Next Gen Builders · 2025-07-08 · 38 min
How do great product leaders navigate rapid scaling, the AI evolution, and unpredictable founders? April Underwood , former CPO at Slack and Co-Founder of Adverb Ventures, shares her playbook for building enduring product vision through change. Francois and April frame their conversation by first exploring her background with hypergrowth orgs such as Twitter and Slack, unpacking key learnings around what it takes to scale your own skills alongside your company. You’ll hear her thoughts around leading with clarity, building trust with your founders, and navigating technology paradigm shifts such as GenAI. Additionally, April offers sharp insights into how product teams can stay grounded during uncertainty, how design becomes a competitive advantage during inflection points, and what she looks for in early-stage founders as a venture investor. Whether you’re investing in the next unicorn or building it from the ground up, this episode provides grounded frameworks and hard-earned lessons for you to follow.
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