KitchenHub’s Post

🌟 As a tech CEO, I've discovered that fostering creativity isn't about grand gestures - it's about creating small, daily opportunities for innovation. Here's what's working for our team at Ukvalley Software: 💡 The "No Bad Ideas" Morning Standup Started implementing this 3 months ago. Every team member shares one wild idea about improving our current projects. Result? Our MERN stack team proposed a feature that cut development time by 40%. 🎯 Cross-Pollination Sessions Frontend meets backend. UI/UX meets development. When our designer Radhika collaborated with our app developer Valeed, they revolutionized our React Native interface approach. 🔄 Rotation Challenges Every Friday, developers step into different roles. A backend developer spends time understanding UI/UX, while our tester explores development perspectives. This has dramatically improved our code quality and reduced bugs. 🛠️ Real Example: Last month, during our project retrospective, our newest team member spotted a pattern none of us had seen. Instead of dismissing it as "rookie thinking," we implemented their suggestion. Result? Project delivery time improved by 25%. The Secret Sauce? - Create psychological safety - Celebrate failed experiments as learning opportunities - Give ownership, not just tasks - Mix different expertise levels on projects - Make time for exploration Remember: Innovation isn't about having the perfect process. It's about creating an environment where people aren't afraid to think differently. Leading a tech team has taught me that the best ideas often come from unexpected places - we just need to be brave enough to listen. What's your approach to fostering creativity in your team? Share your experiences below 👇 #Leadership #Innovation #SoftwareDevelopment #TeamManagement #TechLeadership #StartupLife #CreativeThinking #TechIndia

How My Experience as a Product Manager Shapes My Backend Development Mindset 🚀 When I transitioned from managing products to writing Python code full-time, I thought I was leaving one world behind. But in reality, my product mindset became my biggest asset as a backend developer. Here’s why: 1️⃣ I think about business goals, not just code. Every line of code is written with a clear understanding of its purpose and value to the business, just like when I prioritized features as a PM. 2️⃣ Collaboration is key. As a PM, I worked closely with engineers, designers, and stakeholders. Now, as a developer, I continue to collaborate with cross-functional teams to build effective solutions. 3️⃣ Scaling is about the right foundation. My PM experience taught me to balance speed with long-term goals. In backend development, this means building scalable systems from the start. 4️⃣ User experience matters. As a PM, the user experience was always my focus. Now, I ensure the backend contributes to a seamless experience by designing intuitive APIs. 5️⃣ I take ownership. Just like I did as a PM, I take full ownership of the product lifecycle — from development to deployment — ensuring it aligns with business objectives. Combining my product management experience with backend development allows me to bridge the gap between technical execution and business goals. What skills from your past roles have influenced your development career? Share your experiences in the comments, or if you're navigating a similar transition and want to chat more, feel free to connect with me! #backenddevelopment #python #productmanagement #startup #developerjourney #techcareers

How does PagePalooza solve the startup-building challenges faced by non-technical founders? 🟢 Start with a solid foundation: Begin with a good foundation and customize it as you grow instead of starting from a blank canvas. Create and manage custom software engineering tasks: Whether you need a “Pushup Reps Leaderboard” or any other feature, simply create a task and provide detailed specifications. Engineer collaboration: A software engineer will review your task, provide a quote, and you can discuss any details directly within the app. One-time payments: Pay for each task once, with no recurring fees. Scale at your own pace: Add new features and tasks based on your budget and timeline. Full ownership and flexibility: No limits on scalability or customization—you own the customized code, ensuring complete control over your project. #saas #startup

