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Unlocking human performance as chief product officer at WHOOP. Author of Build What…
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Ben Foster shared thisWoo-hoo! My friend Tami (from Miami) Reiss 🚀 just published a fun kids book about #productmanagement. Great timing for the holidays in case you want to entertain your kids or finally be able to explain to your very confused parents what you actually do for a living! https://lnkd.in/gBgFvB2GWhat Do Product Managers Do?: A Primer for Aspiring PMs of All AgesWhat Do Product Managers Do?: A Primer for Aspiring PMs of All Ages
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Ben Foster shared this"Hardware is no longer the product - It's the gateway." Words of wisdom from this recent whitepaper by Ordergroove, whom Prodify has been working with for years. This was exactly the perspective WHOOP maintained which has propelled its business. The EXPERIENCE depends completely on the hardware (one-time), but the VALUE is derived from the insights and recommendations provided indefinitely (recurring). If I've learned anything over the years, it's that businesses thrive when they (1) recognize the deeper value you you can deliver to your customers (ex. having dog food vs. keeping your dog fed and healthy) and (2) align their own incentives with those of their customers. For anyone looking to drive more recurring revenue through subscriptions, reorienting around true value delivery, or aligning their incentives with their customers' goals, it's a great read. Check it out.Ben Foster shared thisLeading digital subscription brands are unlocking 2–5x higher LTV with one strategic move: embracing eCommerce technology rather than cobbled legacy solutions. As go-to experts in recurring revenue, trusted by top subscription companies across physical and digital goods, Ordergroove has teamed up with Shopify to spotlight this major migration from fragmented tech stacks to unified eCommerce platforms with a new three-part deep-dive series covering connected devices, eLearning, and media. The first of the series focused on IoT-connected devices, is now officially live! Connected device brands are leading the charge to eCommerce platforms, pairing innovation with infrastructure to unlock significant LTV growth. Meanwhile, those slow to adapt struggle with low margins, high TCO, and disjointed customer experiences. Based on our analysis of 640 digital subscription businesses and 100+ connected device companies, this report quantifies this drastic market transformation, outlines its benefits, and uncovers the growth opportunity it brings. Access the new report here: https://lnkd.in/eACJpyF3 #connecteddevices #industrydata #digitalsubscriptions
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Ben Foster shared thisI would highly recommend this course for anyone interested in learning about how AI agents can be put to use in a product context. Subha Shetty is great!Ben Foster shared this🔥 Hot off the press : 95% of GenAI projects fail. MIT Media Lab https://lnkd.in/gYNwe5A7 🔥 ChatGPT-5 is here! Smarter, faster, and already reshaping expectations. The question every executive is asking: 👉 How do we actually make AI agents enterprise-ready, not just prototypes that fizzle? That’s what this new Maven Lightning Series is all about. "Beyond Chatbots: Architecting Intelligent AI Agents for Real Enterprise Work" 3 rapid-fire conversations with leaders building, governing, and scaling agents inside real companies - not theory. 🎯 What you’ll learn: How teams monitor, govern & continuously improve agents Tooling + use cases from multiple industries What’s actually working (and what’s not) in enterprise deployments 📅 The lineup (30-min each): Part 1 : Aug 27 | Wed | 12–12:30pm PT / 3–3:30pm ET Tatyana Mamut, PhD PhD, CEO & Co-Founder, Wayfound Sign up here https://lnkd.in/gbe7fapX Part 2 : Sep 3 | Wed | 1–1:30pm PT / 4–4:30pm ET | Jacob Bank CEO, Relay.app Sign up here https://lnkd.in/gKuYppNy Part 3 : Sep 9 | Tue | 12–12:30pm PT / 3–3:30pm ET | Zac Hays, CPO, Luxury Presence Sign up here https://lnkd.in/gNwyAnAQ ⚡ Attend all 3 and you’ll get a 360° view of enterprise AI agents - from providers and clients. (Plus a special promo at the end 👀) 🎓 Want to go deeper? This series leads into my next Maven cohort starting Sep 15 → Master the Commercial Product and Business Playbook of AI Agents --> Enroll here - https://lnkd.in/g6Kkv9YX We’re past the chatbot era. With ChatGPT-5, MCP by Anthropic and others, the agentic era is here. The real challenge: building what works in the enterprise. Join in and learn! #ChatGPT5 #GenerativeAI #AIAgents #EnterpriseAI #AITransformation #AIProductManagement #AIEngineering #AIGovernance #FutureOfWork #ProductLeadershipMaster the Commercial Product and Business Playbook of AI Agents by Subha Shetty on MavenMaster the Commercial Product and Business Playbook of AI Agents by Subha Shetty on Maven
