The data is not the hero — the message is.

In this episode of Creating Better Products, host Sabrina Mach sits down with Abdo Wahba — CPO, exited founder, and storytelling coach — to explore the art (and science) of storytelling with data.

Too often, product leaders throw charts into a slide deck and hope for the best. Abdo argues that data only becomes powerful when it supports a clear message — one that changes how people think, feel, or act.

You’ll learn:

• Why most business presentations fail (and how to fix yours)

• The difference between showing data and making a case

• How to tailor your message based on your audience

• Why storytelling is the product leader’s secret weapon — especially in the age of AI

• How to avoid “analysis rabbit holes” and focus on outcomes

✨ Bonus: Abdo shares his personal framework for crafting compelling messages and offers a free coaching session for Sabrina’s audience at abduwahba.com/freebie

Whether you present to your team, your execs, or the entire company — this episode will sharpen your communication game and help you create better products, one story at a time.

🎧 Listen now, and share it with someone who could use a storytelling upgrade.

#productleadership #storytellingwithdata #presentationskills #creatingbetterproducts #publicspeaking #productmanagement

Startup founders aren't just building products — they're building belief.
In this special crossover episode of Creating Better Products and Startup Life Live, Sabrina Mach shares five powerful lessons from her conversation with Jan Heimes, co-founder of Needle — a Berlin-based AI startup in the messy, beautiful early stages of growth.

What can enterprise product leaders learn from early-stage founders? A lot, actually.

In this episode:

• Why loving your customer (and talking to them constantly) fuels more than just product roadmaps

• Why "build, break, build" beats months of over-planning

• How pivoting fast — and quitting early — can be a sign of strength, not failure

• Why getting out of stealth mode (even before you're ready) is critical

• And the importance of being the spark that keeps your team believing

Whether you're working in a startup or a scaled enterprise, these lessons will help you stay focused, move faster, and bring fresh energy to your teams and products.

✨ Stay bold. Stay customer-obsessed. Stay believing.

Follow Creating Better Products and Startup Life Live for more insights from builders who know what it takes to turn an idea into something real.

#productleadership #startuplife #enterpriseinnovation #earlystagefounders #creatingbetterproducts #startupstories

In this episode of Creating Better Products, host Sabrina Mach sits down with Johanna Vollrath — service designer, researcher, and team catalyst — to unpack a counterintuitive truth: speed doesn’t come from hustle. It comes from design.

Johanna shares how her team cut delivery time from three months to just three weeks — not by pushing harder, but by applying service design skills internally to align people, reduce confusion, and unlock momentum. The twist? She didn’t just design for users — she designed the team experience itself.

Whether you're facing delivery pressure, misalignment, or internal resistance, this episode offers a fresh blueprint for building product teams that move faster because they understand more.

🧩 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

👉 Why “being faster” often backfiresTrying to sprint without shared clarity creates hidden drag. Johanna reveals how many teams lose speed by skipping the hard — but necessary — upfront alignment.

👉 How service blueprints can supercharge team understandingUsed differently, service blueprints don’t just show user journeys — they reveal team assumptions and knowledge gaps. Johanna shows how to turn them into strategic decision tools.

👉 Using design skills on your own stakeholdersForget endless persuasion. Johanna applied classic research and empathy skills to understand stakeholder fears — and turned blockers into advocates.

👉 Why team emotions are a speed multiplierEmotional speed matters. Psychological safety, motivation, and shared purpose helped her team work smarter, not harder — and made delivery feel effortless.

👉 Pro tip: Measure what didn’t go wrongGreat design often prevents waste rather than creates flash. Learn how to recognize and communicate the value of avoided rework and alignment debt.

📚 Resources Johanna Recommends:

Lean Inception by Paulo Caroli

The Culture Map by Erin Meyer

IXDA Conference Talks

99% Invisible Podcast

Service Blueprints (reimagined for internal use)

💬 Question for you:

When has going slow early helped your team speed up later? What design rituals or alignment tools helped your team deliver with confidence? Drop a comment — your story will inspire others and might shape a future episode.

Why do most product ideas fail? In this episode, we talk about how to measure product-market fit and build a validation engine that works.

I’m Sabrina Mach — product leader, innovation strategist, and host of Creating Better Products.

Joining me is Bill Albert — researcher, measurement expert, and co-author of Measuring the User Experience.Both of us have spent years helping teams build better products.

But here’s the thing: Most product ideas don’t fail at launch. They fail much earlier — when teams skip pain validation, or assume their solution is good enough... without proof.

This conversation provides practical methods to measure innovation:

👉 Validate the problem first.

👉 Then validate if your solution actually solves it.

Key takeaways from the episode:

🛠 Adoption challenges start with weak pain validation. If customers aren’t adopting, the pain wasn’t big or urgent enough to warrant change.

