We only take on 4 clients per month. Join our October cohort. 1 spot left.
Conversation
Highlights
Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia, Founder & CEO of Product School, a leading platform in product management education that has raised $25 Million in funding
Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:
- Transition from Engineer to Educator: Carlos shares his journey from being a software engineer to founding Product School, highlighting the gap he noticed in traditional education for aspiring product managers.
- Bootstrapping to Success: Carlos discusses how he initially bootstrapped Product School and focused on creating a community-driven learning experience before securing funding.
- Global Reach with a Local Touch: Product School’s unique approach of combining online education with in-person experiences has enabled it to build a strong global community while maintaining a personal connection.
- Scaling the Product: The conversation dives into the strategies Carlos employed to scale Product School, including leveraging partnerships and maintaining a high-quality curriculum.
- Embracing Remote Learning: Carlos explains how the shift to remote work during the pandemic accelerated the adoption of online learning and how Product School capitalized on this trend.
- The Importance of Community: Building and nurturing a community around Product School has been crucial to its growth, with Carlos emphasizing the value of networking and peer learning.
Actionable
Takeaways
Identify Gaps in Traditional Education:
Carlos's experience shows the value of identifying gaps in traditional education systems and building specialized platforms to address these needs. For founders, this highlights the importance of understanding industry-specific pain points and creating solutions that fill those voids.
Bootstrap to Validate Your Idea:
Before seeking external funding, consider bootstrapping your business to validate your concept and build initial traction. Carlos’s approach of focusing on community and content first allowed Product School to grow organically before securing investment.
Combine Digital and Physical Experiences:
Even in a digital-first world, blending online offerings with in-person experiences can create a more robust and engaging product. This hybrid model has been key to Product School’s success, offering lessons for other B2B companies on how to balance scalability with personalized customer experiences.
Leverage Partnerships for Growth:
Strategic partnerships can be a powerful tool for scaling. Carlos leveraged partnerships to enhance Product School’s curriculum and expand its reach, offering a blueprint for other startups looking to scale without diluting their core product.
Adapt Quickly to Market Changes:
The pandemic’s push towards remote learning presented both challenges and opportunities. Carlos's ability to pivot quickly and embrace the shift to remote work was crucial in maintaining Product School's growth. This underscores the need for agility and responsiveness in rapidly changing markets.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Nishika de Rosairo
CEO and Founder of HumanQ
Nishika de Rosairo, CEO and Founder of HumanQ: $3.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Human Development
Daniel Birkholm
Founder & CEO of TalentHub
Daniel Birkholm, TalentHub: $6 Million Raised to Transform How Organizations Measure and Improve Their Hiring Experience
Mousa Yassin
CEO and Founder of Pixaera
Mousa Yassin, CEO and Founder of Pixaera: $5.7 Million Raised to Build the Future of VR Safety Training
Anthony Mironov
CEO and Co-Founder of Wingspan
Anthony Mironov, CEO and Co-Founder of Wingspan: $30 Million Raised to Power the Contractor Experience of the Future
Raghu Gollamudi
CEO and Co-Founder of Included
Raghu Gollamudi, CEO and Co-Founder of Included: $5.4 Million Raised to Build the Future of HR Analytics
Ben Sesser
CEO & Founder of BrightHire
Ben Sesser, CEO & Founder of BrightHire: $36 Million Raised to Build the Interview Intelligence Category
Brett Martin
President and Co-Founder of Kumospace
Brett Martin, President and Co-Founder of Kumospace: $25 Million Raised to Power the Future of Virtual Offices
Barbra Gago
CEO and Founder of Pando
Barbra Gago, CEO and Founder of Pando: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Career Advancement
Chris Johnson