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Ben Foster shared thisOne thing I love about LinkedIn is finding great people, actually meeting them, talking shop, and seeing what comes from the conversation. I had a chance to meet Stephen Sklarew and we discussed how AI can (and in my view is likely to) transform UX in ways that I rarely hear others talk about. It led to an article that Stephen and Sara Zalowitz of Prodify co-authored. I definitely recommend checking it out and hearing your thoughts. Maybe it will spur yet another serendipitous discussion and further exchanges of ideas. https://lnkd.in/gjsvhZkw
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Ben Foster shared thisProdify crossed 200 clients earlier this year! I'm so proud of the work that this amazing group of top-notch advisors has done and the impact we've had for founders, product teams, and investors. Whether it's been coaching, fractional CPO work, workshops, training, or hiring, we've built great relationships and continue to learn as we continue to teach. So thank you as well to all those companies we've had the honor to work with past and present.Ben Foster shared thisAs I updated our website and materials to reflect our new client count, I realized this is a milestone worth sharing! Excited to share that Prodify, in our 11th year, is celebrating working with 200+ clients and 15,000+ hours with clients! And, on a personal note, this marks my 5th year with Prodify - possibly even to to the day. I am so proud of the work we do, helping product leaders and teams become more product-driven in order to accelerate business and customer outcomes. The work we do as product coaches, advisors, fractional leaders, and recruiters is so incredibly rewarding. I am thankful for each and every person I have worked with as part of this journey. Can't wait for the next 5!
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Ben Foster shared thisDREAM JOB ALERT - If you love dogs and you are a hungry, inspired, and experienced product leader, this could very well be it. Embark is hiring a VP Product to lead a team defining and delivering the next wave of consumer products helping people connect with and provide the best care possible for their canine companions. I've been working with Embark as a fractional CPO for the past month and I couldn't be more excited about the company's strategy, where Product lies at the very center. The company sits on a massive volume of proprietary data that can be put to use to drive engagement through highly personalized experiences, care recommendations, and so much more. This is a real opportunity to shape the future of pet care and bringing it to fruition would be a career-defining achievement. If you have strong interest and you meet the (non-negotiable) qualifications, please DM me and/or apply here. The company is Boston-based, but the position isn't geographically constrained. https://lnkd.in/g5w3DDd5
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Ben Foster shared thisI've really enjoyed digging in with Embark Veterinary since starting as fractional CPO. The company has established a phenomenal brand and it has an exciting vision for the future. I'm thrilled to work with executive team and product teams to refine the product strategy and bring it to life!Ben Foster shared thisWe’re thrilled to welcome Embark Veterinary to the Prodify family! Embark, a leading provider of dog DNA testing, is revolutionizing the way pet parents and veterinarians understand canine health and ancestry. Their genetic insights are helping dogs live healthier, longer lives. 🐾 💡 Ben Foster, Prodify Co-Founder, is working with Embark as their Fractional CPO. As part of his work with the team, he will be guiding their product strategy in order to drive meaningful impact. We look forward to seeing this partnership thrive! �� ✨ #ProductManagement #FractionalCPO #ClientSpotlight
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Ben Foster shared thisIf you are a CEO considering whether a fractional product leaders makes sense, I strongly encourage you to attend this fireside chat on Tuesday 12/17 at 1pm ET.Ben Foster shared thisStartup founders and executives, wondering if a fractional product executive is right for your company? Here are the 15 ways they can help, across 3 categories: 👩🏾💼 Executive Leadership 👥 Team Leadership ⚙️ Product Operations If you think your company could level up in several of these areas, join me and David Jesse for a fireside chat this Tuesday from 12-1 PM Central: https://lnkd.in/g-MSWMAa
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Love that we’re working together again Felix! Looking forward to all you’ll be able to provide for our clients on your side of the Atlantic!
