JJRR Ep38 Software product management – Building an INDUSTRY conference and community – with Mike Belsito

Mike Belsito is a product guy who’s passionate about building the Product Collective community, and is co-founder of INDUSTRY the product conference where product managers from around the world can learn to build, launch and scale world-class software products.  Now a top influencer, listen to Ep38 as Mike describes how his early career in sports management and entrepreneurship unknowingly prepared him with the multi-faceted skills required for product and now conference management.

http://productcollective.com/

http://industryconference.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Seed-Funding-Rest-Us-ebook/dp/B00UC7OU2A

http://rocketship.fm/

https://findaway.com/

http://www.techpint.org/

www.blocklandcleveland.com

04:04s Mike’s definition of product management

6:14s Product management vs. project management

8:55s Going to school for sports management

11:15s Pursuing an MBA and initiating a corporate sponsorship program

14:06s Diving into entrepreneurship and becoming a “Findawayer”

16:15s Leaving Findaway to start eFuneral.com

19:00s Selling eFuneral and finding Product Management

21:30s Finding an opportunity in product management and self educating

22:28s Writing “Startup seed funding for the rest of us”

23:15s Finding the right angle / focus on product

24:58s Product Collective, a community for product people

27:02s Niching down on software product managers

31:30s The importance of product management for high growth software companies

33:50s Building the conference from the ground up – build it and make them come

40:35s Product management responsibilities and customer focus

43:04s First impressions of Blockland Cleveland organization and conference

50:12s The challenge of keeping up with technology

51:50s Never setting a strong 3 to 5 year roadmap

56:04s Discovering how quickly you become an influencer in your industry

“We created Industry for software product managers. 90% of the people that come to our conference, they have product in their title one way or the other.”

“I was so deep into eFuneral, what does a failed founder due next?”

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