Rocketship.fm

The Final Episode of Rocketship.FM (for now)

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After more than a decade of stories, insights, and interviews from the world of tech, this is the final episode of Rocketship.FM… at least for now. ...

John Madden: The Unexpected Product Mind Behind a $4 Billion Franchise -- Looking Back

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You know the name. You’ve probably heard the iconic 16-bit theme. But what you might not know is that legendary football coach and broadcaster John ...

Swing and a Miss: The Curious Case of the Mickey Mantle NFT -- Looking Back

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In early 2022, the hype around NFTs was at its peak, and Mike Belsito found himself caught up in the frenzy—so much so that he and a lifelong friend...

The Psychology of Failure: Why It Haunts Us & How to Move Forward -- Looking Back

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Failure isn’t just a headline—it’s deeply personal. In this special re-release of one of our most powerful episodes, we explore the emotional to...

Meta’s ‘Low Performer’ Purge: Pink Slips, Receipts, and the Stack-Ranking Revival

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In early February 2025, Meta slashed 5% of its workforce—about 3,600 people—calling it a purge of “low performers” to sharpen up for an “int...

Elon Musk vs. Sam Altman: The AI Rivalry Shaping the Future

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk and Sam Altman—once allies in the quest for AI advancement—are now at the center of one of the biggest tech rivalries of our time. From ...

AI’s Sputnik Moment? How DeepSeek is Shaking Up the AI Race

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

January 25, 2025, may go down as a pivotal moment in the AI race. Chinese AI company DeepSeek launched its latest model—one that rivals OpenAI and A...

OpenAI’s 2025 Roadmap: Smarter AI, Agents, and… Humanoid Robots?

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

OpenAI is pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence yet again. In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we break down what Chief Product Officer Kevi...

Project Stargate: The $500 Billion AI Bet Today's Tech Titans are Taking

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we dive into one of the boldest AI initiatives ever announced: Project Stargate. Backed by tech giants like OpenAI, ...

TikTok’s Tipping Point: The Ban, the Backlash, and the Battle Ahead

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito dives into the story that’s shaking up the tech world: the TikTok ban in the United States. With...

Meta’s Bold Move: The End of Content Moderation as We Know It

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Meta is making waves in 2025 with a decision that’s turning heads across the tech world. Mark Zuckerberg announced the end of traditional content mo...

Delight: Building Emotional Connections in Products with Nesrine Changuel

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito sits down with Nesrine Changuel, a seasoned product manager with an impressive track record at Spo...

2025 Tech Predictions: AI, Jobs, and the Future of Social Media

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we look ahead to the pivotal trends set to shape the tech world in 2025. From the continued evolution of AI in redef...

Defining Moments: The Top Stories In Tech That Defined 2024

26 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From groundbreaking innovations to industry-shaking controversies, 2024 was a year that kept us on our toes in tech. In this episode of Rocketship.FM,...

From Individual Contributor to Manager: Mastering the Leap with Spotify's Melika Hope

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Melika Hope, Director of Product at Spotify, shares her candid journey of navigating this leap and provides actionable insights for a...

Foundations of Product Management: Navigating the Early Challenges

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we flip the script as Mike Belsito, Co-Founder of Product Collective, takes the guest seat to share his journey from...

Impact-First Product Teams: Aligning Goals with Business Success

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean to lead with impact in a world of uncertainty, ambiguity, and endless best practices? In this compelling episode of Rocketship.FM, w...

The Perfect Product Sales Pitch with April Dunford: A Primer for Product People

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, world-renowned positioning and marketing expert April Dunford joins us to share her insights on crafting sales pitch...

Mastering SaaS Pricing: A deep dive with Bill Wilson of Pace Pricing

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we tackle one of the most critical and overlooked elements of the product marketing mix: pricing. Joining us is Bill...

Understanding Product Operations with Jenny Wanger: From Strategy to Best Practices

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we dive into the world of Product Operations with Jenny Wanger, an expert in product ops coaching for product leader...

Returning to the Rocketship: Michael Sacca's Vision for Leadpages

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode of Rocketship.FM, we welcome back the podcast’s original founder, Michael Sacca, for a unique and insightful conversation. R...

Building an AI Storytelling Powerhouse: The Origin Story of Narratize

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito sits down with Katie Trauth Taylor, Founder and CEO of Narratize, to explore the journey behind cr...

Product Discovery in the Real World: Lessons from The New York Times, Citi, and LinkedIn

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Mike Belsito sits down with Dan Blumberg, founder of Modern Product Minds and former product leader at The New York Times, LinkedIn, ...

Leveling Up: How Product Collective's Pendo Acquisition Amplifies the Product Community

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this revealing episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito pulls back the curtain on a significant milestone: Product Collective's acquisition by P...