🚫 "Launch and learn" isn’t validation — it’s gambling. Fast, but expensive. Validation before build is always faster in the long run.

💰 The $100 spend exercise — a simple, actionable validation method. Give customers imaginary money to spend on their most painful problems. This forces prioritization and gives clear, quantifiable signals.

⚠ Switching pain: the silent barrier to adoption. Even the best solution will struggle if switching feels harder than sticking with the current workaround.

📊 Build your own internal validation benchmarks. Track measurements across products. Build confidence and speed over time with your own patterns, not just generic frameworks.

🎯 My reflection as a product and innovation leader: Product-market fit is not magic — it’s disciplined validation.Bill’s methods gave me new ways to make that measurable and visible, especially in those “why are we slowing down?” conversations with stakeholders.

✨ Resources Bill recommends:

- Measuring the User Experience by Bill Albert & Tom Tullis

- Testing Business Ideas by David Bland & Alex Osterwalder

- Lean Customer Development by Cindy Alvarez

- Journal of Usability Studies (free!): uxpajournal.org

- Greenlight Idea Lab’s product launch readiness tool: greenlightidealab.com

👋 Connect with Bill:

Website: https://www.greenlightidealab.com/

LinkedIn: Bill Albert https://www.linkedin.com/in/walbert/

🔥 I’d love to hear from you:

How do you validate pain and solutions?

What methods or signals have helped you avoid building the wrong thing?

Drop a comment or connect with me on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinamach/

I’m always learning, and your story might inspire others too.

Why do some product teams thrive while others get stuck in endless meetings and slow decision-making?

In this episode, we sit down with Iolao Cocco, an experienced UX leader, to explore the hidden dynamics that make or break cross-functional collaboration.

Iolao shares his firsthand experience of working in two contrasting environments—one where process and approvals slowed everything down, and another where a simple shift in team structure led to rapid execution and better outcomes. The difference wasn’t just in tools or methodologies—it was in how teams worked together.

We dive into five key insights that challenge conventional wisdom:
✅ Bottom-up Agile works better than top-down Agile – Agile is most effective when teams self-organize rather than having rigid processes imposed from above.
✅ Big projects can move faster than small optimizations – Minor changes often get buried in approvals, while large initiatives with clear ownership can progress rapidly.
✅ Three decision-makers in the room are faster than one reporting up – Product, design, and engineering working together in real time leads to faster, better decisions.
✅ Transparency isn’t a mindset—it’s a structural issue – When teams are set up for collaboration from the start, transparency happens naturally.
✅ True UX-driven design starts with the problem, not the technology – The best products solve real user problems first, instead of working within existing technical constraints.

This episode is for you, if you’re a product or design leader looking to speed up decision-making, cut through unnecessary process, and create truly empowered teams.

🎧 Listen now and start rethinking how your teams work!

#ProductManagement #UXDesign #AgileLeadership #CrossFunctionalTeams #ProductDevelopment #Collaboration #Agile #UserExperience #TeamDynamics #Trust #Transparency #Product management #DesignThinking #CreatingBetterProducts

In this conversation, Beks Yelland and Sabrina Mach explore the importance of being data-informed rather than solely data-driven in product leadership.

They discuss the evolution of product management, the balance between data and intuition, and the challenges faced in data-driven environments.

Beks shares insights on creating psychological safety within teams, the concept of 'fixing forward' after mistakes, and the differences in data strategies between B2B and B2C contexts.

The conversation emphasizes the need for collaboration, understanding customer emotions, and building relationships to create better products.

TAKEAWAYS

• Product leaders should make data informed decisions, not data driven decisions.
• Balancing data with intuition is crucial for innovation.
• B2B and B2C require different data strategies for decision making.

• Diverse data sources provide a fuller picture for data informed decision making

• Qualitative data about customer emotions are a data source too.
• Understanding customer emotions can drive product success.

• Creating psychological safety enables decision-informed decision making.
• A lack of psychological safety creates abdication of decision making to data.
• Fixing forward allows teams to learn from mistakes.

SOUND BITES

• "We need to trust our intuition."
• "Data can sometimes limit our boldness."
• "Data should inform, not dictate decisions."