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Ben Foster liked thisBen Foster liked thisAfter 25+ years climbing the corporate ladder, I realized I didn't want to reach the next rung. I wanted to build my own ladder. 🪜 🥳 After years as a Silicon Valley operator and VC, I knew two things: I still loved building companies and working with founders. But I didn't want another full-time executive job. Today, I work with venture-backed startup founders through NextStep Advisory & Consulting, advising on strategy, growth, talent, and AI transformation. I also help build executive communities, serve on boards, run an AirBnB, and pursue projects that energize me. I no longer call what I do "fractional consulting." I'm building a portfolio career. And the best part is that I get to keep reinventing it. I recently shared my journey with Tennessee Watt, including the things I wish more people understood about this path. Here are my five biggest lessons: 💡 1. Being great at your job doesn't mean you'll be great at consulting. Doing the work and getting the work are two entirely different skills. You have to enjoy (or at least be willing to do) business development, selling yourself, nurturing relationships, and building a pipeline. Even when you're busy. I actually don't think this path is right for 90% of people. 🤝 2. Your network is your greatest asset. But it takes decades to build. My first three clients came within weeks of starting NextStep. That sounds easy, but it was built on 20+ years of relationships, reputation, and trust. I've always believed in helping people without expecting anything in return. Turns out, that compounds. 💰 3. Price your value, not your hours. I don't bill hourly. Clients aren't paying for my time. They're paying for decades of experience, judgment, pattern recognition, and access to a network that can accelerate their business. One of the best pieces of advice I received from my husband: "Know what your time is worth. Not everybody can afford you, and that's okay." 🌱 4. Give yourself runway and grace. If you're serious about building a consulting business, give yourself at least a year. It takes time to establish your positioning, develop your pipeline, and figure out what works. I was fortunate to have financial flexibility when I started, and I don't take that for granted. 🚀 5. You don't have to keep climbing the same ladder. This has been my biggest personal learning. For much of my career, success meant the next bigger role, more responsibility, a larger company. Today, I define it differently: working with people I love, solving interesting problems, constantly learning, and having the freedom to design my life around what matters most. Thanks for the write-up Tennessee! https://lnkd.in/gMSwxevX 💬 If you're thinking about building a portfolio career, I'm happy to share what I've learned, including the mistakes, economics, pricing, finding clients, and how to get started. Ask away in the comments! I'll do my best to answer your questions.
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Ben Foster liked thisBen Foster liked thisWelcome to the team, Felix von Kunhardt! 🇩🇪 Felix joins Prodify as a Product Executive Coach & AI Advisor. He's based in Germany and supports scale-ups across Europe. He has spent 20 years leading product from the inside: → Head of Emerging Products at G-P, where Contractor Management became the fastest-growing product → VP of Product at Medallia, leading the Digital Suite → CPO at Decibel, through its acquisition by Medallia → CPO at Fuse Universal Now he does it from the outside. He starts with a 4-week diagnostic: interviews across product, engineering, sales and leadership, then one honest read-out of what's actually in the way. From there he rebuilds the operating model with the team and hands it off to someone in-house to lead. If your company has grown but the way it decides what to build hasn't, or your AI push hasn't made the team any faster, it might be worth an intro call with Felix. Meet Felix 👉 https://lnkd.in/gpFYeVZK #ProductLeadership #ScaleUps #AI #ProductManagement
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Ben Foster liked thisBen Foster liked thisStartup advisory is increasingly about execution, not just strategy. The strongest advisors help founders navigate capital decisions, operational complexity, product-market fit, investor readiness, and the transition from early-stage vision to sustainable growth. That focus is reflected in our latest editorial selection: 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦𝗔. Featured in the article, in the order presented: Black Ink Tax & Accounting — Rehan Usmani, EA., MBA Prodify — Ben Foster & Rajesh Nerlikar Startup Consultancy — Ashfaq Khattak Startup Distillery — Diane Tarshis G2 Startup Advisors — Eric Hawthorne Startup Advisory Group — Jeffrey Derose StartSG Consulting — Sukanta Goswami StartupEdge — Adam Ahern & Dana Ahern Startup Business Bureau — Raheel SHEIKH As we look toward the 2027 Best Providers research cycle, evidence-backed professional profiles will become increasingly valuable to our editorial review. Profiles help document experience, expertise, accomplishments, references, and professional impact in one place. A profile does not guarantee inclusion or ranking. It simply gives our team stronger evidence to consider when evaluating professional credibility. 🔗 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gWs2-ujB 🔗 Create your Digital Reference profile: https://lnkd.in/gjKxyGcp Congratulations to all of the featured providers and professionals shaping the US startup ecosystem. 🚀 #StartupAdvisory #StartupConsulting #BusinessAdvisory #OperationsProfessionals #USStartups
