Brex President & CPO on embedding Product team into sales process to accelerate revenue growth | Karandeep Anand |
E251 | #TheProductPodcast
"At Brex, 30% of a PM's time is spent with customers and prospects on sales calls. I'd never seen that at Meta or Microsoft. It's a game changer because it connects the PM directly to what customers actually need."
In this episode, Carlos González de Villaumbrosia speaks with Karandeep Anand, President & CPO of Brex, about revolutionizing the traditional product management approach. With over 20 years of experience at tech giants like Microsoft and Meta before joining Brex, Karandeep shares his journey from bartending in India to leading product teams at some of the world's most innovative companies. He reveals his unique strategies for integrating product teams directly into sales processes, implementing AI responsibly, and challenging conventional notions of product-market fit.
There are many incredible lessons to learn from Micheal. Here are a few of the top ones:
Product-Sales Integration Creates Powerful Feedback Loops
"The PM on a sales call can immediately say 'here's why we built it this way, here's how it works, and here's where we're going.' That direct connection is incredibly powerful."
Karandeep revolutionized Brex's approach by embedding product managers directly into the sales process. Unlike his experience at bigger companies, Brex PMs spend about 30% of their time on sales calls with customers and prospects. This creates an immediate feedback loop where PMs hear customer problems firsthand and can explain product decisions on the spot. The practice has proven so effective that it's become a competitive advantage, allowing for faster product iterations based on genuine customer needs rather than filtered second-hand information. This direct involvement also helps sales teams understand the product roadmap more deeply, enabling them to sell not just what exists today, but the vision of where the product is heading.
Challenging Traditional Product-Market Fit
"Product-market fit isn't a destination, it's a journey. Markets evolve, competitors emerge, customer expectations change. The idea that you 'reach' product-market fit and then you're done is fundamentally flawed."
Karandeep challenges the traditional notion that product-market fit is a milestone to be achieved and then maintained. He believes it's a continuous process that requires constant evolution. At Brex, they view product-market fit as a dynamic target that shifts with market changes, competitive landscapes, and evolving customer needs. This perspective drives their approach to product development, where they focus on creating adaptable solutions rather than static products. Karandeep emphasizes that the most successful companies don't rest on their product-market fit achievements but instead continuously question and refine their understanding of customer problems and solutions.
Product Manager as "Mini CEO"
"The best product managers are mini CEOs of their product lines. They understand the market, the customer, the business model, and they bring together engineering, design, and go-to-market to create solutions customers love."
Karandeep describes his vision of product managers as "mini CEOs" who take complete ownership of their product areas. This goes beyond traditional PM responsibilities to include deep understanding of business models, competitive landscapes, and go-to-market strategies. At Brex, PMs are expected to synthesize insights from diverse sources—customer feedback, market trends, company strategy—and translate them into coherent product directions. This approach requires versatile skills: technical understanding, business acumen, customer empathy, and leadership ability. Karandeep emphasizes that great PMs don't just build features; they solve business problems and create market opportunities.
AI as an Evolution, Not a Revolution
"AI in fintech is an evolution, not a revolution. You can't just replace human judgment in financial decisions with AI overnight. We're focusing on augmenting human capabilities first, building trust systematically."
Karandeep approaches AI implementation with thoughtful caution, especially in the sensitive fintech space. Rather than viewing AI as a revolutionary force that will immediately transform everything, he sees it as an evolutionary tool that should be integrated gradually. At Brex, they've focused on using AI to automate routine tasks first, maintaining human oversight for critical financial decisions. This builds trust with users who might be skeptical about AI managing their finances. Their strategy involves starting with simple use cases like summarizing documents or detecting anomalies, then progressively expanding AI's role as customers become comfortable with the technology.
Leveraging AI to Empower Product Teams
"We're using AI to make our product teams more efficient. Our PMs now use AI to draft specs, summarize customer conversations, even get first drafts of designs. It's allowing our small team to accomplish what would typically require many more people."
Karandeep shares how AI has transformed internal operations at Brex, allowing their product teams to work with unprecedented efficiency. PMs use AI tools to draft initial product specifications, summarize customer interview insights, and even generate preliminary design concepts. This application of AI has enabled Brex to operate with a leaner product team while maintaining high output. While human judgment remains essential for strategic decisions and creative direction, AI handles time-consuming tasks that previously limited productivity. This internal use of AI has become a competitive advantage, allowing faster product development cycles and more time for strategic thinking.
Hybrid Go-to-Market Strategy for Complex Products
"We've developed a three-pronged approach: pure PLG for simple products, sales-led for complex enterprise needs, and what we call 'light human-assisted PLG' for the middle ground where customers need some guidance but not a full sales cycle."
Karandeep explains Brex's sophisticated go-to-market strategy that combines multiple approaches based on product complexity and customer needs. For straightforward products, they employ a pure product-led growth (PLG) model where customers can self-serve entirely. For complex enterprise solutions, they use a traditional sales-led approach with dedicated account teams. Most innovatively, they've created a hybrid "light human-assisted PLG" model for the middle ground—products that require some explanation but don't warrant a full sales cycle. This nuanced approach allows Brex to scale efficiently while providing appropriate support levels for different customer segments.
Key Insights:
Sales-Product Alignment: Having product managers spend 30% of their time on sales calls creates powerful feedback loops and competitive advantages
Continuous Product-Market Fit: Replace the concept of "achieving" product-market fit with a continuous journey of adaptation to changing markets
PM as Mini-CEO: The most effective product managers take complete ownership of their areas, combining technical, business, and leadership skills
Strategic AI Implementation: In financial services, introduce AI gradually with human oversight to build trust before expanding its role
Internal AI Adoption: Using AI tools within product teams creates efficiency that allows smaller teams to deliver outsized results
Tailored Go-to-Market: Complex product suites require multiple approaches—pure PLG, sales-led, and hybrid models depending on the specific solution
Credits:
Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia
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