The Rise of the Fractional CPO: Scaling Product Leadership in Early-Stage Startups

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the fast-paced world of tech startups, product leadership is crucial—but when is the right time to bring on a full-time Chief Product Officer? Th...

AI Meets Product Management: Insights from INDUSTRY: The Product Conference

03 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this unique episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito explores the cutting-edge intersection of AI and product management. The show kicks off wit...

The Most Common Product Strategy Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them)

26 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito dives into the common mistakes product managers and leaders make when developing product strategie...

Going Beyond Usage Metrics to Measure Real Product Impact

19 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we dive deep into the world of evidence-based product development with Connor Joyce, author of "Bridging Intention t...

Mastering Internal Partnerships: The Hidden Skill of Great Product Managers

12 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we dive into an often overlooked but crucial aspect of product management: working effectively with internal partner...

The Findaway Journey: From Startup to Spotify Acquisition

05 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we dive deep into the inspiring story of Findaway, a Cleveland-based tech company that went from a small startup to ...

Superhuman's AI Revolution: How Superhuman Transformed Email with Artificial Intelligence

29 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this captivating episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito sits down with Rahul Vohra, founder and CEO of Superhuman, to explore the company's gr...

Never Search Alone: Mastering your Product Job Hunt in 2024

22 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.fm, host Mike Belsito dives deep into the challenging world of tech job hunting with Phyl Terry, author of "Never Search...

Mastering Stakeholder Management as a Product Manager / Product Leader

15 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this insightful episode of Rocketship.fm, host Mike Belsito sits down with Bruce McCarthy and Melissa Appel, co-authors of "Aligned: Stakeholder Ma...

From Meta to Founder: Navigating Product Management Across Tech Landscapes

08 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, host Mike Belsito sits down with Elliott Poppel, a product leader who's experienced both sides of the tech world - from managing prod...

Pay Once, Own Forever: How Jason Fried and 37 Signals is Challenging SaaS with the 'Once' Model

01 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this eye-opening episode, Mike Belsito sits down with Jason Fried, CEO of 37 Signals, to discuss their revolutionary "Once" family of products. Fri...

The Great CrowdStrike Crash of 2024: Lessons from a Digital Disaster

25 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, we dive deep into one of the most monumental tech failures in recent history - the CrowdStrike glitch that brought t...

The Art of Influencing Without Authority (And Wisdom from Ancient Eastern Sages)

18 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito talks through the crucial skill of leading without authority with guest Jocelyn Davis, author of T...

Move Fast and Build AI -- The AI Story of Amplitude As Told By Its CPO

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito explores the rapid evolution of AI in product development through an engaging conversation with Fr...

Proactively Advancing Your Product Management Career

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito dives into essential career advice for product managers, featuring insights from Jackie Bavaro, co...

The 2024 Summer Edition of Shopify - A Brand New Product Launch

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.FM, host Mike Belsito takes listeners behind the scenes of Shopify's latest product launch. Featuring an exclusive inter...

Getting Started with Jobs-to-be-Done: Understanding the Lingo, Interviewing Customers, and more

20 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Mike Belsito sits down with Bob Moesta, one of the early pioneers of the Jobs to Be Done framework, to dive deep into what Jobs to Be...

Timeless Advice for Product Managers Working in Tech

13 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, longtime former Google product leader and current Executive Coach to Product Leaders, Ken Norton, shares his wisdom and insights, off...

The Origin Story of DoWhatWorks and its SaaS Experimentation Engine

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we hear the origin story of DoWhatWorks from it's Co-Founder and CEO, Andres Glusman. The conversation unravels the journey from init...

The Inside Story: TurboTax PersonalPro's Initial Failure

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In November 2014, Brian Crofts prepared for a crucial meeting with two top-level executives at Intuit. One was CeCe Morken, his boss, overseeing Intui...

Building Pendo: The Early Struggles & Eventual Strategy for Success

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You will be treated to the fascinating beginnings of Pendo, a product experience platform company now valued at over two and a half billion dollars. W...

Product Market Fit: A Deep Dive

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.fm, hosts Michael Sacca and Mike Belsito take listeners through an in-depth examination of the pivotal business concept ...

TikTok on the Chopping Block: The TikTok Controversy in the United States

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Are you keeping up with the TikTok saga? The tides are shifting yet again, and this time the app faces a significant crossroad in the United States. J...

The Sprig Journey to Product Market Fit plus Tech Industry Insights

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Michael Sacca and Michael Belsito drop some major news before diving into the latest developments in the AI space. They discuss the t...

Looking back on our 2023 Predictions

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, join us as we revisit the predictions made last year and assess their impact on the tech landscape. The forecast of an impending rece...

