Main takeaways: - "Growth mindset" is the single most important factor to make a transition to tech and entrepreneurship - Learn by creating an actual product: Think about the problem-solution space and try building a product, anything!, to get started - Building a good product is just the first step - hustle to find, acquire and convert your customers till you find the right strategy

1. www.productschool.com
MyMbaCircle Founders on What is the
Importance of Growth Mindset

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10. Nakul Gupta
&
Juan Pablo
TONIGHT’S SPEAKERS

11. 11
Agenda
1 About us
2 Why PM?
3 What does it take to be a great PM?
4 What we learnt from consulting and what we didn’t
5 Learning by creating a product: MyMBACirlce.com
6 Growth mindset: acquire and convert customers

12. • Management consultant at BCG
• Chief of Staff at VMock
• Strategy at Credit Karma
• Product Manager at Shipbob
• Co-founder of MyMBACircle
Nakul Gupta
12
Meet the speakers
Juan Pablo Easton
• Founder of SW Producciones
• Product Manager at Pinevent
• Management Consultant at BCG
• Product Manager at Google
• Co-founder of MyMBACircle
Tech Eng. / Booth MBA Booth MBA

13. 13
Let’s go back 2 years...
2 year back:
● Consultants
● Passionate about
technology
● Wanted to combine
Business & Tech
Product Manager was the ideal mix between business & technology

14. What does it take to be a Product Manager?
Customer
Obsession
Leadership
Structured approach
Analytical & Problem Solving
Skills
Technical Skills
Soft Skills Hard Skills
Creativity

15. 15
Is consulting completely different to PM?
V/S

16. 16
Launching a digital lending product for Uber drivers
To succeed:
● Structured approach
● Creative problem solving
● Effective communication
with all stakeholders

17. What consulting didn’t teach: how to breach those gaps
Soft Skills Hard Skills
17
Customer
Obsession
Leadership
Structured approach
Analytical & Problem Solving
Skills
Technical SkillsCreativity

18. 18
1- Get comfortable with the Data Journey
Data Analysis
Data
Extraction
Data
Visualization

19. 19
2- Don’t be afraid to ASK!

20. 20
3- Learn how to code!
Why coding:
● Move fast
● Gain credibility from engineers
● Better prioritize work & timelines

21. 21
To immerse ourselves in PM mindset it was crucial to build something
Always start with the problem space first, not the solution space!

22. 22
Application
Strategy
GMAT
Recommendations
Essays
Resume
Interviews
…and only a few have access to support
through the process
Our problem: The MBA application process is hard, long and daunting

23. 23
Key hypotheses of MyMBACircle.com
1. Applicants would trust and pay MBA
students for support
2. MBA students would be willing to help
people
3. CAC < LTV

24. Testing key Hypothesis with no product
24
You can validate few key hypothesis by just speaking to users first!

25. How to acquire customers? The customer journey
25
GMAT
School Research
Applications Interviews
Decision /
Negotiation
▪ What resources to
use to study?
▪ Hire a prep service or
not?
▪ ...
Key Customer
Decisions
▪ Which schools to apply
to?
▪ Method for research…
▪ ....
▪ What stories to tell
in essays?
▪ Who and how to ask for
letters of recs?
▪ ...
▪ What resources to use to
best prepare for interviews?
▪ ….
▪ How to choose
between schools?
▪ ...
▪ ...
Acquisition
Strategy
Partnerships ... Digital Marketing:
….
Content Marketing: ...
Digital Marketing:
… how to write good
essays, how to write a
MBA resume...
Content Marketing: Blogs
and posts about in …. about
...
Digital Marketing: MBA
applications researching for
interviews ….
Free add on services to
customers
Focus on higher LTV/CAC acquisition channels!
Business
Implications
High CAC
High LTV
...
Medium CAC
High LTV
...
Low CAC
Low LTV
Fast referral
Low CAC
Medium LTV
...
Sources of
information
GMAT CLUB
...
... ... ...Search engines
MBA Blogs/Forums

26. ● Candidates’ comfort with online
coaching is high
● Growing gig economy
● Digital platforms are
establishing trust in two-sided
marketplaces
Was this the right time for a platform?
26
Research market trends: you don’t want to be too early or too late

27. Source: Dan Olsen ‘Lean Product
Playbook”
Creating the product: the MVP
27
1
4
2
3B3A
Prioritization is key for performance benefits and delighters

28. Developing a great UI/UX is key!
28
1. Think mobile first
2. Make UI as simple as possible
3. UI/UX is expensive -> Do it yourself!
a. Check the best websites/apps and get ideas
b. Leverage free resources (e.g. Bootstrap)
c. Find UI/UX students to help you for free! (e.g designation.io)

29. Show content <3 secs:
1. Optimize files
2. Find a good server
3. Use CDN (if necessary)
4. Dividing page or Lazy loading
Don’t forget about loading speed!
29
Track your speed!!!

30. 30
Acquiring first paid customers - Hustle!
Go to forums, communities or even events - wherever the customer is!

31. How to grow the business with online marketing?
31
Track everything!
● Set up tracking systems
● Create tracking links
● Leverage available tools to
get insights from customers
Content MarketingSEOSEM

32. Developing partnerships to acquire customers
32

33. Acquisition is just the beginning of the customer journey...
Focus a lot on was retention and referral > these can lower CAC + build loops

34. What are growth loops and why are they so important?
More
Applicants
More Mentors Trust
High quality mentorship
Ratings
Virtual “Circle of Trust”
Only viral loops, paid marketing, and SEO can bring you real scale!
Source: Andrew Chen blogs

35. Only a few acquisition loops can really give you scale..
Source: Andrew Chen blogs

36. ● Shared passion for the
mission
● Diverse team with
complementary skill-set
● Get advisors early on!
Have Fun and invest time to know each other personally!
Build a team to last!
36

37. 37
Recap - key learnings
1 As you transition to PM think about transferable skills and the ones you need to develop
2 To immerse yourself into being a PM, build something!
3
Be lean: lay down key hypotheses and test them before investing in a product
4 Get customers fast and learn from them!
5 Keep a Growth mindset: think about loops that can help you scale
6 Enjoy your journey into Product!

38. www.productschool.com
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