Twitter’s ex-Head of Product on Elon, consumer products, culture, more | Kayvon Beykpour

What were the initial challenges Kayvon Beykpour faced at Twitter?

Kayvon Beykpour encountered significant obstacles when he joined Twitter. The product team was grappling with a stagnant culture and a noticeable lack of ambition. Here are the primary challenges he faced:

• Stagnation: The culture within the product team was resistant to change, making it hard to drive innovation.
• Lack of Creativity: There was a severe shortage of new ideas and creative thinking, hindering product development.
• Customer Dissatisfaction: Users frequently noted that the product seemed unchanged over the years, questioning what the team was doing.
• Organizational Dysfunction: A functional organizational model caused deadlocks and required consensus for decisions, slowing down progress.

For more insights into how other tech companies have managed dynamic cultural shifts, you can read about Mike Solana's lessons from Jack Dorsey.

How did Kayvon Beykpour initiate cultural change within Twitter?

Kayvon Beykpour took several strategic steps to create momentum and transform Twitter's product culture:

• Building Trust:

  • He gained the confidence of the executive team by improving the product's growth metrics.
  • Engaged in repetitive storytelling to align everyone with the new vision.
  • Established credibility by fostering transparency and openness within the team.

• Achieving Quick Wins:

  • Focused on delivering small, impactful features to build initial momentum.
  • Implemented rapid feedback loops to continuously improve those early successes.
  • Examples include features like hide replies and other user experience improvements.

• Storytelling:

  • Used compelling narratives to explain the vision and the rationale behind product updates.
  • Emphasized the long-term benefits of new projects to get buy-in from hesitant team members.
  • Integrated these narratives into all levels of the organization to ensure everyone felt part of the transformation.

By executing these steps, Beykpour managed to steer Twitter towards a more innovative and responsive product culture. For further insight into how transformational leadership can impact tech companies, you might find our interview with Mike Solana enlightening.

What role did acquihires play in transforming Twitter's product culture?

Kayvon Beykpour utilized acquihires to infuse Twitter with a spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation. This strategy helped bridge gaps in expertise and foster a culture that embraced new ideas.

• Entrepreneurial Spirit:

  • Bringing in founders who were passionate about their products injected a startup mentality into Twitter.
  • These new hires were often assigned to lead significant projects, bringing fresh perspectives and urgency to the team.

• Key Examples:

  • Spaces: This audio-based feature, inspired by Clubhouse, was driven by a small team led by entrepreneurs previously acquihired by Twitter.
  • Communities: This project benefited from the entrepreneurial insight of John Barnett and his team, acquired from Chroma Labs.
  • Community Notes (Birdwatch): Initiated by Keith Coleman, a former product lead whose company was acquired by Twitter, this feature aimed to crowdsource content moderation.

Leveraging acquihires allowed Twitter to adopt a more dynamic and adaptable approach, essential for product innovation in a competitive landscape.

What lessons did Kayvon Beykpour learn from the Periscope experience?

1. Address Core Issues Early: Periscope suffered from poor retention, masked by rapid user growth. It's crucial to tackle such core problems instead of relying on top-line metrics for a misleading picture of success.

2. Integration Takes Time: The long time it took to integrate Periscope with Twitter's platform hurt its potential. Quick and seamless integration is vital for leveraging the broader platform’s strengths.

3. Generalized Product Challenges: Focusing solely on live video isn’t sustainable. Versatile capabilities, including asynchronous features, are essential for a lasting user base.

4. Competition from Giants: Major platforms like Facebook can mobilize massive resources quickly. This can include direct feature copying and aggressive creator acquisition, which can significantly impact smaller competitors.

5. Organizational Unity: Internal competition weakened Periscope’s success. Having a unified organizational effort would have streamlined execution and potentially delivered better results.

How did Twitter handle the integration of video products like Vine and Periscope?

Twitter faced significant internal competition and organizational challenges when integrating video products like Vine and Periscope. Here are the key points:

• Internal Competition:

  • Vine and Periscope were treated as separate entities within Twitter.
  • Both had their own teams, technology stacks, and product visions, causing fragmented efforts.
  • Vine competed with Twitter’s native video initiative, while Periscope faced similar issues with Twitter’s premium live video efforts.

• Organizational Challenges:

  • These products were not cohesively integrated into the core platform.
  • Separate development caused delays and hampered the overall user experience.
  • Leadership was split, and there was a lack of unified direction to streamline efforts.

• Addressing the Issues:

  • Persistent effort and table-pounding eventually led to the reintegration of Periscope’s technology stack into Twitter.
  • This allowed Twitter to unify live video experiences, creating a seamless interface for both user-generated and premium content.
  • The eventual success came from acknowledging past mistakes and realigning organizational efforts for better execution.

By learning from these experiences, Twitter avoided repeating the same mistakes and improved its ability to innovate with cohesive internal collaboration. For more insights on transforming product culture within tech companies, check out how Russ d'Sa contributed to Twitter's growth.

When should companies copy features from competitors, according to Kayvon Beykpour?

Kayvon Beykpour believes that copying features can be both beneficial and done in good taste. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on what is best for customers rather than simply copying for the sake of it. Here are key points from his perspective:

• Do the Right Thing for Customers:

  • Always consider customer needs first.
  • Ensure that copied features genuinely add value to the user's experience.
  • Adapt the feature to better fit your platform and user base.

• Learn from Successful Examples:

  • Analyze why a particular feature succeeded on another platform.
  • Incorporate the successful elements that resonate most with users.
  • Add unique elements to make the feature your own.

• Case Study: Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse:

  • Twitter Spaces drew inspiration from Clubhouse.
  • Twitter recognized the growing demand for audio-based social interaction.
  • Spaces integrated well with Twitter's existing mechanics, offering a seamless experience for users.

Copying done appropriately can lead to innovation and user satisfaction. It’s about making thoughtful decisions that better serve customers.

What advice does Kayvon Beykpour offer for building successful consumer products?

Kayvon Beykpour has learned valuable lessons from his experience in building consumer products. Here are his key tips for success:

• Be a Voracious User of Products:

  • Regularly try new products to understand what works and what doesn’t.
  • Engage with products in-depth to build your taste and intuition.
  • Stay curious and open-minded, even with products that seem trivial.

• Leverage Frameworks Judiciously:

  • Use frameworks like "Jobs to be Done" to understand customer perspectives.
  • Avoid following frameworks too strictly; maintain flexibility to adapt.
  • Balance data-driven decisions with your own product taste and intuition.

• Focus on Customer Needs:

  • Always prioritize building products that solve real customer problems.
  • Iterate based on customer feedback to continually refine the product.
  • Ensure customer satisfaction by not just meeting, but exceeding their expectations.

• Internal Alignment and Staffing:

  • Staff key projects with team members who are passionate and believe in the vision.
  • Drive alignment from the top to ensure cohesive execution.
  • Avoid internal competition by focusing on unified organizational efforts.

By following these principles, product leaders can create compelling and successful consumer products. For further insights on creating products that users love, consider reading Rahul Vohra's approach with Superhuman.