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro to Show

00:49 Intro to Guest

02:44 Challenges in Adopting a Data-Informed Approach

07:13 Why we Need to Look Beyond the Data - World Remit Story

12:18 Why we Need to Look Beyond the Data - Reuters Story

16:10 The Risk of Being Data Driven

18:41 The Importance of Diverse Data Sources

21:22 The Value of Diverse Insights and Analytics Capabilities

23:30 Psychological Safety in Product Leadership

26:31 The Concept of 'Fix Forward'

28:58 The Difference Between B2C and B2B Data Strategy

33:02 B2B Success Principle: Move from Sales Led to Product Led

38:20 B2B Success Principle: Test your Sales Narrative With Customers

41:49 B2C and B2C Success Principle: Collaboration and Relationships

44:33 How to move from Data-Driven to Data- Informed Decision Making

47:48 Pro-Tip for Data Informed Decision Making

49:11 Why Product Leaders Need to Make Data-Informed Decisions to Create Better Products

49:56 Inspiration and Resources for Product Leaders

53:17 Connect with Beks

53:41 A Question to our Listeners

KEYWORDS

data-driven, data-informed, product leadership, decision making, qualitative data, quantitative data, digital product metrics, psychological safety, B2B, B2C, collaboration, customer insights, product development

Why a Seamless Physical-Digital Experience is Critical for Brand Value

Customers don’t differentiate between physical and digital experiences — they expect a brand to feel consistent, whether they’re interacting with a product in-store, on an app, or anywhere in between.

Yet many organizations still struggle to bridge the gap, creating friction that weakens brand perception and erodes customer trust.

In this episode, Sabrina Mach and Francesco Fera discuss why aligning physical and digital design is no longer optional — it’s a strategic necessity.

They explore the challenges companies face, the disconnect between teams, and the risks of an inconsistent brand experience.

More importantly, they offer practical strategies for closing the gap, strengthening collaboration, and ensuring your brand delivers a cohesive, high-value experience across every touchpoint.

This conversation is essential listening for business, product and design leaders looking to future-proof their brand and maintain customer loyalty.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The gap between physical and digital products is often due to different design maturities.
• Successful brands bridge the gap by creating a unified experience across all touchpoints.
• Understanding the emotional connection of physical products can inform digital design.
• Collaboration between physical and digital design teams is essential for coherence.
• Design leaders must communicate the value of design to executives effectively.
• Building a network within the organization enhances visibility and support for design initiatives.
• Persistence is key in advocating for cohesive design practices.

• Creating a common language between design teams fosters better collaboration.
• Design should be seen as a strategic asset that drives business success.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro to the Show

00:14 Intro to Topic: Physical and Digital Experience Gap

00:53 Intro to Guest: Francesco Fera

01:32 The Journey of a Designer: From Digital to Physical

04:10 Root Cause of the Experience Gap

07:16 Why Things Don't Transfer From Physical to Digital Design

09:37 Translating Emotions: From Physical to Digital Experiences

14:34 The Importance of Brand Coherence

20:15 Creating Credibility: The Designer's Role in Business

26:07 Barrier to Coherent Brand Experience: Digital Transformation Challenges

30:39 Bridging the Gap: Strategies for Creating a Coherent Brand Experience

34:09 Principle: End-to-End Thinking to Create Coherent Brand Story

37:23 Personal Insights: Bridging Physical and Digital Design

42:19 Tips for Designers: Collaborating with Physical Design Teams

43:41 Guidance for Business Leaders: Creating a Cohesive Experience

47:03 Key Principles for Success in Design49:43Creating Better Products: The Importance of Cohesive Brand Experience

50:14 Recommended Resources for Designers

52:19 Connect with Francesco

53:22 A Question for you

54:04 Bonus Scene :)

KEYWORDS

physical products, digital products, design experience, brand perception, customer experience, design integration, cohesive experience, digital transformation, industrial design, user experience, unified customer experience, brand value

In this conversation, Sabrina Mach and Matjaž Domen Pečan discuss the significance of product thinking in engineering practices.

Matjaž is a staff engineer at Doctolib. He shares his journey from a technology-focused mindset to one that prioritizes customer value and user experience.

They explore the challenges and benefits of integrating product thinking into engineering roles, emphasizing the importance of communication, collaboration, and iterative processes.

Matjaž provides insights on overcoming barriers, measuring success, and the necessity of removing unnecessary complexity in products to enhance user satisfaction.

The discussion concludes with actionable principles for engineers to adopt product thinking in their daily work.

TAKEAWAYS

CHAPTERS

00:00 Understanding Value in Engineering

02:35 Journey into Product Thinking

05:36 Customer-Centric Engineering Practices

08:26T he Importance of User Experience

11:13 Balancing Technology and Customer Needs

14:30 Measuring Value and Impact

17:16 Accessing and Utilizing Data

27:29 Navigating Business Metrics and Data Sharing

29:42 Overcoming Personal Limits in Product Thinking

32:33 Personal Stories of Conflict and Resolution

35:52 The Importance of Perseverance in Product Development

39:34 Applying Product Thinking in Engineering

42:44 The Case for Removing Unnecessary Complexity

46:52 Barriers to Product Thinking in Engineering

52:30 Key Principles for Accelerating Impact

54:36 The Importance of Understanding User Needs

55:50 Final Thoughts on Product Thinking and Better Products

KEYWORDS

product thinking, software engineering, software development, customer value, technology, leadership, user experience, organizational dynamics, communication, iterative process, complexity removal