Alok Dukle

You may like it or not, but politics are a part of the Product Management world. How can data-driven PMs drive their vision despite that? Let me tell you, initially in my career, I was almost allergic to politics. All I wanted to do was do my job to the best of my abilities and not care for other people's ambitions and egos. It took a little time until I fully understood that in most companies, there is simply no escaping this. If you want to be kept on the payroll and improve your product, you will have to be politically engaged on some level. So, how can we ensure our data-driven vision and discovery efforts are not trumped by someone else's personal goals? 𝟭) 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 Start with any PM should do, politics or otherwise. Be a charming, transparent, reliable, inspiring, and empathic leader and colleague. When people know and trust you, they're more likely to support your ideas and defend you from others' egoism. 𝟮) 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 Present your data and insights in a way that resonates with different audiences. Also, aim to say the right stuff, supported by data, to the right crowd at the right time via the right medium. In that case, lots of "rights" make an even greater right! Sidenote: Less is more in terms of clear comms :) Also, always focus on demonstrating tangible value for the clients. That can help overcome political obstacles. 𝟯) 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 You may be sick and tired of politics, but at the same time have some pet projects you'd like to push despite weak data backing or poor alignment with current goals. Police yourself in this regard, and you will have fewer angles of potential political attack open for your "opposition". 𝟰) 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗼 Sometimes, the best investment would be to simply do what you are asked. As long as it is sporadic and can win you allies long-term, it's a strategic move. Just keep the paper trail in case the request you took upon yourself backfires. 𝟱) 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 Once you build a set of allies and authority, use it to have a stronger voice in the room. In other words: Use politics to build the best product possible. Career growth and recognition will follow organically, and you don't need to change your career into a Product. 𝟲) 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 You may execute the previous 5 points flawlessly and still feel like everything is playing to office politics. Just stay strong, don't let it get to you, and be a beacon of reason and sound decisions. Hopefully, you will lead by example! So, do you have to struggle with politics at work? Sound off in the comments! #productmanagement #productmanager #officepolitics P.S. To become a Product Manager who can navigate politics while staying data-driven, be sure to check out my courses on www.drbartpm.com :)

832

35 Comments

Took another break from linkedIn to learn more on the product and customer discovery. I would like to share a glimpse of my learnings while delivering Shopify app demos to my ICP. 🔍 Believe Your customers - Customers know ahead of us. Customers give more ideas than what we planned or unexpected. You won the app idea validation if their ideas and yours match or focuses on same problem. 🛠️ Add those ideas to "Should-have" features that eventually shapes the right product for right problem of your ICP. Evolve with #productdiscovery. #buildinpublic #productdiscovery #customerdiscovery #productteams #productmarketing #mvp #product #saas #ecommerce #shopifyapps #merchantgrowth #shopifymerchants

14

3 Comments

Agilitas x Virat Kohli partnership is one of the masterstroke deals I have seen in recent times. Virat invests 40 CR in Agilitas for a 1.94% stake, putting Agilitas’s valuation around 2000 CR. 📈 In turn, Agilitas acquires one8world, making Virat a co-founder and shareholder. They now get two very important growth levers: ⬇️ 1. A powerful manufacturing (via Mochiko Shoes - a 600 CR+ footwear brand that Agilitas acquired in 2008 ), 2. India’s biggest athlete — exclusively aligned. Easily becomes a 4000 CR revenue brand in the next 5 years. Footwear + retail scale requires capital — but this partnership compresses customer acquisition, product cycles, and brand-building like few others. Even Virat said in his podcast with Abhishek Ganguly, the co-founder of Agilitas that, “I didn’t want a brand deal… I wanted to build something that outlives me.” And Abhishek said something even beautiful - “An ambition to build from India but be globally relevant.” This isn’t marketing. This is legacy building with shared skin in the game. And that is how startups work - shared ambition with one goal (to make the company big) and food (read stake) in the table for everyone! A company that can be built in the long term with culture, capital, and conviction aligned. This might be the first time in India, where an athlete joins hands with a sport company to re-imagine and build the sport ecosystem of India - truly revolutionalising the game with a clear vision. 🙌