🚀 My Day-to-Day as a Tech Lead in an Indian Startup 🚀 Being a Tech Lead at Appopoleis Studios is all about keeping things moving and making sure our projects shine! Here’s a peek at what I do every day: Team Leadership & Mentorship - I lead an awesome group of developers, helping them grow and do their best work. 👉 I give feedback, review code, and make sure everyone is learning and improving. Architecting Solutions - I design smart, scalable solutions for client projects and our own products. 👉 I talk to stakeholders to understand what they need and turn that into technical plans. Project Management - I juggle multiple projects at once, making sure we hit our deadlines and deliver quality. 👉 I run sprints, solve problems, and help prioritize tasks. Client Collaboration - I’m the bridge between our tech team and clients, ensuring we deliver exactly what they want. 👉 I listen to their requirements, show progress updates, and keep them happy. Technology Innovation - I stay on top of the latest tech trends to make sure we’re using the best tools. 👉 Leading the adoption of new solutions like cloud computing and microservices. Quality Assurance & Code Standards - I make sure our code is top-notch and follows the best practices. 👉 Setting up automated testing and encouraging good coding habits. Cross-Department Collaboration - I work closely with the product, sales, and marketing teams to keep everything aligned. 👉 I help out with pre-sales and strategic planning too. Scaling Teams & Processes - I streamline how we work and hire the right people to keep growing fast. 👉 Creating onboarding programs and promoting a culture of innovation. It’s a challenging but rewarding ride. What’s the most exciting part of your role? Share your thoughts below! 👇 #techlead #startup #leadership #projects #projectmanagment #innovation #developers #freelancer

A well-structured project is an investment in your future self. Whether you're building a small app, a complex system, or scaling an existing project, structure matters. 🔹 It saves time during updates. 🔹 It simplifies scaling. 🔹 It makes onboarding new team members smoother. 🔹 And most importantly, it preserves your sanity. Rushing into development without a clear structure might feel faster at first, but it often leads to technical debt, confusion, and frustration down the line. Take the time to plan. Organize your code, your processes, and your workflows. Your team—and your future self—will thank you. Build with intention. Grow with confidence. 🚀 How do you ensure your projects are built for the long term? Let’s share best practices in the comments!

Building a #usercentric tech team - My experience: During my time leading the #engineeringteam of CookieYes at Mozilor, one thing I took pride in was how the technical team never treated their work as just coding, testing, and deploying the requirements handed to them by PMs or designers. Instead, they were truly “building the product.” In every decision, they cared deeply about the users, their #painpoints, what would make a difference for our customers, and the overall impact on growth and retention. If they believed there was a better solution for users-even if it required more technical effort than the original idea-they would bring it up and advocate for it. Often, these ideas led to better outcomes for the product. Sharing my thoughts on how we made it happen: 1. Clarity on the product and the users We ensured everyone on the team understood why users were using the product, what problem it solved, and who the users were. This was crucial in enabling the team to contribute meaningfully to decisions. 2. Less secret, more transparent Transparency was a key factor in building a sense of #inclusion and #ownership. It extended across different dimensions, some of which are: -> We made sure the “why” and thought process behind each feature were known to the whole team. -> Metrics like conversion rates, growth rates, and churn rates were discussed in meetings where the entire team was present-not just within the PM team, growth team, or among managers. -> The after-effects of a feature release like what worked, what didn’t, and how customers reacted etc. were discussed with the entire team. This way, everyone knew the impact of a feature, especially after major revamps. 3. A safe space for ideas We encouraged everyone to share their ideas, feedback, and suggestions irrespective of their role. We ensured these inputs were heard, discussed, and valued. When there is a sense of #psychologicalsafety within the team, more creative ideas naturally emerge. 4. No walls between #customersupport and the development team No, I didn’t mean to ping the developers for each support issue. But creating a space where customer support queries were discussed with developers and QA, as much as with PMs or designers, was critical. This helped the team empathize with customers and anticipate potential issues more effectively. These are from a #startup perspective and reflect what worked for a small team. I hope they resonate with those #buildingproducts and #leadingteams. #productdevelopment #usercentricdesign #teamculture #collaboration #userexperience #empathy #engineeringmanagement #leadership #productmanagement #technicalproductmanager #engineeringmanager #teambuilding #productgrowth