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Ben Foster liked thisAs someone who has been a WHOOP and Peloton member for 6+ years each, today is a special day. We just launched our bidirectional WHOOP x Peloton Interactive integration globally! This is a partnership that I and many others have been dreaming about for years. Members of both platforms can now seamlessly sync activities in both directions, bringing richer Peloton activity data into WHOOP and helping make both experiences smarter and more personalized. It was also a privilege working with the Peloton team; you know a partnership is special when working with another company starts to feel like working with your own coworkers. The alignment across our brands, cultures, and teams made this one especially fun to bring to life. Huge appreciation to everyone across WHOOP and Peloton who made this happen! Morgan Ludwig Elliot Franford Liz Jackson Sabine May Spencer V. Harrison Richmond Peter U. Haily Blodgett Rafe Gangi Rici Hanley Nimit Shah Alex Niderberg Nadeem W. Kelly Cody KYM LINO Anastasia Taxon Juan Martino Meg Higgins Jacob Wax + many more And this is just the beginning. :)Ben Foster liked thisWHOOP x Peloton Interactive is here. Discover a more connected experience across both platforms. Peloton workouts automatically sync into WHOOP with more context from your classes. Your WHOOP activities also flow into your Peloton activity history, so you can see all of your movement in one place.
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Ben Foster liked thisExcited to share the stage with my wonderful husband for the first time at this event!Ben Foster liked thisBefore WHOOP was WHOOP, it was a few Harvard students, one relentless squash player, and a question about recovery. On September 24, hear from John Capodilupo, WHOOP co-founder and former CTO, and Emily Capodilupo, WHOOP’s Senior VP of Research, Algorithms & Data and one of its earliest employees as they talk about building the company at Harvard University, following the data, earning users’ trust, and turning an early idea into something much bigger. HAE Startup World Cup - Harvard Medical School - Boston September 24 - 5-8pm - Fireside Chat Get your tickets: https://lnkd.in/gxC7ag5P
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Ben Foster liked thisBen Foster liked thisAt eBay, we almost fixed the wrong problem. And in hindsight we would have felt great about it 🙈 Everyone complained the listing form for new items was too long. So the obvious move would have been: shorten it for everyone. With today's AI tools we'd have prototyped three shorter versions by lunch, A/B tested them by Friday and relaunched the form on Monday. Fast and confident but completely wrong. Instead we ran opportunity interviews first. Without any prototype - just sellers, talking about how they actually list. What came back surprised us. Experienced sellers liked the long form - all those fields gave them precise control. Power sellers didn't touch the form at all - they bulk-listed through tools. The complaint was really coming from new and casual sellers, who wouldn't list unless it got down to the few fields that matter. One complaint, three different behaviours underneath it. Shortening the form for everyone would have hurt the people who relied on it. So we didn't shorten the form. We added a fast path we internally called "Easylister". Listing time dropped from 11 minutes to 3, and new listings rose by 15%! That insight didn't come from a prototype. It came from conversations with real users. When building is nearly free, the reflex is to build first and learn from it - but a prototype quietly bends the conversation toward the solution you already imagined. The interview keeps it open. Building got cheap. Judgment didn't. When did an interview tell you something a prototype never would have? #ProductDiscovery #ProductManagement #ProductLeadership #AITransformation #BuildingGotCheap
Experience & Education
Patents
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Method and system to identify a preferred domain of a plurality of domains
Issued US 8,688,623
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Identifying an item based on data inferred from information about the item
Issued US 8,244,666
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