Scaling Product with Precision: Lessons from Amazon to High-Growth Startups Artwork

The Intentional Product Manager Podcast

Are you a high-performing product manager looking to reach the next level of success in your product career?

Shobhit Chugh will show you how.

Shobhit left a full-time roll at Google to help ambitious product managers position themselves to become product leaders, so they can raise their income as much as 50%, command the respect their hard work deserves, and make an impact they can truly be proud of.

To learn more about how to take your product management career talk to us at https://www.intentionalproductmanager.com/apply

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The Intentional Product Manager Podcast

Scaling Product with Precision: Lessons from Amazon to High-Growth Startups

May 21, 2025 • Shobhit Chugh • Season 1 • Episode 25

In this episode of the Intentional Product Manager Podcast, Shobhit Chugh sits down with Ajit Thupil, a seasoned product leader whose journey spans Amazon, McKinsey, and several high-growth startups—most recently as Chief Product Officer.

Ajit shares a refreshingly honest look into what it really takes to scale product with precision, whether you’re operating inside a tech giant or leading growth at a startup. He unpacks the frameworks, mindset shifts, and hard-won lessons that helped him evolve from an engineer to a product executive—and what aspiring PM leaders often get wrong when chasing their next role.

You’ll learn:

What Amazon taught Ajit about focus, metrics, and decision-making
How to align product, go-to-market, and revenue in fast-paced environments
Why storytelling and strategic communication matter more as you grow
How to navigate the leap from IC to product executive—and avoid common traps
Advice for PMs who want to stand out and lead with impact

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 – Introduction to Ajit Thupil
00:59 – Thoughts on remote vs. in-office work in a post-pandemic world
02:48 – Lessons from stepping into the CPO role for the first time
03:57 – Ajit’s winding career path and the inflection points that shaped it
05:53 – Moving from business development to product management
11:17 – Key takeaways from working at Amazon
15:41 – How to connect product strategy with go-to-market and revenue
19:13 – Advice for aspiring product leaders: what to build, how to grow
27:21 – Rapid-fire questions and wrap-up

Connect with Shobhit on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shobhitchugh/

Connect with Ajit on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajitthupil/