Supra Insider

What if the most important thing a product manager produces isn’t a roadmap, but a story?
In this episode of Supra Insider, Marc Baselga and Ben Erez sit down with Josh Elman, partner at Andreessen Horowitz and former product leader at Apple, Twitter, Robinhood, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Josh explains why storytelling is the real art of product management and why every good story starts with the customer rather than a business metric. He also explains how that same story has to be shaped for three audiences: your team, your users, and now the AI tools you work with.
They explore why onboarding is part of the story, from Josh’s first Twitter spec changing “What are you doing?” to “What’s happening?” to the empty chat boxes in today’s AI products. Josh shares how Life360 and Robinhood turned user objections into stronger narratives and the “layup” interview question most PM candidates flub. He closes with how to build storytelling as a skill through reps, Apple keynotes, and reading fiction.
If you’re a PM whose roadmap starts with metrics instead of customers, a founder trying to make your product’s value obvious from the first session, or a candidate who struggles to tell a compelling story about your work- this episode is for you.
All episodes of the podcast are also available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
New to the pod? Subscribe below to get the next episode in your inbox 👇
Want company-specific interview intel?
If you’re preparing for PM interviews at Meta, Netflix, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Stripe, DoorDash, Uber, or Figma… we think you’re going to love Insider Loops. You can read about it in Ben’s LI post, Marc’s LI post or check out the site directly below.
Supra Insider listeners get $50 off all interview guides with promo code SUPRAINSIDER50
In this episode, we covered the following topics:
* (01:00) Why storytelling is the real art of product management, and what Apple taught Josh about starting with the user’s story
* (03:42) One story, three audiences: your team, your customers, and the AI you feed context to
* (08:25) Metrics-first vs. customer-first: why the 78% who didn’t convert hold the big unlocks
* (13:19) B2B vs. consumer stories, and why products like Linear win on feel rather than features
* (18:38) Meta’s Muse, tuning a model to consumer use cases, and why a story can’t be everything to everyone
* (23:58) Empty chat boxes, Josh’s first Twitter spec, and why AI products need built-in social proof
* (32:32) The anatomy of a good story: a pithy description, specific examples, and how to get started
* (37:16) Why the best onboarding doesn’t feel like onboarding, and the person over your shoulder
* (40:40) Life360’s aha moment, objection handling, and Robinhood’s Social Security number wall
* (49:59) Josh’s “layup” interview question and why most PM candidates flub it
* (01:01:13) A storytelling bootcamp: Apple keynotes, reps, AI feedback, and reading fiction
* (01:04:21) Where to find Josh: X, the a16z newsletter, and Medium
* (01:06:03) Gratitude Corner: Josh thanks two groups of people:
* Reid Hoffman and David Sze, who shaped how he thinks about consumer products at LinkedIn and later Greylock.
* Kurt Knight and Ann Thai, his bosses at Apple, for what they taught him about storytelling and Apple’s culture.
* And more!
Links:
* David Senra: Alexandr Wang episode: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/alexandr-wang
* Supra Insider #87: WTF is “Product Taste” (Sachin Rekhi): https://suprainsider.substack.com/cp/184468941
* Books mentioned:
* Dungeon Crawler Carl (Matt Dinniman): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/211721806-dungeon-crawler-carl
* Hyperion (Dan Simmons): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77566.Hyperion
* Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54493401-project-hail-mary
* The Malazan Book of the Fallen (Steven Erikson): https://www.goodreads.com/series/43493
* Mistborn: The Final Empire (Brandon Sanderson): https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/68428.Mistborn
* The Way of Kings (Brandon Sanderson): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7235533-the-way-of-kings
* a16z newsletter: https://www.a16z.news
* Product Management is Still All About Telling Stories (Josh Elman, a16z): https://a16z.com/product-management-is-still-all-about-telling-stories/
* Reid Hoffman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reidhoffman/
* David Sze: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsze/
* Kurt Knight: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuknight/
* Ann Thai: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annthai/
* Josh Elman on X: https://x.com/joshelman
* Josh Elman Medium: https://joshelman.medium.com/
* Josh Elman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshe/
* Marc Baselga: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaselga/
* Ben Erez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/
If you’re a new subscriber, we encourage you to check out some of the recent episodes you might have missed:
To support the podcast, please check out the links below:
* Check out Ben’s AI Practice Copilot and top-rated Maven course: Self-Paced PM Interview Bootcamp: Product Sense & Analytical Thinking (selected by Lenny Rachitsky as a top course 🔥). Get 25% off the course with promo code suprainsider (auto-applied here).