374

58 Comments

𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐯𝐬. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐖𝐡𝐨’𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥? Layoffs. Restructures. AI. Automation. We talk about all of it. But the biggest disruptor? 👉 Your own limiting beliefs. A few months back, I started mentoring Sandeep , a professional with 20 years of experience in the manufacturing sector. He had just been laid off—completely out of the blue. Not because of poor performance. Just market cuts. At first, he panicked: “Maybe I’m too old to start over.” “Companies want younger, cheaper talent.” “No one hires someone at this salary band now.” “I’ll have to settle.” 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭: He didn’t rush to apply everywhere. He paused. Recalibrated. And made a powerful mindset shift. We worked together on: 🔹 Reframing his story from laid off to reinvented 🔹 Building visibility as a strategic leader, not just a domain expert 🔹 Connecting with industry leaders instead of just recruiters 🔹 Focusing on value creation, not job desperation 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴, 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮—𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵. Lesson? The market will test your skills. But it’s your mindset that decides whether you bounce or break. Mid-career isn’t a crisis. It’s a crossroad. You don’t need just a new job—you need a new lens. ___________ ✦ Follow me Shrijith Krishnan🥇for real talk on Growth & Leadership ✦ Join The Career Excellence League ✦ Repost if you know someone recently laid off—it might shift their thinking. #midcareer #layoffs #leadership ____________ 👉 𝘋𝘔 𝘮𝘦 “𝘙𝘌𝘚𝘌𝘛” 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭—𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭.

63

59 Comments

As quick commerce platforms aggressively expand their dark store networks, the question arises—can the model scale beyond 10,000 stores? Sajith Pai, Partner at Blume Ventures, believes that while tripling the current count over the next few years is feasible, surpassing 10,000 stores may be unsustainable. Blume Ventures Sajith Pai In a candid conversation with Outlook Business, Pai spoke about the ability of quick commerce platforms scale beyond metro cities, whether India is overbuilding dark store infrastructure and more (Link in comment)

37

3 Comments

Is the 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗚𝗣𝗧-𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 a boon for D2C or a bane for ecommerce 🤔 ? Last week, OpenAI announced partnership with Shopify and it is big ! Recently I was exploring to buy  a recliner : The search on Google was very cumbersome and had to lot of sponsored links and biased blogs from brands. And then I asked Chatgpt : Help me find a single seater recliner with more than 100 reviews and a budget of 30k. Compare the top 5 brands. Also help me how to go about deciding how to select. The results were amazing and ChatGPT can show you: → Blogs styles article written live . → Better product recommendations → Product images, prices, and reviews → Summarized customer and product reviews. → 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 — all 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 the conversation I am sure this is results before the partnership, but this will become 10x better. And none of this is ad-driven. These results are ranked based on usefulness, not who paid more. But now, you could be doing all of that by simply having a conversation. → “Best running shoes under ₹5,000” → “Compare Nike vs Adidas for walking” → “Where can I buy this at the lowest price?” Today most of the D2C companies are on Shopify and more are migrating from others to it. The commerce shopping happening on Shopify is astonishing : • 1 Trillion $ GMV crossed on Shopify merchants • ~ 900 Million shoppers have used brands built on Shopify • ~ 6 Million Active Stores on Shopify currently Honestly it seems Shopify is giving tough competition to the biggest marketplaces like Amazon. From app-based commerce → to AI-led commerce. For brands, this opens new possibilities — •⁠  ⁠reaching high-intent shoppers •⁠  ⁠reducing friction in the purchase journey •⁠  ⁠and creating a direct line between conversation and conversion I’m genuinely excited about where this is going. It’s not just a cool update. It’s a sign of how fast consumer behavior is evolving. I have shared more details in our latest blog — check it out in the comments 👇

27

5 Comments

A name change didn’t cause Bira 91’s downfall. I’ve seen many attribute the brand’s loss purely to the name shift, which is misleading. Bira 91 was a private‐limited company that converted to public following a rise in investor shareholding, triggering a significantly greater regulatory compliance. They had to drop the "private" in their legal name and reapply for licences and permits in each state separately, costing them years in market shelf space. But the major factors in what has become one of the nation’s biggest brand declines are poor planning and forecasting, coupled with unkept stakeholder relationships. I remember when BluSmart shut shop because of deliberate fraud by its founders. Bira’s collapse appears to stem from inefficient leadership decision‐making. ₹80 crore of inventory was lost when old labels failed to match the new company name, which could've been avoided considering they knew what was going to happen. So disheartening to see both promising, inspiring and capable market leaders falling to factors that clearly could've been prevented with proper strategising and efficient consultations. Feels like the downfall happened due to a cluster of missteps, a founder who brought craft beer to India and disrupted the market, led by some of the industry giants and became an instant fan favourite, fell flat because of a lack of planning. Bira is still running, and I really hope they win back their reputation. They had the brand love, the urban presence, and the storytelling that few homegrown beverage brands ever achieved. This is a major reminder for any brands out there to have proper strategising at every step of growth. We’ll wait to see whether the lessons from Bira’s mistakes will be learned, or the next challenger will repeat the same pattern. What we know for sure is that the fans, the market, and the space believe in possibility. It’s the execution that now demands credibility.

168

10 Comments

The consumer electronics market is dead... or is it? In a research project work while doing a macro analysis of consumer electronics, I came across Nikhil Kamath's thought-provoking podcast "WTF are Consumer Electronics?" (https://lnkd.in/dufHafwD) (a podcast series of talks that has been my personal favorite since quite some time). Featuring industry experts Carl Pei of Nothing, Rahul Sharma of Micromax Informatics Ltd, and Amit Khatri of Noise, their insights shed light on the interesting perspectives within the industry. As it is clear that this is a highly competitive space, one area of particular interest highlighted was wearable technology. In this domain, the real potential lies in catering to underserved markets in larger countries in Asia and South America, such as the need for affordable, health- and safety-focused wearables for children and seniors, and addressing hearing loss in particular. The shift towards health-centric wearables, including innovative devices like smart rings, underscores the evolving landscape of consumer needs. This topic resonates deeply, highlighting the strategic importance of addressing specific health needs and untapped market segments. At GN Group, we are at the forefront of addressing these challenges—active initiatives like LISTEN TO THIS and a comprehensive suite of solutions match our commitment to pioneering hearing and audio solutions. The key takeaway? Embrace a focused approach, comprehend your supply chain intricacies, and address distinct consumer needs effectively. What do you believe are the most promising niches within evolving wearable market ? #ConsumerElectronics #WearableTech #HealthTech #HearingHealth #TechInnovation #NextGenWearables #CongnitiveHealth

12

3 Comments

We didn’t plan to build a SaaS company. We just wanted to fix something our dads struggled with their entire lives. All three of us: Sharad, Rohan, and I grew up around factories. - My dad worked in an Indian Railway engineering unit. - Sharad Sen Sharma managed inventory at NTPC at various places. - Rohan Sen Sharma's father was running Mid sized manufacturing. Many conversations had one theme: Firefighting in manufacturing operations Manual processes, paper trails, endless coordination. Factory operations were happening very inefficiently… with broken or no tools. Years later, when we started working with SME manufacturers, we saw the same chaos still existed. Despite expensive ERPs and digital tools, factories ran on Excel, WhatsApp, and last-minute calls. Most systems were too complex, too rigid, or too expensive. That’s when we spotted and immediately resonated with the problem and gap. SME Manufacturers didn’t need more features They needed clarity with an easy way to run their operations: A simple, intuitive system that actually fits their workflow from inquiry to dispatch. So we built the first version of TranZact. And when the first few customers said: "This is exactly what we needed." We knew we were onto something valuable, real and worth our time and energy. Today, TranZact helps 10K+ Indian factories run faster, smoother, and smarter. Have you ever stumbled into a mission you didn’t see coming? Would love to hear your turning-point story 👇 #startup #journey #founder

205

20 Comments

🚨 Big Move in Indian E-commerce 🚨 The Rajya Sabha has officially passed a bill to eliminate dark patterns in digital commerce — a long-overdue step toward greater transparency and consumer trust. Dark patterns like false urgency, misleading recommendations, and forced actions are now under strict scrutiny. This impacts every serious D2C and enterprise eCommerce player in India. 🧠 At Wizzy, we’ve always believed that great UX and conversions should never come at the cost of consumer trust. That’s why we’re opening up: 👉 Free Dark Pattern Audit for eCommerce brands We’ll help you identify risks in search, merchandising, recommendation flows — and share how to fix them fast. We’ve worked with 500+ top eCommerce brands — we know where the gaps lie and how to fix them before they hurt your reputation or bring penalties. 📩 DM me or comment below if you'd like us to do a free audit for your brand. Let’s build a better, more transparent digital commerce ecosystem. #ecommerce #darkpatterns #rajyasabha #d2cbrands #uxdesign #consumertrust #ai #Wizzy #compliance #d2cindia #onlineshopping #conversionoptimization (Source: NDTV Profit, https://lnkd.in/dziQP3px)

