I build AI products from zero to one, and I teach others how to do the same.Over 12+ years, I've taken AI/ML products from proof-of-concept to launch at Amazon, Nike, T-Mobile, and Disney. The work I love most is early-stage: validating ideas, getting executive greenlight, and shipping MVPs that prove value before scaling. At Nike, that approach drove a $100M annual reduction in product returns.I also teach what I build. I co-created and lead the AI Product Management Certificate at the University of Washington, where experienced PMs ship real GenAI products complete with evaluation plans and GTM strategies. Previously, I trained 4 cohorts at Product School.What I bring: the ability to translate messy AI capabilities into clear product value, align technical and business stakeholders, and move fast without breaking trust. I write about AI PM craft at aipmguru.substack.com.I'm currently exploring opportunities to lead 0→1 AI product work at companies solving meaningful problems. I'm especially energized by AI in healthcare and education, though I'm open to any domain where the product can genuinely improve lives. 

Shaili Guru

This message made my morning ☀️

A reader just shared that they landed an AI Product Manager role, and mentioned my content helped along the way.

Here's the thing though: I'm glad the content helped, but they put in the work.

The learning. The interviewing. The career pivot. That's all them.

Moments like this remind me why I write. Not to have all the answers, but to make the path a little clearer for folks navigating the transition.

If you're in the middle of your own AI PM journey right now, keep going. It's working.

AI Product Leader | 0→1 Builder & Educator | Ex-Nike, Ex-Amazon, Ex-Disney

My kids got Harry Potter Guess Who for Christmas, and watching them play gave me an idea. What if I built a digital version with our 46 family members? They could learn their relatives the same way they're learning about Hogwarts. I opened Bolt and started building. 34 versions later, I had a working game. But the real lesson wasn't about AI coding tools.

It was seeing PM fundamentals play out in real-time, compressed into one afternoon. Clear requirements prevented wrong interpretations. Defining the data model upfront avoided rewrites to the architecture. Thinking through edge cases early meant fewer fixes later. AI doesn't ask clarifying questions or push back on ambiguity. It just builds exactly what you describe.

Vibe coding is a mirror for PM discipline. It validated what I've learned across teams: clear requirements, defined data models, explicit acceptance criteria. The 4 patterns that made this work 👇

If I were teaching someone about AI product lifecycles for the first time, I'd start with POCs.
Not because they're the first step in a framework diagram.

Because they're where most AI products quietly die.

It reminds me of my research days working with Zebrafish embryos. You don't scale up a staining protocol before you've proven it works on a handful of samples.

Same logic applies to AI.

But here's what most teams get wrong: they run AI POCs like traditional software spikes. Build it, demo it, ship it.

AI doesn't work that way.

Your POC might hit 85% accuracy. Looks great in a demo. But what happens to the 15% that fails? Who handles those cases? What's the cost of being wrong?

These are the questions traditional PMs aren't trained to ask.

In my latest post, I break down:
→ Why POCs are the critical gate (not just another phase)
→ Three types of AI products and how they change what you're validating
→ The question most teams forget to ask before calling a POC "successful."

Link in comments 👇

Building your personal brand is hard. On LinkedIn, off LinkedIn—doesn't matter. It's just hard.

I have been at it for about a year now, and honestly? Still figuring it out.

I'm part of PDMA Seattle's committee, and our next session is with Leslie on how to make LinkedIn work for your PM career.

📅 Jan 14, 12-1 PM PST 🔗 https://luma.com/wno7fylk

Our last session on PM hiring trends had a great turnout, and everyone walked away with something useful. Expecting this one to be just as good.

Come through if you're trying to figure out the brand thing too.

Product Development and Management Association Seattle team - Anna Bigornia Sako Eaton Harmony Crawford Prabina B. Matt Foster Sahit G.  Banu R.

#productmanagement #linkedin #personalbrand

Open article: Stand Out With Your Brand Out. How Product Managers can grow their career using LinkedIn. · Zoom · Luma by luma.com

Stand Out With Your Brand Out. How Product Managers can grow their career using LinkedIn. · Zoom · Luma

You’ve spent years executing at a high level, and still feel overlooked when it comes to growth, compensation, or title.

You’re not alone.

I help ambitious leaders break out of the "good but not promotable" trap and accelerate toward $20K+ jumps, strategic roles, and executive visibility.