* Supra has teamed up with Maven to bring you something special – courses that our own community members have personally curated. And because you’re part of the Supra family, you can get up to 35% off some of these handpicked selections with code SUPRAxMAVEN.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suprainsider.substack.com

What separates the job seekers who land great roles from the ones who stay stuck?
In this episode of Supra Insider, Marc Baselga and Ben Erez sit down with Dan Wolchonok, founder of Work Coach and former Reforge and HubSpot operator, to unpack how the most intentional candidates run their job search. Dan explains why the savviest people are ruthless about their process. He covers how smart candidates get in their own way through analysis paralysis and doom scrolling, and why talking to people is the fastest way to get unstuck.
They explore candidate-market fit and running your search in “seasons.” They also get into why clear positioning gets you referrals you never asked for, and why AI-reviewed resumes keep coming out generic. Dan makes the case that job seekers face a feedback epidemic: he wants candidates to transcribe everything, listen to how they actually sound, and even ask permission to record real interviews. Marc and Ben push back on how far AI feedback can take you compared with a calibrated expert.
If you’re in the middle of a job search that isn’t converting, struggling to explain why you’re the right fit for a role, or wondering how to use AI to get better feedback on your interviews- this episode is for you.
All episodes of the podcast are also available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
New to the pod? Subscribe below to get the next episode in your inbox 👇
Want company-specific interview intel?
If you’re preparing for PM interviews at Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Stripe, DoorDash, Uber, or Figma… we think you’re going to love Insider Loops. You can read about it in Ben’s LI post, Marc’s LI post or check out the site directly below.
Supra Insider listeners get $50 off all interview guides with promo code SUPRAINSIDER50
In this episode, we covered the following topics:
* (01:20) What separates the savviest job seekers: being ruthless about their goal and every step of the process
* (03:59) How smart people get in their own way, from analysis paralysis to doom scrolling instead of practicing
* (09:31) Getting unstuck by talking to people, and Ben on candidate-market fit and running your search in “seasons”
* (15:50) Why you don’t need a network, just conversations with people who have one
* (19:01) Why clear positioning makes you easy to refer, from Marc’s Asana elevator test to Ben’s unprompted intro
* (21:58) Why asking for help makes people like you more, and why self-awareness beats stretching for a fit
* (30:39) Why AI-reviewed resumes come out generic, and Dan’s sequence for positioning yourself around what the company needs
* (37:15) Why people struggle to sell themselves, and why storytelling is the universal skill for interviews and the job
* (47:57) The “feedback epidemic”: transcribing everything and asking permission to record real interviews
* (57:02) Why your voice matters, and why “I hate listening to myself” isn’t an excuse
* (01:04:54) AI feedback vs. expert feedback: Marc’s warning about the average and Dan’s case for starting with AI
* (01:08:47) Where to find Dan and how Work Coach helps beyond interviewing
* (01:10:04) Gratitude Corner: Dan thanks three people:
* Dharmesh Shah, HubSpot’s co-founder and CTO, the reason he sold his company to HubSpot.
* Brian Balfour, who helped turn his career around at HubSpot and worked with him for seven years at Reforge.
* Buford Taylor, Reforge’s first engineer, who saved him after he deleted a production database table.
* And more!
Links:
* Josh Herzig-Marx: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaherzigmarx/
* Lenny’s Podcast: Land your dream job in today’s market (Phyl Terry): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/land-your-dream-job-phyl-terry
* Ben’s AI Practice Copilot: https://www.benerez.com/copilot
* Dharmesh Shah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dharmesh/
* Brian Balfour: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/
* Supra Insider #84: How Reforge launched 5 AI products in 9 months (Brian Balfour): https://suprainsider.substack.com/p/84-how-reforge-launched-5-ai-products
* Buford Taylor: https:// www.linkedin.com/in/bufordtaylor/
* Work Coach: https://work.coach
* Dan Wolchonok: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielwolchonok/
* Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaselga/
* Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/
If you’re a new subscriber, we encourage you to check out some of the recent episodes you might have missed:
To support the podcast, please check out the links below:
* Supra has teamed up with Maven to bring you something special – courses that our own community members have personally curated. And because you’re part of the Supra family, you can get up to 35% off some of these handpicked selections with code SUPRAxMAVEN.
