“Any event you run will always have a special place for me”

We know how important it is to bring the product-led community cutting-edge insights from pioneers and experts at the top of their game. And we're fortunate to get the best of the best speaking at our virtual and in-person events.

But what’s it really like being a speaker at a Product-Led Alliance event?

We caught up with Hugo Froes, Product Operations Lead at OLX Motors Europe, who took us through his experience being a part of the Product Operations Festival, and part of the PLA community as a whole.

In this case study we discuss:

Q: Why did you decide to be a speaker at the Product Ops Festival?

A: The product ops events run by PLA to me have become one of the main stages to share my thoughts and ideas whenever possible because the community is so active and we have an opportunity of reaching a wider audience.

Q: Why made you choose our event?

A: The PLA community and organizers have always been so supportive and any event you run, will always have a special place for me

Q: What were the event’s main benefits for you as a speaker?

A: For this event in particular, I wanted to go beyond the usual topics being presented around product ops and start looking at some practical ways of looking at problems/solutions and this seemed like the right space for that.

I felt I was able to share those thoughts and receive feedback from the audience even despite my connection issues

Q: What were the key outcomes for you?

A: My impression is that the community is growing and we see newer faces at the event. However, I did begin to see a more obvious shift in that we have 2 sets of audience members:

Those that want to learn the basics of product operations and understand what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.
The more experienced group who have gone through the basics and are now looking at what to do when the discipline or team is at a more mature level. Not just scaling, but moving into more complex problems and solution spaces.

Q: What value did you want to bring to the product community with your session? And do you think you were able to achieve that?

A: I wanted to get people thinking beyond the standard things of creating/implementing, building, or scaling product ops. I wanted them to think more about the complexities of achieving success. What are some of the challenges that may arise because we’re dealing with people and in this case their biases? How do we navigate those challenges?

I believe I was able to achieve my objective to some extent, but I wish I had been able to create more discussion so that maybe the group could take topics like this even further. But that’s something to work on for future reference.

Q: Why should other product pros take advantage and present at future Product-Led Alliance events?

A: I think anyone who has more experience and knowledge has an obligation to contribute to shaping the discipline and these events are an incredible platform for that.

But more than that, it’s a great way to network with others and bring to light some unknown professionals and the incredible work they’re doing.

Q: What other parts of the Product-Led Alliance are you a part of, and has this benefited you?

A: I’m part of the PLA Slack community and have signed up for the newsletters.

The Slack community has become a great place to ask for advice or help for those needing it and for those more experienced to be able to support others while helping shape the discipline.

The newsletters are usually a great way to know what’s going on in the community but also the industry with some great articles and resources. Especially useful are the set of resources directly related to product ops which are hard to find anywhere else.

Equally, the PLA blog has become a great sounding board for sharing some of my ideas with the community out there and helping others grow and develop.

In 2023, we'll be hosting PLA's very first in-person Product Operations event! Stay up to date with the exciting news on this and all our in-person summits in the Product-Led series here.👇

“Any event you run will always have a special place for me” - Hugo Froes