assistant for deeper learning and exploration. What do you think? Do you use the Lookup feature on your Mac or iPhone? Would you find these kinds of enhancements helpful?

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"How do we fall in love with digital products? 💡 In my latest Medium article, I explore the key aspects that AI product managers should focus on to captivate users—from design and problem-solving to the empathy and creativity of AI products. 🚀 Let’s talk about a digital product you love—can I guess why you’re attached to it? 😉 #ProductManagement #AI #Innovation #UserExperience #Empathy #DigitalAge #Her_Film #ArtificialIntelligence"

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Okay. Number 3 of my #growthchallenge was application to the Moscow Startup Ideas competition. I applied with just an idea, which is the earliest stage possible. And... with my FTE mindset it was super-challenging. Basically, my mind tried every trick to distract, demotivate and deviate (OMG, it's a 3Ds), while the application itself was a piece of cake. The application is a simple check of product management skills, i.e. product value, audience, market size, business model - we interact with those every day at work. And the idea and mechanic that I could finally see is quite simple and scalable and solves a social issue. I sent my application a week ago and I believe I have no chance to win, over team projects on MVP stage. I can do much better job when I don't fight these 3Ds, I could've done an MVP with a no-code app or invite my students to the team. But still it feels like a serios shift.

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Exciting News for the S+xTech World! 🚀✨ We’re thrilled to share that Apple and Google have just changed the game for sexual wellness and tech! 🎉📱 These new app store policies mean more freedom and visibility for s+xtech apps, which is a huge win for sexual health education and innovation. Why This Matters: 🌟 More access to educational content on sexual health and wellness 🌟 Easier discovery of sexual wellness apps in the App Store and Google Play 🌟 Authentic and responsible marketing opportunities for s+xtech companies What’s Next? ✔ Watch out for exciting new apps and resources that promote sexual health and pleasure ✔ Look forward to more educational and engaging content in the sexual wellness space ✔ Support and join the conversation to destigmatize and celebrate sexual health Let’s cheer on these changes and embrace the future of s+xtech together! 🌸💪 #SexualWellness #SxTech #AppStoreUpdate #InnovationInPleasure #SupportSxTech #orgasmqueen #liberatedgoddesssociety #selfcare #selflove

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According to Marty Cagan European companies are "addicted to process", which is a big barrier for doing proper product work. Here are some key points from Marty's talk that I personally found important: (1) Marty believes that real product work is about solving customer problems. The main negative character in Marty's world is feature teams—teams that just implement features following a roadmap someone else wrote, instead of engaging in product discovery. – You don’t want to be a feature team, do you? – Marty asks. According to him, teams should be actively searching for answers to questions like: → What problem should we be trying to solve? → How can we solve this problem? If you're just developing something, you’re not a product manager but a project manager at best, and you don't belong in the profession. In delivery, Marty values speed (in the spirit of CI/CD); he doesn’t see anything else as valuable or interesting. "Think about time to money, not time to market." (2) Marty strongly advocates for autonomous cross-functional teams that can quickly experiment with solutions to discovered problems. He believes that everyone on the team, including engineers, should be involved in product work. "We don’t hire great engineers to tell them what to do, we hire great engineers so they can show us what’s possible". (3) Marty views processes and frameworks as the main enemies of product thinking because they replace analysis and critical thinking. This is especially true for Agile; while the original principles are good, the way they're often implemented in practice tends to be just mindlessly following a prescribed process. (4) Instead of frameworks, Marty suggests a set of "first principles of product model", which you can interpret and practice to the extent of your understanding and talent. These principles are shown in a picture. (5) Lead with context, not control. To elaborate on this point, Marty shares a story of a product leader at Netflix. When his team started doing something weird, his first instinct was to fire everyone. But then he remembered that Netflix fires anyone whose performance is even slightly below "exceptional" every year. Then he realised that if a smart product person does something strange, it means he, as a leader, dropped the ball and didn't provide some crucial part of the context. So, he went to figure out what critical piece of knowledge the team was missing.

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This is very important work and is a great step forward towards reproducibility that is practical and actually easy

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PLG or SaaS benchmarks: Hot or not? “Your free-to-paid conversion rate should be between 8-12%” “20-40% of new users should reach their Aha moment” I’m grateful to have access to such benchmarks, but at the same time I struggle with them. SaaS is a software distribution model, PLG is a GTM or growth motion. Within these, there's wide a range of industries, a wide variety of target customers or ICPs, problems to solve, and so on, and so on. Just because two companies are both subscription- and cloud-based, and/or allow users to try before they buy, doesn’t mean they’re the same in any other way and should adhere to the same benchmarks. Just compare these two fictional companies: 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀𝗢𝗦’ targets large logistics companies. The problem they solve: Most shipping companies fail to fill up their containers to 100%, which is bad for their bottom line and the environment. LogisticsOS lets shipping companies share freight container utilization data in a secure manner, so that they can share containers without spilling the business beans. There’s a 30-day free trial and monthly cancellation. The largest chunk of their target audience is not using any solution to this problem - they simply leave their containers half-filled. A small portion is using an enterprise, on premises, yearly license fee software that helps them communicated to trusted partners only. PLG is groundbreaking. “𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆.𝗰𝗼𝗺” offers a cloud-based project management tool for event planners. Their target audience is currently using spreadsheets, Monday, Clickup, Asana, etc. to solve their problem. Tuesday stands out due to it’s vertical approach. For Tuesday, having a PLG motion is table stakes. Just like LogisticsOS, Tuesday offers a 30 day free trial and monthly cancellation. But that’s pretty much everything they have in common. Do we really expect the same benchmarks to be applicable to these two companies? —----- To reiterate - the benchmarks provided by for example Kyle Polar (PLG superhero!) can be extremely helpful. I especially use them when I’m joining a new company where the idea of measuring things is pretty much new, and we don’t have our own internal benchmarks to fall back on. But sometimes the lack of granularity of it all just makes me want to cry.