* Check out Ben’s AI Practice Copilot and top-rated Maven course: Self-Paced PM Interview Bootcamp: Product Sense & Analytical Thinking (selected by Lenny Rachitsky as a top course 🔥). Get 25% off the course with promo code suprainsider (auto-applied here).


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suprainsider.substack.com

What if your job in a behavioral interview isn’t to answer the question at all?
In this episode of Supra Insider, Marc Baselga and Ben Erez sit down with Austen McDonald, former engineering manager and hiring committee chair at Meta and author of Mastering Behavioral Interviews. Austen explains why character is what predicts long-term performance. He covers why ownership and adaptability have become the signals companies care about most in the age of AI. And he argues that your real job as a candidate is to guide the interviewer toward the parts of your career that best predict how you’ll do the role.
They explore every flavor of behavioral interview, from hiring manager screens and project deep dives to Anthropic’s culture round. Austen explains how to handle an inexperienced interviewer using his “decode, select, deliver” loop. He then walks through building a bank of core stories, structuring long stories so the takeaways are obvious, and matching the clock speed of your stories to the company you’re targeting. Marc and Ben share what they’re seeing on the PM side, from take-homes as the real test of AI fluency to Meta’s product sense with prototyping round. The three also debate whether conflict resolution matters more or less as teams flatten.
If you’re a senior engineer or product leader with interviews coming up, haven’t interviewed in a few years and want to know what’s changed, or keep telling strong stories that don’t seem to land- this episode is for you.
All episodes of the podcast are also available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
New to the pod? Subscribe below to get the next episode in your inbox 👇
Want company-specific interview intel?
If you’re preparing for PM interviews at Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Stripe, DoorDash, Uber, or Figma… we think you’re going to love Insider Loops. You can read about it in Ben’s LI post, Marc’s LI post or check out the site directly below.
Supra Insider listeners get $50 off all interview guides with promo code SUPRAINSIDER50
In this episode, we covered the following topics:
* (02:09) Why Austen chose behavioral interviews after Meta, and why ownership and adaptability now matter most
* (08:38) Mapping every type of behavioral interview, from recruiter screens to team match and project deep dives
* (13:23) How Anthropic’s culture round changes the rules, and why Austen never let junior interviewers run behavioral rounds
* (19:23) “Your job is not to answer the questions”: the decode, select, deliver loop and how to handle an inexperienced interviewer
* (25:01) Ben’s story of a candidate who flipped the question, and why past behavior is more predictive than hypotheticals
* (29:23) How to prepare: know yourself, build a bank of core stories, and structure them so the takeaways are obvious
* (36:38) Matching the clock speed of your stories to the company, from big tech to the frontier labs
* (40:00) When to start preparing, why most people start too late, and keeping a “yay me” file off company servers
* (44:55) What’s changing: project deep dives at more levels, automated screens, and questions about how you use AI
* (48:59) Marc and Ben’s PM take: take-homes as the real AI fluency test and Meta’s product sense with prototyping round
* (56:57) Do conflict resolution skills matter more or less as teams flatten and building gets cheaper?
* (01:04:56) Where to find Austen: his book, his Substack, and coaching for senior candidates
* (01:05:19) Gratitude Corner: Austen thanks his wife Kokeb, a six-time author and coach for occupational therapists, for showing him the path to entrepreneurship. He also thanks Henry Cheung, a design leader he worked with at Meta, for encouraging him to write the book.
* And more!
Links:
* Mastering Behavioral Interviews (book): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G6CM9T87
* Mastering Behavioral Interviews (Substack): https://thebehavioral.substack.com
* Supra Insider #119: How I landed a director role in six weeks (Eric Posen): https://suprainsider.substack.com/p/119-how-i-landed-a-director-role
* Kokeb McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kokeb-mcdonald-328a1311/
* Henry Cheung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henryhycheung/
* Austen McDonald (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/@thebehavioral
* Austen McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austenmc/
* Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaselga/
* Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/
If you’re a new subscriber, we encourage you to check out some of the recent episodes you might have missed:
To support the podcast, please check out the links below:
* Check out Ben’s AI Practice Copilot and top-rated Maven course: Self-Paced PM Interview Bootcamp: Product Sense & Analytical Thinking (selected by Lenny Rachitsky as a top course 🔥). Get 25% off the course with promo code suprainsider (auto-applied here).
