Lessons Leading EPD: Mindset, decision-making, 80/20 product strategy & pivoting for leverage/speed w/ Farnaz Azmoodeh #219

Episode notes

When Farnaz Azmoodeh (CTO @ Linktree) stepped into her new role, she unexpectedly took on product & design just three months in - owning all of engineering, product, and design during a critical period of change. In this episode, Farnaz shares hard-won lessons from that transition, including the mindset shift from delivery to discovery, balancing data vs. intuition in decision-making, knowing when to pivot your product strategy, and building small / fast-moving cross-functional teams. We also cover applying the 80/20 rule to simplify complex product surfaces, her favorite frameworks for pattern recognition, and how to reset assumptions when pattern-matching can backfire. If you’re navigating ambiguity, expanding your scope, or evolving how your org builds product, this episode will help you lead with more clarity, speed, and strategic focus. ABOUT FARNAZ AZMOODEH Farnaz is the CTO at Linktree, the leading social platform for creators and small businesses. Linktree enables its users to unify, curate, and monetize their online presence. Farnaz started her career at Google, focusing on the ad tech space.

Related episodes across the Index

Other episodes covering the same guests and topics, from across The B2B Podcast Index.

• Applying Agentic AI to the Supply Chain, Building Systems to Withstand Chaos, and Leveraging your Curiosity w/ Pooja Brown @ Inventry.aiEngineering Founders · on Engineering management87 / 100
• [S2E13] Ali Payne: When HR and Finance Can't Agree, Employees LoseCLEARly Beneficial Podcast · on Career development77 / 100
• How to Train Employees and Leaders to Improve Performance and ResultsBuild a Vibrant Culture Podcast · on Engineering management64 / 100
• Adi Bhoopathy, Managing Principal & Head of Capital Markets, Noble Investment Group, interviewed by Lan ElliottIt's Personal Stories, A Hospitality Podcast · on Career development64 / 100
• Busting Myths About Accountancy with Karl Edge, Chief People Officer and Head of Regions at KPMG UKCareers Unwrapped · on Career development57 / 100
• S02E12 Empowering Human Centric Leadership | Veronica Wong | Wired for WonderWired for Wonder · on Engineering management56 / 100

• Determining bets, using customer insights to pivot, and gaining developer buy-in & trust w/ Tomas Reimers #26483 / 100
• Utilizing AI internally to iterate faster and empower smaller teams to upskill w/ Vivek Raghunathan #26396 / 100
• The Product Paradigm Shift: How Livekit Navigated High Stakes Scaling Challenges to Build the Future of Voice-First AI Interfaces w/ Russ d’Sa #26276 / 100
• Building an empowered career w/ Jean Hsu & Cate Huston #26163 / 100
• Redefining profit, centering human flourishing, and building an incorruptible mission-driven roadmap w/ Eric Ries #26075 / 100