33. Mastering Product Decisions with Napkin Math and Gaurav Hardikar
- 33. Mastering Product Decisions with Napkin Math and Gaurav Hardikar Estee Goldschmidt 38:57
Gaurav Discusses the Power of Napkin Math for Product Management
In this episode, Gaurav Hardikar, VP of Product at HomeLight, talks about his journey through the Real Estate and startup scenes at companies like Zillow, Trulia, and now Homelight. He dives into the concept of ‘Napkin Math’ for Product Managers, advocating for quick and efficient decision-making over extensive financial modeling. Gaurav explains how this approach informs product prioritization and testing hypotheses swiftly. He also discusses his course on Maven, which aims to equip PMs with actionable Growth strategies. Throughout the conversation, Gaurav emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and adapting new approaches within various business processes.
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:53 The Concept of Envelope Math
03:46 Practical Applications of Napkin Math
05:46 Failing Forward and Iterative Testing
06:25 Prioritizing Features and Roadmapping
12:17 Training and Mentoring Product Managers
15:19 Integrating AI in Business Processes
19:33 Collaboration with Engineering Teams
29:10 Course and Educational Initiatives
32:34 Lightning Round and Final Thoughts
Bio:
Gaurav is a Product Executive with over 10 years of experience building digital products. He started at Trulia and Zillow Group with a reach of 50MM+ monthly users, grew an established mobile commerce app (Shopkick), and helped take Brilliant Smart Home 0 to 1 across SaaS, embedded hardware, and mobile app platforms. He’s currently VP of Product, Consumer at HomeLight where he owns Product, Ops, and Growth.
Gaurav’s course – https://maven.com/insider-growth/pm-impact
Link to Gaurav’s original post that inspired this conversation: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ghardikar_as-a-product-manager-using-data-in-every-activity-7206363910474506242-BFxr