From Concept to Market: The PMF Journey of Dagster

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On todays episdoe we discuss Dagster, a data orchestration platform developed by Dagster Labs, founded by Nick Schrock in 2018. Schrock, known for co-...

Beyond Sight: Unpacking the Apple Vision Pro

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Belsito and Michael Sacca reflect on the common occurrence in the consumer tech industry where new competitor products emerge to overshadow origi...

Streamlining Workflows: The Asana Automation Journey

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today, hosts Michael Sacca and Mike Belsito dive into the intricacies of a product that has sparked both admiration and frustration among its users: A...

Biden's Robo Call + The best of CES

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tune in to the latest episode of Rocketship.FM as hosts Mike Belsito and Michael Sacca dive into the exciting world of tech products and innovations. ...

The Story Behind Andrew Wilkinson's Flow App

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The podcast episode discusses Andrew Wilkinson's entrepreneurial journey, particularly focusing on his founding of the company Flow, a task tracking a...

📰 Invision, Pitch & CPTO's + 👩🏼‍💻 Navigating the Evolving Landscape of Product Operations with Melissa Perri and Denise Tilles

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the first episode of 2024, hosts Mike Belsito and Michael Sacca kick off the new year with a fresh format. Introducing a segment on Product News an...

Stop that A/B Test (and do this instead)

28 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today we talk with Ben Foster the Chief Product Officer at GoCanvas and former product manager at Ebay. Ben is a wealth of Product knowledge and exper...

Playing Cards to Super Mario: The Evolution of Nintendo

26 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The history of Nintendo traces back to 1889, when it was founded to produce handmade hanafuda. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (任天堂株式会社, Ninte...

Gimlet Unplugged: A Deep Dive into the World's Premier Podcast Powerhouse

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From his first awkward pitch to investor Chris Sacca, to their acquisition by Spotify, Alex Blumburg has built one of the most influential companies w...

From Playdates to Pixels: Debunking the Phone for Kids Debate

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike's in a bit of a predicament. His 10-year-old son is asking for a phone. But like many parents, Mike isn't sure when the right time is to get his ...

Ink vs. Algorithm: The Writer Strike Dilemma

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Join us as we explore the intricate relationship between human authors and AI content generation. We'll navigate the complexities of this debate at th...

e/acc: Can a meme pave the way to a utopian society?

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Effective Accelerationism, abbreviated as e/acc, represents a collection of ideas and practices geared towards maximizing the likelihood of reaching t...

Bloomfilter: Raising capital in a downturn

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bloomfilter is a process intelligence platform for software development. Their whole mission is built on the belief that businesses rely on software d...

How tech products are funding North Korea's nuclear missile programs

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We delve into the shadowy world of cybercrime and international geopolitics as we unravel the Lazarus Project, a covert operation that has sent shockw...

Zoom Zombies No More: Surviving the Commuteocalypse

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we explore the highly anticipated return to the office and the ongoing debate about productivity. Is the office the ultimate producti...

Why Most Product Launches Fail

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Numerous factors can cause new products to fail. The biggest problem we’ve encountered is a lack of preparation: Companies are so focused on designi...

Will Robots Take Over The World?

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We delve into the world of humanoid robots, highlighting their journey from past disappointments to their current state of development. We'll discuss ...

Protocol Harmony: The Evolution of Instant Messaging from AIM to XMPP and Beyond

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dive into the fascinating world of instant messaging as we explore its evolution from the iconic AIM to the revolutionary XMPP protocol. Uncover the c...

The Complicated Rise of Sports Betting Apps

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sports betting apps have proliferated in the last year or two ever since it started to become legal across the United States. Today, we'll look into h...

The Blurred Lines between Jay-Z and your favorite LLM

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Open AI is buying up the rights to AP’s full catalog. But this move has been over 100 years in the making. Today we explore the history of the music...

Love The Problem

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode we change things up and take a look back at a conversation with Ash Maurya. What does it truly mean to 'love the problem, not t...

XXX - Musk's Magnum Opus

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In light of Twitter's recent rebrand to X, we dive into the history of Elon Musk's fascination with X branding. We trace X through Musk's history at P...

Is Threads the Twitter Killer? Or Is Threads Dying?

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meta is trying to offer a competitor to Twitter called Threads and it's grown at record-setting pace. But how is Threads as a product? Can it really u...

Building the future of fintech + Behinds the scenes at Figma with Adam Nash

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of Rocketship.fm, we delve into the extraordinary career of Adam Nash, the CEO and co-founder of Daffy, a groundbreaking fintech platf...

Musk vs Zuckerberg

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

By now, you may have heard that Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are planning to hit the ring for a fight for the ages. Today, we'll break down the histo...

