March 2017 Summaries

Mixpanel has announced a significant change to its employee equity program by extending the post-termination option exercise window from 90 days to five years for employees who remain with the company for at least two years. This change aims to make it easier for employees to benefit from stock options, which are a crucial component of their compensation. The traditional 90-day window often forces employees to leave without exercising their options due to financial constraints, leading to a sense of being trapped. Mixpanel's decision prioritizes fairness over the potential dilution of shares, as it believes retaining employees who truly wish to stay will foster a more motivated and risk-taking workforce. The change was carefully considered and implemented with the assistance of a legal and finance team, and an equity management platform called eShares was used to facilitate the transition. Feedback from employees has been overwhelmingly positive, as the extended window provides them with greater flexibility and peace of mind regarding their equity options.

Mixpanel has introduced Dashboards, a feature allowing users to consolidate and view product metrics from various devices, including phones, computers, and office TVs. This tool enables users to create, share, and customize dashboards with ease, catering to specific audiences such as product teams, marketing, or executives. Dashboards serve as a central access point for key reports, facilitating quick transitions from dashboard views to detailed reports with minimal clicks. Users can start by creating a Personal Dashboard to familiarize themselves with the feature, then progress to building team-specific dashboards. The multi-dashboard view allows users to manage multiple dashboards on a single screen, enhancing accessibility and efficiency in monitoring product performance.

Matt Krueger's journey from a marketing-focused role on the Windows team to becoming a successful product manager and co-founder of the startup Savvy highlights the importance of key traits in effective product management: deep listening, making tough decisions, and multifaceted storytelling. Despite initially lacking coding skills, Matt excelled by leveraging his process skills to coordinate teams and drive projects, eventually ascending to VP of Product at Lumosity and co-founding Savvy. He emphasizes that great product managers must listen proactively to understand customer and team needs, make difficult decisions that may not please everyone but are essential for innovation, and communicate their vision and decisions effectively to different audiences. These skills have prepared him for the role of a founder, where he aims to help people save money through Savvy, demonstrating that product management skills are crucial for leadership roles in both large enterprises and startups.