Chandra Janakiraman

Chief Product Officer & EVP at VRChat

CPO and EVP at VRChat; formerly product leader at Meta, CPO at Headspace, GM at Zynga, and Senior PM at Amazon; known for demystifying product strategy through practical frameworks.

The Visionary The Operator

Dimension Profile

Strategic Vision 90%

Execution & Craft 60%

Data & Experimentation 40%

Growth & Distribution 30%

Team & Leadership 60%

User Empathy & Research 50%

Key Themes

product strategy demystification present forward vs future back strategy five-stage strategy process aspirational strategy component strategy gene myth alignment through process

Episode Summary

Chandra Janakiraman, CPO at VRChat with experience at Meta, Headspace, Zynga, and Amazon, demystifies product strategy by debunking the 'strategy gene' myth and presenting a practical five-stage process for developing product strategy. He distinguishes between present-forward strategy (solving problems in a 2-year horizon) and aspirational future-back strategy (5-10 year vision), emphasizing that the process must build alignment and ownership throughout to succeed.

Leadership Principles

→ There is no 'strategy gene' — the mystique around product strategy makes people think you need to be born good at it, but it's a learnable process
→ Present forward strategy solves problems within a two-year horizon using a five-stage process that takes 8-12 weeks — alignment is built in throughout
→ Strategy that comes from people feels more familiar and easy to accept — the process must create ownership, not just output

Notable Quotes

"I started noticing that there was a certain mystique and aura about product strategy. There was this perception that some people were intrinsically really good at strategy and others were not. It was almost as if there was a strategy gene you needed to be born with."
— On the myth that strategy is an innate talent

"There is a smallest flavor of strategy which focuses on solving problems, called present forward, and it typically operates in a two-year horizon. We use a five-stage process and it takes about eight to 12 weeks. The reason this process works is there is a ton of alignment built in."
— On his practical approach to product strategy

"There needs to be an aspirational and cool component to strategy. What does the product look like in five to 10 years? Why is the world better in 10 years? And what is the most exciting version of that view?"
— On the importance of aspirational vision in strategy

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