What happens when a product leader reimagines an entire ads ecosystem from first principles? In this podcast hosted by Sid Shaik, Reddit Director of Product Amit Ghorawat breaks down scaling the future of ads with GenAI. The conversation explores his pivots across industries, his approach to 10x growth, and how GenAI is reshaping the future of advertising and product leadership.
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Show Notes
- First-principles problem solving and clear communication are critical for PM and entrepreneurial success.
- Don’t fear pivoting or resetting your career—long-term vision matters more than sunk costs.
- Understanding the information and money flows in a business unlocks growth and scale.
- Focusing on a few high-impact initiatives can drive exponential business results.
- Optimizing marketplace demand across channels can create win-wins for advertisers and platforms.
- Use data-driven experimentation and customer interviews to validate key strategy pivots.
- AI and GenAI are transforming ad personalization, creative creation, and campaign measurement.
- GenAI unlocks opportunities for smaller advertisers by lowering creative barriers.
- Return on ad spend (ROAS) models enable outcome-based and evergreen spending.
- PM org design should favor ownership, vertical accountability, and “mini GM” roles for growth.
- Limiting the number of product SKUs keeps go-to-market simple for sales and customers.
- Sunsetting legacy offerings requires gradual proof points and friction to drive adoption.
- Aligning team focus and urgency depends on a clear understanding of business “runway.”
- Transparent communication about runway and priorities motivates teams appropriately.
- Product managers must rethink which tasks can (and should) be automated with new AI tools.
- GenAI enables faster prototyping, brainstorming, and PM documentation.
- Small, empowered teams are effective at unlocking scalable innovation.
- Mentorship and coaching foster reflection, growth, and improved leadership skills.
- Honest, unsolicited feedback helps individuals and teams reach their potential.
- In ad tech and AI, doubling down on the biggest opportunities and experimenting early is essential.
About the speaker
About the host
Sid is a seasoned Product Leader in the Data Platforms domain. At present, he runs Product at Cloudera for its fastest growing product line, Private Cloud Data Services. Prior to Cloudera, he co-founded a Silicon Valley startup-- Performance Sherpa; his company built performance engineering workflow automation for databases and middleware. Prior to those roles, he worked at Yahoo!, Qubole, Asterdata and Oracle in various Product and Engineering roles. As a Product Manager, Sid loves the creative process of discovering, defining and solving meaningful technology problems in large markets and enjoys scaling product businesses. In his down time, he enjoys taking his kids to soccer practice, he practices yoga, and advises startups.