Does AI Have a PR Problem? with Otto Pohl

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Join us on this thought-provoking podcast episode as we delve into the fascinating world of artificial intelligence (AI) and explore the burning quest...

Apple's "One More Thing"

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Steve Jobs made Apple famous for having "one more thing," a big surprise at the end of product announcements, like the iPod Touch and FaceTime. And no...

The People vs OpenAI

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

OpenAI is on their way to court, and while to some it may have seemed a matter of time until AI opened up new legal questions, the topics of the lawsu...

The humble beginnings of YCombinator

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Since its founding in 2005, YCombinator has helped startups like Airbnb, Coinbase, DoorDash, and many others find success. Today, we'll trace the acce...

ChatGPT Goes To School

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

ChatGPT has only been around for a short time, but it's already making waves in schools across the world. Today, we'll take a look at how students are...

Google vs. Calendly

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, Michael noticed that Google placed harsh limitations on third party calendar services within its own Google Calendar product, nearly causing...

Here Come the Food Robots

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Wendy's, Chipotle, and White Castle are all experimenting with food robots to help speed up their services. Today, we'll dive into how these robots fi...

Have the Humans Taken Back Control of AI? + Google’s Big AI Day

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode we delve into two significant developments in the world of Google. First, we explore the leaked "No Moat" memo that sent shockwaves th...

When Should Kids Get a Phone?

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike's in a bit of a predicament. His 10-year-old son is asking for a phone. But like many parents, Mike isn't sure when the right time is to get his ...

Are we gambling with our future? Common-sense AI regulations to save us from ourselves.

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the wake of rapid AI advancements, concerns over the regulation and ethical use of AI have become increasingly urgent. With the EU AI Act recently ...

How Google Fell Behind

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we delve into the history of Google's involvement in the AI race and explore the reasons behind why the tech giant fell behind its co...

Elon Musk's Twitter

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a few months since Elon Musk has taken over Twitter, and it hasn’t exactly been a quiet six months. Today, we'll break down all of the c...

The Psychology of Failure with Jerry Colonna (Rebroadcast)

13 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today we sit down with Jerry Colonna. Jerry is an American venture capitalist and professional coach who played a prominent part in the early developm...

The art of finding joy (The missing keynote from Industry Europe)

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Sacca, Former Chief Product Officer at Dribbble, gives a talk about his loss of joy in building products in the last few years. Misaligned KPI...

AI Is Having a Moment; Google’s Bard vs ChatGPT, Mozilla.ai

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this podcast episode, we delve into the exciting world of artificial intelligence and the recent developments in the field. We focus on three speci...

Silicon Valley Bank Tumbles

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In early March, Silicon Valley Bank found itself in the middle of a rapid collapse. Today, we'll dive into the history of Silicon Valley Bank, how it ...

The Future of Mobility

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we take a trip to Rotterdam, a large metropolitan city in the Netherlands that has taken steps in recent years to put itself at the forefront o...

The Art of Bouncing Back with Coach Dar

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

No matter who you are, what you do, or what precautions you take, life never goes as expected. Setbacks are guaranteed and, when they happen, getting ...

The “Peanut Butter Manifesto” – The Leaked Yahoo Memo

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Brad Garlinghouse, Yahoo! senior vice president, wrote an internal memo urging Yahoo! company, famously known as The “Peanut Butter Manifesto,” po...

Bing's Bizarre Chatbot

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we're back with yet another update on AI chat bots, as the New York Times' Kevin Roose had a pretty bizarre exchange with Bing's chat bot, ...

What happened to the NFT's?

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A lot has changed since our season on Web3. We've seen blue chip projects fade and valuations for NFT projects cascade. Today we'll look at why NFT va...

Leadership lessons from the locker room with ex-NFL player Matt Mayberry

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today, we’re going to hear from ex-NFL, now keynote speaker and culture leader Matt Mayberry as he delivers us some lessons from the locker room. Ma...

FAA Failure

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we're diving into the FAA glitch that caused all flights in the U.S. to be grounded. We'll breakdown exactly what happened, the importance ...

GPTZero - The Anti-ChatGPT

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

ChatGPT has the world buzzing, with everyone both excited and terrified for the future. But now there's a new entrant into the AI sphere, GPTZero, an ...

Predicting 2023: AI, Crypto, and Layoffs

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, reviewed our predictions from 2022 and how they faired. This week, we're going to look forward to 2023 and make predictions about the next ...

How accurate were our 2022 predictions? Web3, NFTs, quantum computing, SPAC's and more

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Happy New Year! We look back at our 2022 predictions and measure how we did against the reality that 2022 brought. We'll dig into how 2022 faired for ...