Interview with Nitin Karthik, Author of Product Marketing Wisdom

Introduction

Host: All right then, let's get started. Welcome to the very first episode of the GTM Rapid Fire. We're building a new episode where we get GTM leaders from across the world to talk about their journey, work, challenges, and everything in between. In an epidemic of dwindling attention spans, we don't need another podcast, but we do need to have conversations. So I switched up the format a little bit - every episode will bring in one superstar guest and ask them only five questions, with some room for follow-up questions to get into more detail.

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Our very first guest is really special. He is the best-selling author of the book "Product Marketing Wisdom," one of the most influential product marketing influencers, and among the global top 50 product marketing creators. He has an MBA from Chicago Booth and a master's degree from Stanford University, and he's been featured as a product expert on BBC TV and many other platforms.

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Guest Introduction

Host: Nitin, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for agreeing to be our first guest. Before we jump into the five questions, why don't you give us a brief recap of your wonderful journey?

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Nitin: Thank you, Hrithika. I'm very humbled by your introduction. What I've realized is we all have magic within us. We all have our superpowers that we are endowed with, and it's just a matter of discovering what those superpowers are.

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A little bit about my journey - I was born in India, did my high school in Tanzania in Africa, and then came to the U.S. for college. I initially got my degree in computer science, and then I realized that I wanted to get closer to the market and customers, so I made a pivot into marketing. I've had the opportunity to work at many amazing companies across telecom, media, e-commerce, healthcare, and public safety. At each company, I've realized that even though many of these are in different industries, the challenges that our customers and companies face are very similar.

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Q1: Being an Influencer

Host: You've been a top influencer in the product marketing space for a while. What is it like being an influencer? And do you think more product marketers should get into becoming one?

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Nitin: Being recognized as one of the most influential thought leaders in anyone's profession is really humbling. One piece of advice I will share is that skills like public speaking can really do wonders towards your personal development as well as your career development. This is advice shared by Jaron Khushnavi in my book, Product Marketing Wisdom. I would encourage everybody, whether you're an introvert or extrovert, whether you're comfortable with public speaking or not, to practice that. It will become easier, I promise you.

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Q2: Metrics and Impact

Host: One thing that really struck me when looking at your profile is that you've only mentioned your experience in metrics. When we speak about product marketing, every company has a different definition of the role. How do you make sure you're driving impact to the set metrics, and how do you measure that when it's all a blur?

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Nitin: In today's data-driven world, metrics are so important, especially with diminishing attention spans. We have a bottom-line orientation approach. When people have limited time looking at someone's LinkedIn profile, they want to know bullet-point information and bottom-line results.

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I encourage everybody to include quantitative information in their LinkedIn profile. It's good not only for the person looking at your profile but also for you because you realize how your efforts have aligned with company goals. We need to align both customer/user goals and business goals so they're in harmony.

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Q3: Writing the Book

Host: Let's talk about your book. What made you write it? How has the journey been?

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Nitin: The idea came from market and competitive research. I was doing two-minute video interviews that received strong reviews, but I got feedback that people couldn't always catch daily content and some preferred reading over videos. These two factors were the genesis of writing the book.

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The initial idea came in October 2024. Though I was initially intimidated, I realized that technology makes publishing easier than ever before. Between October and December 2024, I completed the bulk of the book. The book features over 100 thought leaders' perspectives on different aspects of product marketing.

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Greatest Career Win

Host: What do you consider your best win in your career so far?

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Nitin: Apart from the book, I'm particularly proud of winning the "Imagine and Invent Before They Ask" award. This came from a situation where we were behind on our numbers and faced a critical partnership with technical challenges. Instead of giving up, we stayed calm and developed a homegrown tool to overcome the limitations of our professional tools. Through nights and weekends of extra work, we successfully launched our campaign and crushed our numbers.

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Q5: Emerging Trends

Host: What emerging trends are you noticing right now that you're excited about?

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Nitin: AI has been a huge game changer. I look at AI as a time machine - what used to take months now takes weeks, what used to take weeks now takes days, what used to take days now takes hours. The future is fractional, meaning companies don't need 100% full-time staff for many functions. We'll see more project-based, episodic work with companies leveraging external expertise for specific durations.

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Closing Advice

Nitin: My Guru Mantra is "I am the captain of my ship." Whenever you have a major decision to make, resist the victim mentality. Whatever happens, this is your ship, and you need to steer it through the icebergs and toward safety. You'll learn and grow tremendously along the way.