Insight certainty 4/5 debate potential 2/5

Mehta: Senior big tech leaders rarely want to write code and specs

Ravi Mehta · How to build your product strategy stack | Ravi Mehta (Tinder, Facebook, Tripadvisor, Outpace) · Jan 19, 2023 · at 14:17

Ravi Mehta, former Tinder CPO and Outpace CEO, contrasts the hands-on generalist mindset of early-stage founders with specialized big tech leadership.

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“You're not going to find a lot of senior engineering leaders or senior product leaders that want to write codes and specs at big companies, but you will find those in those networks of people that are founders and that are interested in the earlier stage.”

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