Shwetank Dixit has broad experience in product management, technology strategy (including AI strategy), corporate innovation, engineering management, program management, developer relations, technology evangelism, web standards, browser extensions, technical documentation, and conference organization and public speaking. He often acts as a bridge between the pure tech and business realms.
SPEAKER LINKS
Paul Syng: https://linktr.ee/paulsyng
Shwetank Dixit: https://twitter.com/shwetank
Listen to this podcast on other platforms: Anchor.fm/paulsyng
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 How we know each other
02:28 Shwetank on how he got started
03:48 How Shwetank got hired by Opera
08:02 Schools, markers of success and making mistakes
11:59 Building a search engine for academic content
13:00 The role of the education system and pursuing your curiosity
14:18 From shy introvert to a public speaker (contrarian view)
22:05 What does a web evangelist do?
26:30 Lesson on reaching out to people on Linkedin (building relationships)
29:10 Humans are suspicious of salesy behaviour
33:30 First stint as a product manager (working on Opera extensions platform)
37:16 Browser extensions, platform monopoly and the risks
39:48 Parallels between product and service-based companies (bringing features or people in-house)
42:16 Role of distribution and client buying decisions
45:52 Sales-led model vs Product-led growth (PLG)
52:20 Future of sales: PLG coupled with sales
56:00 The role of communication in becoming a leader and bridge
01:01:07 Difference between an engineer and senior engineer