Bending the universe in your favor | Claire Vo (LaunchDarkly, Color, Optimizely, ChatPRD)

Claire Vo is the chief product officer at LaunchDarkly and the founder of ChatPRD, likely the most popular PM-specific AI product out there. Before LaunchDarkly, she was a longtime chief product officer at Color and Optimizely. Claire has founded and managed two other companies, Pretty HQ and Experiment Engine, the latter of which Optimizely acquired in 2017. In our conversation, we discuss:
• Knowing what you want in your career and being clear about it
• Finding your zone of genius and how to operate within it
• How to maintain a fast pace in larger companies
• How to make it easy for your boss to help you achieve your goals
• Advice for navigating the tech industry as a woman
• The role of a CPTO and the benefits it brings to organizations
• Why she built ChatPRD
• Tips for building your own AI tools
• The impact of AI on product management and what skills will continue to be important
-
Brought to you by:
• Orb-The flexible billing engine for modern pricing: www.withorb.com/lenny
• Dovetail-Bring your customer into every decision: dovetailapp.com/lenny
• Vanta-Automate compliance. Simplify security: vanta.com/lenny
Find the full transcript at: www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/be...
Where to find Claire Vo:
• X: / clairevo
• LinkedIn: / clairevo
• TikTok: / chiefproductofficer
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: / lennysan
• LinkedIn: / lennyrachitsky
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Claire’s background
(04:50) How to achieve career progression
(10:11) Avoiding promotion obsession
(13:50) How Claire stepped into leadership roles
(17:24) Operating in your zone of genius
(23:03) How to maintain a fast pace
(27:46) Setting a high bar for quality and talent
(29:54) Normalizing feedback
(33:09) Being a woman in tech
(47:09) The role of a CPTO
(54:19) Building ChatPRD
(59:39) Tips for building a GPT
(01:02:27) The impact of AI on product management
(01:08:08) How AI is changing the product management role
(01:14:36) Efficiency gains with ChatPRD
(01:16:39) Contrarian corner: sales-led product organizations
(01:20:11) Lightning round
Referenced:
• LaunchDarkly: launchdarkly.com/
• Define your zone of genius: Laura Garnett at TEDxMillRiver: • Define your zone of ge...
• Energy Audit: beta.mocharymethod.com/blog-p...
• How to fire people with grace, work through fear, and nurture innovation | Matt Mochary: www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/...
• Radical Candor: From theory to practice with author Kim Scott: www.lennyspodcast.com/radical...
• Optimizely: www.optimizely.com/
• GitLab: about.gitlab.com/
• ChatPRD: www.chatprd.ai/
• You should be playing with GPTs at work: www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/yo...
• SpaceX’s Starship: www.spacex.com/vehicles/stars...
• GitHub Copilot: github.com/features/copilot
• Product management theater | Marty Cagan (Silicon Valley Product Group): www.lennyspodcast.com/product...
• High Growth Handbook: Scaling Startups from 10 to 10,000 People: www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Ha...
• Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building: www.amazon.com/Scaling-People...
• Stripe Press: press.stripe.com/
• Circe: www.amazon.com/Circe-Madeline...
• Poor Things: www.imdb.com/title/tt14230458/
• Mythic Quest on AppleTV+: tv.apple.com/us/show/mythic-q...
• Silicon Valley on HBO: www.hbo.com/silicon-valley
• Chrysler Pacifica: www.chrysler.com/pacifica.html
• Waymo: waymo.com/
Production and marketing by penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [e-mail].
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

[@BretGregory]

This interview with Claire inspired me to give necessary feedback to a team member. “ clarity is kindness” is a terrific mantra. It’s all too often in our organizations we are afraid to let someone know when they’re not doing a good job. Sharing that you believe in them and their ability to do a good job is such a great communication tool. What a great interview.

[@leadgenjay]

Great insights on finding your zone of genius and operating within it. For entrepreneurs, remember that your unique value proposition isn't just your product, it's also how you solve problems. Keep refining that skill and it'll pay dividends in negotiations and sales, beyond just product development.

[@aminzakariah2891]

Great interview! Biggest takeaway for a upcoming senior PO was 5min~13min for anyone out there listening. Rest is just as good but really needed it

[@TorchFront]

This video was so incredible that I watched it twice. This video was so incredible that I watched it twice. My main takeaway from this video is that clarity and commitment to speedy shipping of quality products move the needle forward.

[@Dave-Goodwin]

Really enjoyed this interview and impressed with my PRD courtesy of ChatPRD. Thanks Claire and Lenny.

[@Diundrel]

I love this Lenny! I'm completely mesmerized by her.

[@RVerma90]

Thanks Lenny, really enjoyed this interview!! Your channel is incredibly 🙏

[@CalculatorCulture]

I found this interview really inspiring and insightful. It was a great discussion about the strategy of org design and role shaping as a way to progress your career. We are too passive sometimes waiting around for the right roles to open up. Role shaping is also great way to get into product management from adjacent roles like engineering or design. Claire is clearly a polymath (like many product folks) and I loved the discussion of not limiting ourselves to our lane. Also yes more IC product career ladders - we don't all aspire to be a manager of product managers.

[@mhauzeur]

I totally agree about PMs going right or left, depending on desired goals, company and product!

[@speavey11]

This was the most validating thing I have ever seen. **Gratitude emoji**

[@KuberJain]

What an amazing interview!! So many great insights.. Thank you!

[@makerphin]

Amazing learnings, definitely one of my fav so far! As a technical product leader, CTPO is an amazing analogy

[@kahvyuhh]

great interview with a wonderful person!

[@clairevo]

❤

[@vixsheikh]

Claire is a gem

[@clairevo]

Aw thanks ❤

[@hrahman3123]

Great interview! Followed her on her socials to continue the learning 🙏

[@clairevo]

Thanks!

[@jessejames6216]

Outstanding content 🎉❤

[@SujuKrishnan]

Another gem

[@chan90s]

I was a beta tester for cruise and I must say that waymo is 100,x better

[@pinth]

I want to find her zone of genius.

[@SteveM2288]

I LOVED this ep. Who knows what Claire said at 12:00? the caption just says "inaudible" :(

[@LennysPodcast]

She says "post ZIRP" referring to the ZIRP (zero interest-rate policy) era