Untrapping Product Teams Podcast

About Untrapping Product Teams Podcast

Honest, unfiltered, real interviews with those brave to speak the truth. The participants are renowned experts from the product world who know what it takes to thrive. They share common mistakes, overlooked topics and real-world examples. No fluff, only real stuff. dpereira.substack.com (https://dpereira.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

David Pereira

Category

business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Apr 2024

Latest episode

20 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

34 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   20 Oct 2026

   Product Teams Went 20 Years Back With Melissa Appel

   Last year I met with Melissa Appel in at the Business of Software conference in Cambridge, UK. We both gave talks there and I have the pleasure of getting a signed copy of her book Aligned (https://www.alignedthebook.com/), which I’ve been recommending quite a lot. It’s a highly insightful book that helps product folks transform collaboration with stakeholders. Now, she’s working on a new book, which focuses on internal product teams. That’s an interesting topic, as teams start creating more and more tools for internal usage. And I don’t believe there’s a book covering this in-depth. Here’s an opportunity for you, Melissa is searching for people to interview, if you working with internal products, reach out to her (https://www.linkedin.com/in/melappel/). You both may benefit. Today, I encourage networking more than ever. I invited her to the Untrapping Product Teams podcast because she’s practical and hands-on. And that’s what you can expect from the 42-minutes conversation we had. What we cover: * What stays the same for product teams, no matter the tool * Why the PM role might split into product builders and strategy people * Just because you can doesn’t mean you should: the rate of change your customers can absorb * Building stakeholder relationships before you need them. Start with “I want to understand how you do your work” * What to do when leadership is aligned on the wrong thing: agree on what success looks like, then decide * Internal products: your customer can outrank you, and you can’t fire them * Why “requirement” is one of her least favorite words * The first habit a reactive team has to break: saying yes to everything * Whatever you tolerate becomes the norm, so explain the why behind your boundaries * AI will happily tell you selling sausages on the moon is a great business. Judgment is still your job. Listen to it to gain a handful number of hands-on insights. Let’s keep Untrapping Product Teams together. Talk soon, David Pereira100XPM Product Coach & Advisor (http://100xpm.com) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe (https://dpereira.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

2. 

   6 Oct 2026

   10X Code ≠ 10X Revenue With Rich Mironov

   Have you heard about rich mironov (https://substack.com/profile/10739353-rich-mironov) ? He’s been in product since 1987, a time where I can barely remember how it looked like to be at my mom’s uterus. Jokes aside, Rich is a real product executive coach who doesn’t hold back when it comes to doing what matters. I invited him to this podcast, and I decided to do something different. The premium subscribers of Untrapping Product Teams shared what they wanted to hear from him. I explored points like the following: * Everyone can prototype now, how do you actually prioritise what gets shipped to customers? * How do you help people understand that more code isn’t more value? * What does it look like money stories in reality? We explored that and much more in this episode. You will gain insights on how to influence decisions that truly matters instead of following what doesn’t. If anything, this is a wake up call for those ignoring the real challenges of create real impact. Listen to it to get insights that will work in reality, not just in Bobby’s Fantastic World. Here are a few relevant links about Rich Mironov. * Money Stories Book (https://www.amazon.com/Money-Stories-Communicating-Value-Product/dp/0986030325) * Substack (https://richmironov.substack.com/) * Website (http://www.mironov.com/) * Email: rich@mironov.com (mailto:rich@mironov.com) Let’s keep Untrapping Product Teams together. PS: Who would you like me to interview? And what do you expect to get from that? Write me, and I will do my best to make that happen. David Pereira 100XPM Product Coach & Advisor (http://100xpm.com) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe (https://dpereira.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

3. 

   23 Jul 2026

   Corruption Is The Real Name For It

   I became a PM first time in 2012, and I had no idea what I was doing for a few years. My way out came when I stumbled upon the Lean Startup book from Eric Ries. I got this book because a cousin of mine traveled to the USA and got it for me because it was available in Brazil back then. Today, more than a decade later, the book is with me in Germany with yellow pages. It remains highly relevant, especially when building is that “easy.” Now, you’ve got to pinch me. I’m still doing it, I had the chance of interviewing Eric Ries for this podcast. Lean Startup was about building products, and Incorruptible is about building companies. Marty Cagan just names the book of the year on his LinkedIn. (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cagan_great-products-bad-companies-silicon-valley-share-7477910237656559616-9lcV/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAb9BSUBSI510LmbH92K0qgwZ88PsAK3RvY) Everyone now wants to build something, and reading this book will help you understand how to build a company that survives our financial gravity, and mission corruption. Most people think a company gets worse because it gets disrupted. Eric Ries thinks that’s backwards. In this episode, for 40 minutes we talked about much of the concepts of his new book “Incorruptible: How Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great.” Let’s get into it. Why bother now If you’re building something right now, this episode is for you. Eric doesn’t do shortcuts or feel-good advice. He names what’s actually happening to companies once success arrives, and he shows you the structures that keep a company true to itself for decades. You’ll walk away asking one uncomfortable question about your own product: if it works, is it worth someone taking it over and ruining it? And have you done anything to stop that? Go listen. Then go look at your own cap table. Top 7 takeaways 1. Corruption is the honest wordWe call it mission drift, bureaucracy, enshittification. Eric says our grandparents had a sharper word for making money by draining value out of a company. As he puts it, “It’s so much easier to destroy than it is to create.” 2. A mission is not a mission statementWords on a wall protect nothing. A real mission shows up in the trade-offs people make when no manager is watching. Eric is blunt: “A mission statement is worthless.” What counts is values in action, built into the business model. 3. The culture bankEvery time someone defends the company’s values, that’s a deposit. Every shortcut is a withdrawal. Trustworthy companies pick the hard path on purpose. Eric’s rule: “We will never voluntarily make a withdrawal.” 4. These structures aren’t new, just hidden from youFounders ask Eric why they’ve never heard of mission-protective governance. The German company Zeiss had it in 1885. His answer cuts deep: “It’s not new, it’s just new to you.” Someone curated your awareness. Ask who, and why. 5. There’s never a convenient time, so do it nowEvery advisor tells you to keep it simple and add protections later. Later becomes never. Eric walks through the whole script, all the way to the IPO room, where the CFO finally says it’s too late. “It’s never the right time,” he says. That’s the point. 6. Harder is easierCostco runs its own hot dog factories to hold that price. Absurd amounts of extra work for the privilege of not gouging customers. But choosing the hard, principled path forces the creativity that makes everything else easier. Eric sums the whole book in two words: “Harder is easier.” 7. Ask if your success would be dangerousEric’s litmus test for founders is social media. Did it go well? Most say it was a disaster. So he asks: “Do you want it to go like social media went?” If your product would be valuable to steal and twist, have you built anything to stop that? How do you become impossible to ignore? Most product folks I know are sadly over relying on AI unchecked assumptions. They write great requirements, manage stakeholders, and beautifully curate their extensive backlog. Yet, they don’t own the decisions behind any of that, and cannot rally people to ship value continuously. I’ve just updated my 100XPM (https://100xpm.com) mastermind to give you the system most people lack. In this 3 weeks cohort, you’re getting an end to end product leadership operating system that helps you stand out. Apply now. (https://www.d-pereira.com/100x-pm) We will kick this off in August. And you’ll learn what it truly takes to become the Product Lead that ships value continuously, not just noise. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dpereira.substack.com/subscribe (https://dpereira.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

Podcast Authority Score: 17 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

35

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0