* Supra has teamed up with Maven to bring you something special – courses that our own community members have personally curated. And because you’re part of the Supra family, you can get up to 35% off some of these handpicked selections with code SUPRAxMAVEN.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suprainsider.substack.com

What if the biggest mistake senior product leaders make in negotiation is countering too soon?
In this episode of Supra Insider, Marc Baselga and Ben Erez sit down with Colin Lernell, co-founder and CEO of Valued, a comp negotiation firm, and a former senior product leader. Colin explains why he coaches every client to hold off on the instant counter. Instead, they run due diligence and role alignment calls with the hiring manager and skip-level. Colin walks through how recency bias and loss aversion turn a candidate into a colleague the company is afraid to lose. He also explains why so many top performers undervalue themselves in a market where pay for elite talent has surged.
They explore how OpenAI and Anthropic handle their no-negotiation stance and which competing offers actually move them. They get into when a lower level beats a bigger title, and whether sharing a number early helps or hurts. Colin shares his “ask for advice, get a job” tactic for building leverage overnight and the doc he has clients bring to every alignment call. Marc and Ben also debate whether negotiation belongs at the very start of interview prep.
If you’re a product leader expecting an offer in the next few weeks, weighing a move into big tech or an AI lab, or unsure how to push for more without damaging the relationship—this episode is for you.
Have or expect an offer? Book a free strategy call at feelvalued.co and tell them “INSIDER LOOPS” sent you for $500 off.
All episodes of the podcast are also available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
New to the pod? Subscribe below to get the next episode in your inbox 👇
Want company-specific interview intel?
If you’re preparing for PM interviews at Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Stripe, DoorDash, Uber, or Figma… we think you’re going to love Insider Loops. You can read about it in Ben’s LI post, Marc’s LI post or check out the site directly below.
Supra Insider listeners get $50 off all interview guides with promo code SUPRAINSIDER50
In this episode, we covered the following topics:
* (01:43) Why a skeptical product leader called Valued “the best money I’ll spend” within days of signing
* (07:39) Colin’s own mistake: losing his cool on an offer call while holding a $2M competing offer
* (11:45) The executive playbook Colin reverse-engineered at Udacity: due diligence before any counter
* (14:57) How recency bias and loss aversion turn you from a candidate into a colleague the company can’t afford to lose
* (21:08) Why top-talent comp has surged and why even the most senior candidates still under-ask
* (31:42) Marc’s devil’s advocate question: does negotiating a big offer put you under a microscope?
* (34:40) When a lower level is the smarter move, from Meta’s freeze on external director hires to the L7-to-L8 trap
* (38:12) How to negotiate with OpenAI and Anthropic despite their no-negotiation policies
* (48:48) Should you share a number on the first recruiter call? A listener’s doubled offer vs. Colin’s counterpoint
* (57:09) When to bring in a negotiator, and how five LinkedIn messages created three Mag 7 processes overnight
* (01:01:39) Marc and Ben debate whether salary negotiation should be step zero of interview prep
* (01:14:28) What goes in the role alignment doc, and how an Apple candidate unlocked double equity
* (01:20:48) Where to find Colin: free workshops, guides, and consult calls at feelvalued.co
* (01:22:37) Gratitude Corner: Colin thanks his first manager in Silicon Valley for showing him how to be warm and politically savvy at once, and his wife, a longtime PM, for teaching him the balance behind a long career
* And more!
Links:
* Supra Insider #8: The Product Leadership Job Search with Aakash Gupta: https://suprainsider.substack.com/p/8-the-product-leadership-job-search
* “How to Land a Product Leadership Job” (Aakash Gupta & Colin Lernell): https://www.news.aakashg.com/p/product-leadership-job-search
* Valued: https://www.feelvalued.co
* Have or expect an offer? Book a free strategy call at feelvalued.co and tell them “INSIDER LOOPS” sent you for $500 off.