Growth Marketing Lead of Gun.IO
Chris Johnson, Growth Marketing Lead at Gun.IO: Competing in the Future of Freelance Developer Marketplaces
Andres Blank
Co-founder & CEO of Fetcher
Andres Blank, CEO of Fetcher: $40 Million+ Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting Automation
Hanna Asmussen
CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze
Hanna Asmussen, CEO and Co-Founder of Localyze: Over $48 Million Raised to Build the Leading Global Mobility Platform for Companies and Employees
Chandler Malone
Founder of Bootup
Chandler Malone, Founder of Bootup: $2 Million Raised to Solve the Tech Talent Crisis
Nicholas Rudder
Co-Founder & CEO of Sphere
Nicholas Rudder, Co-Founder & CEO of Sphere: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Learning
Allen Narcisse
Founder & CEO of Gigs
Allen Narcisse, Founder & CEO of Gigs: $5.7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Blue Collar Hiring
Nicole Fuselier
VP of Marketing of Bonusly
Revenue-Driven Marketing: Insights from Nicole Fuselier of Bonusly
Peter Briffett
CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream
Peter Briffett, CEO and Co-Founder of Wagestream: $370 Million Raised to Provide Financial Wellbeing for Every Frontline Employee
Tony Jamous
CEO of Oyster
Tony Jamous, CEO of Oyster: $220+ Million Raised to Build the Global Employment Platform (GEP) Category
Joseph Fung
CEO of Uvaro
Joseph Fung, CEO of Uvaro: $15 Million Raised to Build the Career Success Platform Category
Jason Lavender
CEO of Electives
Jason Lavender, CEO of Electives: $10M Raised to Redefine Corporate Training
Sid Upadhyay
Co-Founder & CEO of WizeHire
Sid Upadhyay, Co-Founder & CEO at WizeHire: Over $30 Million Raised to Help SMBs Hire Great Talent
Kian Katanforoosh
CEO & Founder of Workera
Kian Katanforoosh, CEO of Workera: $21 Million Raised to Build the Skills Intelligence Category
Karoli Hindriks
Founder of Jobbatical
Karoli Hindriks, Founder of Jobbatical: $23 Million Raised to Build the Future of Global Mobility with AI-Powered Relocation Solutions
Marcelo Lebre
President of Remote
Marcelo Lebre, Co-founder & COO of Remote: Nearly $500 Million Raised to Power the Distributed Workforce of the Future
Amit Bhatia
CEO & Co-Founder of Data People
Amit Bhatia, Co-Founder and CEO of Data People: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting Intelligence
Wes Winham Winler
Founder/CEO of Woven
Wes Winham Winler, CEO of Woven: $11 Million Raised to Transform How Companies Recruit and Hire Developers
Stephen Johnston
CEO and Founder of GoodJob
Stephen Johnston, CEO and Founder of GoodJob: $9 Million Raised to Power the Future of Human Capital Management
Agapitos Diakogiannis
Co-founder & CEO of Seafair
Agapitos Diakogiannis, CEO of Seafair: $6.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Maritime Recruitment
Sebastian Schüller
Co-founder of HiPeople
Sebastian Schüller, Co-founder of HiPeople: $7 Million Raised to Develop Data-Driven Augmentation for Hiring Teams
Will Sealy
CEO and Co-Founder of Summer
Will Sealy, CEO and Co-Founder of Summer: Over $18 Million Raised to Help Organizations Provide Student Loan Benefits
Sam Naficy
CEO of Prodoscore
Sam Naficy, CEO of Prodoscore: $4 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Productivity Measurement
Matt Pierce
CEO of Immediate
Matt Pierce, CEO of Immediate: $15 Million Raised to Eliminate the Costly Price of Financial Stress in the Workforce
Hanns Aderhold
Founder and CEO of Cobrainer
Hanns Aderhold, Founder and CEO of Cobrainer: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of Skills Data Platforms
Nancy Xu
CEO & Founder of Moonhub
Nancy Xu, CEO & Founder of Moonhub: $10 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Recruiting
Michael Ioffe
CEO & Co-Founder of Arist
Michael Ioffe, CEO & Co-Founder of Arist: $16 Million Raised to Build the Future of Autonomous L&D
Jason Radisson
CEO and Founder of Movo
Jason Radisson, CEO and Founder of Movo: Over $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of HR Automation
Siadhal Magos
CEO & Co-Founder of Metaview
Siadhal Magos, CEO & Co-Founder of Metaview: $14 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Hiring
Achuthanand Ravi
Founder & CEO of Kula
Achuthanand Ravi, CEO of Kula: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting
Jennifer Dulski
CEO & Founder of Rising Team
Jennifer Dulski, CEO & Founder of Rising Team: $11 Million Raised to Build the Future of Team Performance
