Women in Product Festival - Day 1 | Fireside Chat with Mithila Holla - VP of Product & Innovation
The Women in Product Festival is a series of events aimed at acknowledging and celebrating the contributions of women in driving innovation within the product industry.
The first event features Mithila Holla, the Vice President of Product & Innovation at Trinity Mobility. Pallavi Karan, a product owner at Phillips, serves as the session's moderator and expresses her delight in having Mithila join as a speaker to share her insights.
Mithila discusses her journey from starting as a software developer to transitioning into product management. She shares her initial exposure to customer insights, collaborating with development teams, and discovering the role of a product manager, which led her to pursue a career in product management.
Mithila reflects on the evolution of the field, noting the fusion of product and design, the increased emphasis on empathy and customer feedback, and the growing focus on hyper-personalization. She also highlights the differences in product management approaches between B2C and B2B contexts.
Mithila shares her experiences in leadership and offers insights on overcoming self-limiting beliefs, seeking help, and prioritization techniques. She emphasizes the importance of standing up for what is right and balancing urgency with importance.
The session concludes with Mithila's choice of products she would like to be—a software product like Spotify for its artist platform and a physical product like a Tesla car for its innovative approach. The floor is then opened for audience questions on topics such as designing for different geographies, feature prioritization, and sponsorship in career advancement.
Mithila provides insights on adapting products for specific markets, aligning features with customer needs, and the importance of demonstrating technological expertise combined with business.
Key Highlights:
00:00 Introduction
07:11 Product management has evolved from being technical to customer-centric
13:51 Customer-centric approach is key for B2B and B2C success
21:28 Importance of sponsors and self-limiting beliefs for women in leadership roles
25:46 Leadership requires tough calls and self-confidence
31:43 Lessons from trekking can be applied to product management
37:54 Product thinking varies by geography
00:48 B2G is a business to government process
50:18 Innovation cycles require a different process than regular R&D cycles.
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