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So, you want to build a personal brand on LinkedIn? Very well, I've collected the best LinkedIn Gooroo advice (no one under 50k followers) for your education. So, let's don our digital masks and dance to the algorithm's tune. Here's what the gooroos tell you to do. 1. Do whatever it takes to get attention Pods, trolling, only slightly suggestive professional selfies? Why not? In a world where substance is secondary to appearance, why not become the most dazzling illusion? 2. Commodify Your Soul: Your experiences, skills, and identity are but raw materials. Refine them into a palatable product for mass consumption. Remember, you're no longer a mere mortal - you're a walking, talking billboard for "You™️". Those who refuse to become products are doomed to be consumed by those who do. 3. Point to Shiny Objects Observe the trending topics and regurgitate them with a thin veneer of personal insight. Your originality is a small price for the warm embrace of algorithmic approval. 4. Fake It Till You Make It (Then Keep Faking): Authenticity is overrated. Curate a persona of unwavering confidence and success. Your insecurities and failures are best left in the shadowy realm of "offline" - that quaint concept we've all but abandoned. 5. Quantify Your Worth: Measure your value in followers and engagement metrics. After all, if it can't be quantified, do you even matter? 6. Become a Human SEO Experiment: Stuff your profile with keywords like a digital foie gras. Then let the LinkedIn algorithm gorge itself on your optimized content, elevating you to the hallowed halls of Top Voice. 7. Embrace Your Own Planned Obsolescence: Trends are fickle friends. Be prepared to reinvent your brand with each pivot of the professional zeitgeist. Yesterday's "copywriter" is today's "crypto brand specialist" and tomorrow's "prompt engineer." 8. And for those who crave a final, biting piece of advice: Create a personal brand so compelling that you yourself begin to believe in it. In the end, isn't self-deception the highest form of marketing? The truth: With your relentless pursuit of standing out, you're conforming to the very system you seek to conquer. And in a world where everyone is building a "unique" personal brand, yours becomes nothing more than another brick in the wall of LinkedIn profiles. There's a better way. A way I have taught to the clients whose personal brands I manage and ghostwrite for. A way that increases revenue even if only starting with a small number of followers. A way Aaron Zakowski and I will soon be showing to a select group of current and future Linkedin thought leaders inside the "Genius Scouts Thought Leadership Academy." See the link in the comments to see if you qualify. 👍 to share My services #ghostwriting #personalbranding #guarillamarketing #marketing #advertising #copywriting #branding #consulting #coaching Yes, that me in the picture. Yes, I drew that.

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Companies put their most expensive resources on developing new features, but they cannot always accurately measure their impact. Either they run hashtag #ABtests which are super-expensive in terms of R&D, traffic, and time, and in many cases simply not feasible. Or, they proceed with the launch, tracking vanity metrics such as adoption and using misleading comparative methods, (before / after comparisons) hoping for “success.” 🤷‍♂️ In our latest Loops white paper, by Iyar Lin 💪 , we discuss a paradigm shift in approach. One that leverages causal inference models to measure impact of product releases. The approach has been proven to meet the gold standard of A/B testing, but with less traffic, time, and cost, and more than 90% matched as measured against real A/B tests. 🔥 It’s called Loops Release Impact. 🚀 #productanalytics #causalml

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Feedback Friday: Free yourself from false feedback! "Breaking news: Local product manager discovers one weird trick to avoid pointless feedback sessions! 🎉 -Step 1: Recognize when your feedback will be ignored -Step 2: Don't give it -Step 3: Enjoy your newfound free time Side effects may include reduced stress, fewer eye rolls, and a sudden urge to do something actually productive with your time. "We'll give feedback when it matters, and go for coffee when it doesn't." ☕#FeedbackFriday #WorkplaceHumor #ProductManagement"

Feedback Friday: Free yourself from false feedback! "Breaking news: Local product manager discovers one weird trick to avoid pointless feedback sessions! 🎉 -Step 1: Recognize when your feedback will be ignored -Step 2: Don't give it -Step 3: Enjoy your newfound free time Side effects may include reduced stress, fewer eye rolls, and a sudden urge to do something actually productive with your time. "We'll give feedback when it matters, and go for coffee when it doesn't." ☕#FeedbackFriday #WorkplaceHumor #ProductManagement"