Mike Adams
Co-Founder & CEO of Grain
Mike Adams, Co-Founder & CEO of Grain: $22 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings
Jared Pope
CEO and Co-Founder of Work Shield
Jared Pope, CEO and Co-Founder of Work Shield: $12 Million Raised to Eliminate Workplace Misconduct
Virgile Raingeard
CEO of Figures
Virgile Raingeard, CEO of Figures: €8.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compensation Intelligence
Daniel Liebeskind
CEO and Co-Founder of Topia
Daniel Liebeskind, CEO and Co-Founder of Topia: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Build Their Own Metaverse
John Kim
Co-Founder & CEO of Paraform
John Kim, Co-Founder & CEO of Paraform: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recruiting with a Marketplace for Specialized Talent
Matthew Sydney
CEO & Founder of Beanstalk Benefits
Matthew Sydney, CEO & Founder of Beanstalk Benefits: $7.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of On-Demand Employee Benefits
Tuck Hauptfuhrer
CEO & Co-Founder of EarnBetter
Tuck Hauptfuhrer, CEO & Co-Founder of EarnBetter: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Job Search
Prem Kumar
CEO | Co-founder of Humanly
Prem Kumar, CEO of Humanly.io: $5.5 Million Raised to Build the Conversational Hiring Category
Matt Watson
CEO and Founder of Origin
Matt Watson, CEO and Founder of Origin: Over $70 Million Raised to Make Financial Wellness the Next Big Employee Perk
Ben Zweig
CEO of Revelio Labs
Ben Zweig, CEO of Revelio Labs: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Workforce Intelligence
Rob Whalen
CEO of PTO Exchange
Rob Whalen, CEO of PTO Exchange: $5M Raised to Empower Companies to Rethink Paid Time Off
Ville Herva
CEO of BOLT.works
Ville Herva, CEO of BOLT.works: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Staffing
Fraser Patterson
CEO and Founder of Skillit
Fraser Patterson, CEO and Founder of Skillit: $13 Million Raised to Tackle the Skilled Labor Crisis in Construction
Kelsey Bishop
Founder and CEO of Candor
Kelsey Bishop, Founder and CEO of Candor: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Professional Relationship-Building
Ian White
Founder of ChartHop
Ian White, Founder, CEO and CTO of ChartHop: $74 Million Raised to Build the Future of PeopleOps
Mike Fitzsimmons
CEO and Co-Founder of Crosschq
Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO & Co-Founder of Crosschq: $35 Million Raised to Power the Future of AI-Driven Hiring Intelligence
Tom Griffiths
CEO and Co-founder of Hone
Tom Griffiths, CEO of Hone: $50 Million Raised to Build the Future of Corporate Training
Omer Glass
Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace
Omer Glass, Co-Founder and CEO of GrowthSpace: $44 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Development
René Janssen
CEO and Founder of Lepaya
René Janssen, CEO & Founder of Lepaya: $85 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Training
Barb Hyman
CEO & Founder of Sapia AI
Barb Hyman, CEO & Founder of Sapia AI: $21 Million Raised to Build the Future of AI-Powered Recruiting
Warren Lebovics
Co-Founder of Pequity
Warren Lebovics, Co-Founder of Pequity: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Compensation
Jaclyn Chen
CEO of Benepass
Jaclyn Chen, CEO of Benepass: $14 Million Raised to Build the Future of Employee Benefits Management
Andy Berman
CEO and Founder of Vowel
Andy Berman, CEO and Founder of Vowel: $13 Million Raised to Power the Future of Meetings
Albert Owusu-Asare
CEO & Co-Founder of Cadana
Albert Owusu-Asare, CEO & Co-Founder of Cadana: $7 Million Raised to Build the Future of Global Payroll Infrastructure
Avi Singer
CEO & Founder of Showd.me
Avi Singer, CEO & Founder of Showd.me: $4.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Compliance Training
Sammy Singh
CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow
Sammy Singh, CEO and Co-Founder of WurkNow: $15 Million Raised to Power the Future of Staffing
Laura McGee
Founder and CEO of Diversio
Laura McGee, CEO of Diversio: $6 Million Raised to Help Organizations Measure and Improve DEI
Kevin Busque
CEO and Founder of Guideline
Kevin Busque, CEO and Founder of Guideline: $339 Million Raised to Help More Small Businesses Offer Retirement Plans
Josh Merrill
CEO of Confirm
Josh Merrill, CEO of Confirm: Over $11 Million Raised to End the Performance Review Nightmare