Mihika Kapoor is a designengineerPM hybrid at Figma, where she was an early PM on FigJam and is now spearheading development on a new product at the company that’s coming out this June. She’s known as the goto person at Figma for leading new 0to1 products, and, as you’ll hear in our conversation, beloved by everyone she works with. Her background includes founding Design Nation, a national nonprofit focused on democratizing design education for undergraduates; spearheading product launches at Meta; and community building within the NYC AI startup scene. In our conversation, we discuss:
• How to effectively take ideas from 0 to 1 at larger companies
• How to craft a compelling vision
• The importance of vulnerability and feedback
• The role of intuition and product sense in making decisions
• How to practically communicate your vision
• How to balance collaboration and strong opinions
• Advice for building a strong team culture
• Pivoting with grace and enthusiasm
• The current AI revolution and its impact on PM

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Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/vi...

Where to find Mihika Kapoor:
• X:   / mihikapoor  
• LinkedIn:   / mihikakapoor  

Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X:   / lennysan  
• LinkedIn:   / lennyrachitsky  

In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Mihika’s background
(04:29) Core attributes of great product managers
(07:34) Crafting a compelling vision
(12:12) The vision behind FigJam
(18:25) Delivering a vision without design or engineering skills
(21:52) Creating momentum
(26:36) The importance of strong conviction
(27:45) Direct communication
(32:48) Building hype
(42:20) Immersing yourself in user insights
(47:16) Operationalizing user insights
(50:33) Caring deeply about what you build
(54:01) Finding passion in your work
(57:00) Building a strong culture
(01:07:07) Pivoting with grace and enthusiasm
(01:11:48) Design Nation
(01:13:15) Mihika’s weaknesses
(01:16:07) Building new products at larger companies
(01:20:50) Coming up with a great idea
(01:22:49) The key to going from 0 to 1
(01:26:47) Spreading the idea across the company
(01:29:15) Closing thoughts
(01:32:11) Lightning round

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.