Episode 202: Transforming Product Teams into Investment Partners with Fabrice des Mazery

Fabrice des Mazery, Chief Product Officer at productROI joins Melissa Perri on this episode of the Product Thinking podcast, to dive into transforming product managers' mindsets from builders to investors. Fabrice draws from his 22 years of experience, including his journey from a law student to a startup founder, and eventually becoming a product leader at major companies like TripAdvisor's TheFork.

Throughout the discussion, Fabrice shares his perspective on why product managers need to think like investors, focusing on ROI, payback periods, and risk assessment. He emphasizes the importance of moving beyond process frameworks and jargon to speak the language of business, helping stakeholders understand the value and risks of product investments. The conversation covers practical approaches to stakeholder management, building investment forums, and creating balanced product portfolios that consider both risk and return.

Want to learn how to transform your product organization from process-focused to investment-minded? Tune in to hear Fabrice's practical insights and strategies for becoming a more business-savvy product leader.

Fabrice emphasizes the importance of understanding the true cost of product development, using the example of a typical European team costing around 1 million euros annually. He stresses that product managers need to think about when they'll see returns on their investments and calculate the actual cost of features beyond just development time. This mindset shift helps teams make better decisions about resource allocation and prioritization.

Fabrice shares his approach to transforming demanding stakeholders into co-investors by leveraging loss aversion psychology. He explains how to position yourself as a financial advisor who assesses risks and helps stakeholders understand the full investment required, including go-to-market costs. This approach helps create shared accountability and better decision-making processes.

Drawing parallels with VC thinking, Fabrice outlines his framework for building a balanced product portfolio: 60-70% strategic investments aligned with OKRs, some low-hanging fruits for quick wins, and a few high-risk bets that could shape the company's future. He emphasizes the importance of matching investments with team risk tolerance and capabilities to prevent burnout and maintain sustainable growth.

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Previous guests include: Shruti Patel of US Bank, Steve Wilson of Contrast Security, Bethany Lyons of KAWA Analytics, Tanya Johnson Chief Product Officer at Auror, Tom Eisenmann of Harvard Business School, Stephanie Leue of Doodle, Jason Fried of 37signals, Hubert Palan of Productboard, Blake Samic of Stripe and Uber, Quincy Hunte of Amazon Web Services

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