* Colin’s first manager in Silicon Valley, Christian Plagemann: https://www.linkedin.com/in/plagemann
* Colin’s wife, Robin Lernell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-marie-miller
* Colin Lernell YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ColinLate
* Colin Lernell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinlernell/
* Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaselga/
* Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/
If you’re a new subscriber, we encourage you to check out some of the recent episodes you might have missed:
To support the podcast, please check out the links below:
* Supra has teamed up with Maven to bring you something special – courses that our own community members have personally curated. And because you’re part of the Supra family, you can get up to 35% off some of these handpicked selections with code SUPRAxMAVEN.
* Check out Ben’s AI Practice Copilot and top-rated Maven course: Self-Paced PM Interview Bootcamp: Product Sense & Analytical Thinking (selected by Lenny Rachitsky as a top course 🔥). Get 25% off the course with promo code suprainsider (auto-applied here).


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suprainsider.substack.com

What changes about hiring an executive when the best candidates suddenly have fifteen generational companies to choose from and no reason to pick up the phone?
In this episode of Supra Insider, Marc Baselga and Ben Erez sit down with Nolan Church, who was the first head of talent at DoorDash, then chief people officer at Carta, and who now runs executive searches for a small number of companies at a time. Ben worked for him directly at Continuum, and the two of them walk through what has actually shifted in the executive market: why the clearing price for a great hire is no longer about compensation, why the executive who talks a lot and does nothing has seen demand for their services collapse, and what founders are really buying when they bring in an outside recruiter.
They explore the framework Nolan builds every search around, how he gets almost anyone on the phone cold, why he treats relationship building and assessment as separate modes that companies routinely collapse too early, and what he thinks great executive assessment looks like given that structured interviews are only so predictive.
If you’re hiring your first executives, thinking about your own next move at that level, or curious how the top of the talent market actually works, this episode is for you.
All episodes of the podcast are also available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
New to the pod? Subscribe below to get the next episode in your inbox 👇
Want company-specific interview intel?
If you’re preparing for PM interviews at Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Stripe, DoorDash, Uber, or Figma… we think you’re going to love Insider Loops. You can read about it in Ben’s LI post, Marc’s LI post or check out the site directly below.
Supra Insider listeners get $50 off all interview guides with promo code SUPRAINSIDER50
In this episode, we covered the following topics:
* (01:30) Why Nolan calls this the craziest moment in tech history for executive hiring
* (03:14) The clearing price isn’t just comp, it’s life design
* (07:16) “I don’t believe in work-life balance, I just believe in life,” and where 996 actually fits
* (09:55) The three things an executive is really hired to do
* (10:52) The empty suit, and why demand for that kind of executive has gone to zero
* (19:14) Why Elon never pays for an outside recruiter, and what VCs now have to offer instead
* (28:44) What counts as a successful executive hire, and hiring for the next nine to twelve months
* (30:45) Why the best executive search is about removing asymmetry
* (35:49) The MOC framework: mission, outcome, competency, and why it beats a job description
* (42:15) Executives are like flowers in the spring, and why speed at all costs is a fail state
* (46:09) His secret sauce: 98% of the people he talks to start as cold outreach
* (52:02) Why he thinks really good recruiting is a moral good, and the tax that comes with it
* (59:13) What executive assessment actually looks like, and why interviews give weaker signal than people assume
* (1:09:55) Gratitude Corner: Nolan thanks his parents, his wife, and the people who bet on him early
* And more!
Links:
* “The Empty Suit Executive” by Tyler Hogge: https://www.tylerhogge.com/blog/the-empty-suit-executive/
* Who: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4989687-who
* Andreessen Horowitz executive hiring guide: https://a16z.com/executive-hiring/
* Andrew Munday: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-munday-51479612/
* Tony Xu: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xutony/
* Henry Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heward/
* Jeff Clavier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffclavier/
* Chad Packard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-packard-2397022/
* Nolan Church: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/
* Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaselga/
* Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/
If you’re a new subscriber, we encourage you to check out some of the recent episodes you might have missed:
To support the podcast, please check out the links below:
* Check out Ben’s AI Practice Copilot and top-rated Maven course: Self-Paced PM Interview Bootcamp: Product Sense & Analytical Thinking (selected by Lenny Rachitsky as a top course 🔥). Get 25% off the course with promo code suprainsider (auto-applied here).
* Supra has teamed up with Maven to bring you something special – courses that our own community members have personally curated. And because you’re part of the Supra family, you can get up to 35% off some of these handpicked selections with code SUPRAxMAVEN.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suprainsider.substack.com