I’m not here to give you generic advice or mindset fluff. I’m your sparring partner — someone who helps you sharpen how you show up, speak up, and stand out where it counts.

My edge?

I spent 20+ years inside corporate HR and succession planning. I watched brilliant leaders get stuck because they weren’t seen as “strategic” or “ready” — even when they were already operating at that level.

I know the rules behind who gets tapped and who gets left out.

So I created the VIPER framework to help you flip the script.

We work on:

Visibility: You don't just do the work. You're seen for it.

Influence: You build sponsor-ready relationships.

Positioning: You show up as a strategic thinker, not just a doer.

Executive Presence: You lead the room before you speak.

Real Sponsors: You stop pitching. You get championed.

My clients:

Step into VP and Director roles they were once passed over for

Negotiate $20K–$100K raises with clarity and confidence

Create LinkedIn content that opens doors before jobs are posted

Become undeniable candidates with a clear action plan

You’re not starting over. You already have the results.
You just need the strategy that gets you seen.

Claim your career strategy audit and let's go.

Mathruka Viswanath

Power changes people. Sometimes quietly. Sometimes permanently.

I mentored someone early in her career bright, collaborative, the kind of leader people actually wanted to work for.

Ten years later, she made SVP.

First thing she did? Stopped eating lunch with her old team.

She told me: "I had to create distance. People were asking me for favors, and I couldn't say no. Now that I'm higher up, I can't afford to be the person who remembers everyone's names."

I asked her if it was worth it.

She didn't answer.

Here's what nobody tells you about executive advancement:
The path to the C-suite doesn't require you to become someone else.

It requires you to become more of who you actually are.

The difference matters.

Most women I coach are terrified of this exact thing that visibility, authority, and executive presence demand they adopt some polished, political, emotionally-disconnected leadership persona.

So they stay invisible instead.

Better to be unknown than to be known as that kind of executive.
But here's the truth: The executives who actually shape culture and attract loyalty aren't the ones who perform leadership.

They're the ones who lead from conviction.

Your technical credibility + your collaborative instinct + your integrity = your competitive advantage.

Not a liability.

Not something to hide.

If you remember one thing: leadership that requires self-erasure is not leadership.

The executives being recruited for the best roles aren't the smoothest talkers.

They're the ones who've built trust deep enough that people advocate for them.

Behind closed doors.

Without being asked.

That only happens if people believe you actually care about more than your own advancement.

So when you're positioning for your next move, don't ask: "What version of myself will get me promoted?"

Ask: "What version of myself will make people want to follow me?"
One leads to politics.

The other leads to power.

If this resonates, I'd like to know: How are you thinking about visibility without compromising who you are?

(Your next role shouldn't require you to become someone you despise.)

Strategic Leadership Advisor | VIPER Framework | ACC Certified | 20 Years in HR | International Keynote Speaker

I watched a director get rejected from her fourth VP interview in six months.

She called me in tears: "What's wrong with me?"

I told her: "Nothing's wrong with you. You're sending the wrong signal."

"Rejection isn't feedback on your worth. It's feedback on your signal. And signal is fixable."

When ambitious leaders don't get the job, they spiral: Am I smart enough? Polished enough?

But rejection means: The signal you gave didn't match the signal they're hunting for.

You walk in sharp. Three days later: "We've decided to move forward with another candidate."

Your brain: I'm not enough.

What they actually said: "The other candidate gave us what we need."

See the difference?

Rejection is data about signal, not judgment about capacity.
Signal is learnable. Signal is fixable.

Stop asking: "Why didn't they pick me?"

Start asking: "What signal did they respond to that I didn't give?"

After your next rejection, ask yourself:

1. When did they lean in? What got real engagement? Lead with that next time.

2. Did I lead with transformation or activity? Most say "I led the strategy." They want "I turned decline into $40M revenue."

3. Did they want to keep talking? Executives get hired because someone thought: I want this person on my team. You build that through conviction, not polish.

The leaders who break the rejection cycle aren't suddenly "better."
They learned to read the room. They learned to emphasize transformation. They learned to lead with conviction.

It's not about being better.

It's about being clear.

If you're in the rejection cycle right now, my DMs are open.

Tell me about your last interview. I'll help you see what signal you're actually sending.

taplio

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Shaili Guru

Mathruka Viswanath

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taplio

The Battle

Shaili Guru

Mathruka Viswanath

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Shaili Guru's LinkedIn Performance

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