David Lieb: How I Founded Google Photos & Bump; Why I Left Google | 20VC #927
37David Lieb is one of the product OGs of the last decade. As the founder of Bump, David pioneered how over 150M users shared data, contacts and more before the company was acquired by Google. At Google, David took this one step further by creating Google Photos, which he has led with immense success for the last 9 years. In the last few weeks, David announced his latest move, to join Y Combinator, one of the worldโs leading accelerators as a Partner. If that was not enough, David also has a stellar angel portfolio with the likes of Rippling, Flexport, Tally, Maven and many more.
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Timestamps:
00:00 How did you come to lead Google Photos?
02:16 Lessons from founding Bump
03:30 Advice to founders on letting go
04:35 When do you know you have product-market fit?
06:22 Why did you sell Bump?
08:11 What made Google Photos a success?
10:40 Why did you decide to leave Google?
13:15 Is product more art than science?
17:05 Can you trust your gut?
18:40 How Google Photos instilled trust
20:50 How to listen to customer feedback
23:35 Data vs feedback
24:45 Cohort retention curve
26:48 What are good retention numbers?
34:05 How do you create a culture of product obsession?
36:35 How do you hire your product team?
39:15 When do you bring in a CPO?
46:43 Difference between good and great PMs
49:44 Product reviews
52:18 How to make employees comfortable to speak?
55:28 Where do people go wrong with product reviews?
58:08 How has angel investing changed your thinking?
1:01:25 How to judge founders that are technical?
1:03:24 Did you really get fired from Google twice?
1:05:15 Do you still have a chip on your shoulder?
1:06:19 Which product leader do you most admire?
1:06:46 Advice for new product leader
1:07:08 What would you like to change about the world of product?
1:07:43 Most impressive recent product strategy
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In Todayโs Episode with David Lieb We Discuss:
1.) Entry into Product:
How did an idea at business school turn into Bump and ultimately the creation of Google Photos?
What are the single biggest mistakes David made with the early Bump product?
What does David know now that he wishes he had known at the start of Bump?
2.) Scaling the Team Alongside the Product:
What is product-market-fit to David? What is it not?
What are the single biggest mistakes founders make when they think they have it?
What should founders do first and most importantly, when they do have it?
Why does David believe individual user data is more important than relying on data?
3.) Product: Art or Science:
Why does the description we have for product managers need to change?
How does David determine when to act on customer feedback vs stick to the current product plan?
What is the right way to do customer discovery? What questions are best to ask? Where do founders make the biggest mistakes in customer discovery?
Ultimately, is product more art or science? Is this changing with ever-increasing data?
4.) Product: The Process:
How does David conduct product reviews?
What are the biggest mistakes founders and product leaders make when managing product reviews?
Who is invited? Who sets the agenda? Who determines who is accountable for what?
How do product reviews change in a world of Zoom? What is better? What is worse?
What can product leaders do to build culture in remote worlds?
How can product leaders make everyone feel safe and comfortable to share how they feel, regardless of seniority, in product reviews?
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