109. Roshan Gupta: from MIT to Google, the importance of storytelling and the future of tech

In this episode, João was speaking to Roshan Gupta, Group Product Manager at Google. Roshan has an extensive experience in the software industry, having started as Software Engineer and now working in Product for the past 15 years. After graduating from MIT, he has worked in companies like Oracle, Yahoo, Facebook and Google. Besides being a successful PM, Roshan is also a father, a traveller, and a passionate storyteller. Time notes: [0:15] Introduction of Roshan [0:55] The story of moving to Lisbon from the USA, travelling with kids and falling in love with Portugal [5:53] Portuguese tech and startup ecosystem  [8:00] Ambitions and a master plan for the career [12:28] Experience of working in software engineering and lessons learner [16:00] Going back to study after starting the career and different perspectives [18:00] Job at Oracle and difference with the first job experience. [22:40] Evolution of work in a team and involving everyone in the decision making [24:58] Growing the passion for product management while still working on software engineering [29:25] Learning to become a good PM and defining a product manager role [39:00] Dividing time for different roles of product manager [48:28] Balancing being available with managing to do everything there is to do [52:44] What influenced the change of companies and marriage [57:00] The impact of organisational changes on day-to-day work in teams  [01:12:18] Moving from Facebook to Google and learning from Marc Zuckerberg [01:21:30] The most inspiring leader was the first manager at Zaplet   [01:24:00] Built teams as the best achievement of being a product manager and being an umbrella for the team [01:01:53] Landing job at Facebook and doing the homework before approaching them [01:29:50] Dealing with ambiguity and developing comfort around it [01:34:55] The innovation that will come to life that people are not ready to see, fearing innovation and the future of Metaverse  [01:45:05] The best and the worst innovation is the internet  [01:47:30] Importance of networking as a PM  [01:49:50] A skill that no one teaches us is how to frame and create a story as a storyteller [01:50:57] Coffee meeting with historical figures would be with Benjamin Franklin or Leonardo da Vinci  [01:54:45] Recommendations PRODUCTION This podcast was hosted by João Moita from Product Weekend, with sound edited by Miguel Sousa and production help by Productized, André Marquet and Evelina Bogdiun.