Lessons on building product sense, navigating AI, optimizing the first mile, and making it through the messy middle | Scott Belsky (Adobe, Behance)

In this episode of Lenny's Podcast, Lenny Rachitsky interviews Scott Belsky, a product leader and investor. They discuss Belsky's transition at Adobe to overseeing strategy, design, and emerging products, and his views on why CPOs often have short tenures. Belsky shares insights on building product sense by developing customer empathy and focusing on the "first mile" of user experience. The conversation explores the challenges of creating successful consumer products, the importance of simplifying features, and the transformative potential of AI in product development, emphasizing the need for product managers to experiment and adapt. Belsky also provides advice on navigating the "messy middle" of ventures, assessing when to quit, and what he looks for in startup investments, highlighting the significance of resourcefulness and challenging conventional wisdom.