41

2 Comments

What is Cost of Consent under DPDPA? While our engagement with business for DPDPA, one thing clear – when customers are empowered with granular consent and they will be selective while giving consents and that will directly impact topline revenue. As law becomes reality, one question that every business leader should ask is: “What is the true cost (and value) of customer consent?” Consent is no longer a checkbox; it’s a measurable business variable that impacts revenue, trust, and long-term data strategy. Organization has to identify total customer and must have some preliminary data/assumptions on how many and what consents will customer provide. Along with this define revenue inputs like baseline revenue per user and incremental gain from consent (personalization, analytics, cross selling, upselling, partnerships etc). Thereafter, mapping of cost inputs like license fees, maintenance fees and per user operational costs help analyze situation in measurable way. At this stage other specific information might not be available therefore some assumptions around volume of grievance, data rights and associated implementation must be in place. To simplify, calculate total benefits (revenue uplift + TSP monetization) and discover Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and this will help you derive your Net value of consent: Net Value = Total Benefit − Total Cost If the net value is positive → compliance becomes an enabler, not a burden. If negative → revisit your consent UX, technology model (License/BOT/Build), or data monetization strategy. By quantifying the Cost of Consent, business can plan for their compliance in alignment with business and forecast compliance ROI. Many of companies are exploring license, BOT or self-building models and therefore above will helps them align technology investment with long-term value creation. Done right, privacy compliance can turn in to strategic differentiator. Consent is not just a legal requirement, it’s a data asset with measurable business value and if your business is impacted and concerned about DPDPA, we have built proprietary models, tools and technology to minimize disruption. At Concur - Consent Manager, we help businesses simplify DPDPA compliance through consent-centric frameworks, automation, and strategic advisory, turning privacy into a growth opportunity. Email problems at info@concur.live Happy to talk! #DPDP #Consent #CostCentre #Concur #Compliance #DataPrivacy

111

5 Comments

Had an insightful chat with Gopal Upadhyay, Head of UX at Moglix. From animation to UX leadership, he shared his journey, the power of curiosity, and why understanding business is as critical as design skills. One key takeaway: Design is not just about aesthetics it’s about solving real problems with empathy and impact. Full episode link in comments. #UXDesign #DesignLeadership #ProductDesign #B2BDesign #CuriosityInDesign #BusinessOfDesign #DesignOops

64

6 Comments

Women in Product India and SparkProd Consulting Private Limited are launching their June cohort of #AIPMMastery. The last cohort saw Product Managers, Leaders & Founders from across the globe joining and investing in their up-skilling to become AI native product leaders. ​Join us for this curtain raiser session which will act as your launchpad into how AI is fundamentally reshaping product management. Here are some #testimonials from our cohort1 Gurpreet, VP @Swiss Re: Attending this workshop was indeed a great learning experience. The sessions offered clear, actionable insights on integrating AI into product strategy, with a strong focus on real-world application. Grateful to the organizers and speakers for curating such a high-quality program. Can’t wait to apply what I’ve learned! Siddhartha Chepuri, PM @iCIMS: The AI Master Workshop for Product Managers was a game-changer, offering deep insights into Agentic AI, RAG architectures, and practical strategies for driving ROI in AI-powered products. It challenged me to think beyond features and focus on building intelligent, trustworthy systems that truly enhance user experience. The hands-on approach to rapid prototyping and the thoughtful guidance from Malthi SS, Aniket Chhabra, and Swati Awasthi made it an incredibly valuable learning experience. I now feel better equipped to lead in the age of AI-driven product innovation. ​Suparna Ghosh, Solopreneur: The 2-day AI PM Mastery Workshop was an eye-opener—packed with hands-on learning, real-world applications, and deep insights into building AI-powered products. From creating our first Agentic AI agents to designing RAG workflows and measuring ROI, every session was thoughtfully curated to bridge the gap between AI capabilities and user-centered design. A key insight for me: trust and value in AI come from the perfect blend of smart UX and iterative, insight-led development. Huge thanks to Malthi SS, Aniket Chhabra, and Swati Awasthi for crafting such a rich, engaging experience. ​ We have 2 sessions  7th June(Saturday) - 7pm IST - https://lu.ma/w4bqlrrw 8th June(Sunday) - 10am IST - https://lu.ma/523m3awh These are invite based event so pls register here Swati Awasthi Aniket Chhabra

48

1 Comment

I had a fascinating conversation with Rhushikesh Wavre about the incredible journey of Kondaji Chivda. For a brand that has thrived for over a century on the foundation of tradition, its recent move into e-commerce is a powerful case study in business evolution. Rhushikesh shared how they are honouring their family's legacy while strategically embracing modern marketing and digital transformation. This balance between preserving authenticity and driving innovation is a critical lesson for leaders and entrepreneurs in any industry. It was an inspiring discussion on leadership, brand building, and what it takes to future-proof a business with deep roots. #KondajiChivda #BrandLegacy #ECommerce #FamilyBusiness #Leadership #DigitalTransformation #BusinessStrategy #Marketing #Entrepreneurship

12