Vision, conviction, and hype: How to build 0 to 1 inside a company | Mihika Kapoor (Product, Figma)

Mihika Kapoor is a design-engineer-PM hybrid at Figma, where she was an early PM on FigJam and is now spearheading development on a new product at the company that’s coming out this June. She’s known as the go-to person at Figma for leading new 0-to-1 products, and, as you’ll hear in our conversation, beloved by everyone she works with. Her background includes founding Design Nation, a national nonprofit focused on democratizing design education for undergraduates; spearheading product launches at Meta; and community building within the NYC AI startup scene. In our conversation, we discuss: • How to effectively take ideas from 0 to 1 at larger companies • How to craft a compelling vision • The importance of vulnerability and feedback • The role of intuition and product sense in making decisions • How to practically communicate your vision • How to balance collaboration and strong opinions • Advice for building a strong team culture • Pivoting with grace and enthusiasm • The current AI revolution and its impact on PM — Brought to you by: • Paragon—Ship every SaaS integration your customers want: https://www.useparagon.com/lenny • Lenny’s Talent Team—Hire the best product people. Find the best product gigs: lennysjobs.com • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security: https://vanta.com/lenny Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/vision-conviction-hype-mihika-kapoor Where to find Mihika Kapoor: • X: https://twitter.com/mihikapoor • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mihikakapoor/ Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Mihika’s background (04:29) Core attributes of great product managers (07:34) Crafting a compelling vision (12:12) The vision behind FigJam (18:25) Delivering a vision without design or engineering skills (21:52) Creating momentum (26:36) The importance of strong conviction (27:45) Direct communication (32:48) Building hype (42:20) Immersing yourself in user insights (47:16) Operationalizing user insights (50:33) Caring deeply about what you build (54:01) Finding passion in your work (57:00) Building a strong culture (01:07:07) Pivoting with grace and enthusiasm (01:11:48) Design Nation (01:13:15) Mihika’s weaknesses (01:16:07) Building new products at larger companies (01:20:50) Coming up with a great idea (01:22:49) The key to going from 0 to 1 (01:26:47) Spreading the idea across the company (01:29:15) Closing thoughts (01:32:11) Lightning round Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email [email protected]. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.