“I’m a Senior Technical Program Lead on the Chick-fil-A Play app, which aims to create moments of connection for families with fun and unique content.    Oftentimes in technology, you don't get to be a part of the initial phases of strategy and planning. It was a really unique experience for me to be part of the vision-casting for this app, including influencing the vision statement for the app and imagining game experiences. As a technologist, being a part of the product inception and design was a lovely experience that I haven't had anywhere else.    Before arriving at Chick-fil-A, Inc., I worked in back-office systems like supply chain merchandising, and so I was focused more on understanding business processes and how to create efficiency. This project, on the other hand, was about creating moments for people. We asked ourselves, ‘How can we demonstrate care through technology?’    From a technology standpoint, we had to figure out the best way to make real-time content updates to the app, and to lay the technical groundwork for what this product would be. I got to work with some of our more senior engineers to lay out that foundation and understand architecture.     The strategy side, the design side, the technology side: I’ve gotten to see this project from so many vantage points. I’ve been part of the whole life cycle. I never thought I’d have the opportunity to do work like this in my career.”    — Kelley Hawkins, MBA, CSPO, Consumer Brand Experiences Team     #Tech #Software #LifeatChickfilAInc

🚨 A Common Pitfall in Technology Development I recently worked with a family office that invested several lakhs over six months to build a tech product by hiring a small team of developers. The result? Lines of code—but no product direction, no user alignment, and no roadmap to market. What went wrong? They skipped the foundational steps of product development. Here’s how to avoid this trap: 🎯 Define Your Product Vision Start with a clear vision, mission, and roadmap for your product. Understand your users’ personas and prioritize the features they truly need. Technology is not just about writing lines of code—it’s about solving real problems. 🤝 Assemble the Right Team At a minimum, include: A Product Manager to align the product with business goals. A User Experience Expert to design intuitive experiences. A Technology Architect/Developer to build scalable, efficient solutions. 💡 Leverage Expertise Product development requires specialized skills. Bring in an expert to set the foundation. Tight budget? Start by learning—even free resources can go a long way. ⚠️ Avoid Innovation Without Expertise Innovation blends science and art. Coders excel at writing code, but crafting innovation-led products demands broader skills, strategy, and vision. ✨ The Bottom Line Technology isn’t just about coding. Success comes from a well-defined strategy, the right team, and clear direction. 💬 Facing similar challenges? Let’s connect and discuss how to build smarter, scalable solutions for your next big idea. #productdevelopment #technology #product

❓Here's an open question - are you a product manager who has explored re-tooling as a creative technologist? 🧙♂️ 👀 I've met many PMs who, after being a senior product manager for a while, will question their career progression. I talked with several very senior PMs about this at a recent conference. If you go into group product manager or director roles to mentor and lead others, you quickly lose visibility on the things that were your skills, passions, and motivations in the first place. 🐬 On the flip side, I've seen many senior engineers shift from tech leads or development managers in favour of staff or principal engineer roles to free them up for the most creative, high-impact work. 🤖 I didn't know many creative technologists before I was at Shopify. They would say those two words together, creative technologist, and I would think, that's a description but not a role, right? Like, I work creatively with technology to discover potential solutions through prototyping ... 💌 Would love your thoughts. I appreciate this is a niche, reflective, PM post 😂 . The new thoughts are still spinning from ProductCamp Vancouver. Also, the power to create now is limitless. I had an opinion that PMs were being squeezed out (post-Brian Chesky's comments, and other market changes), but I'm now starting to see that with better Python skills, I can 10x myself to build out tools without an engineering team (pre-production). There's a market/skills/role opportunity unlock here for PMs given the airspace to do so. 🚀 #productmanager #productleader #creativetechnologist #AI

You see, during the process of building the ChunkIt product which enabled users split really large JSON and CSV files to smaller bits I worked with really talented designers, front end and backend developers. As product manager for the team I leveraged on my expertise in collaborating with cross-functional teams. That’s what having a background in Admin and Operations does to you, lol. Working with these teams and ensuring that we were all aligned whilst building the product wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. But one of the things I did during our standups was to constantly remind the team what we aimed to achieve with the product. Placing our common goals above our personal sentiments helped us a great deal. As product managers, knowing how to communicate in a language your team members understand is a major hack in getting your product development become a success. Wishing you all a productive week. #productmanagers