Product Led Growth Leaders – Details, episodes & analysis

Voicemail trains your customers to give up, and it trains you to live on your phone. We sit down with Laurent Cohen, CTO of GetOblick, to unpack a sharper idea: not every call deserves an interruption, but no opportunity should be missed. From missed leads to unhappy customers, we talk about why small and local businesses feel the pain of inbound calls more than anyone, and why voice AI is finally good enough to change the default.

We dig into what modern voice AI for small businesses actually does beyond “answering the phone”: filtering spam, handling service and pricing questions, supporting multiple languages, and even delivering thoughtful upsells when it makes sense. Laurent explains why the real differentiator is not a flashy voice, but the instruments behind it: the data, the guardrails, and the fallback logic that knows when to hand off to a human. Trust is the unlock, so we discuss a practical rollout path that starts small and scales up as confidence grows.

Then we zoom out to the platform bet: GetOblick as a voice-first directory that becomes a voice-only directory. With a growing graph of anonymised interactions, each conversation can improve the system over time, and that same infrastructure opens the door to better local discovery and appointment scheduling by phone. We also explore an unexpected growth lever: on-site voice widgets that increase time on page, improving retention signals that can help with indexing and local SEO visibility.

If you care about customer experience, call handling, local business growth, voice AI agents, and SEO retention, this one is built for you.

We talk with leadership strategist Kat Perkins about how people end up living identities shaped by trauma, culture, and even well-meaning family pressure. We explore her framework for identity revelation and why leaders must get clear on who they are before they can build healthy teams. 
• what an identity strategist does and why identity gets layered over time 
• identity interference and how life scripts form before age 25 
• how trauma and love can both distort self-belief 
• Kat’s story of steering her son toward medicine before recognising his real calling in the arts 
• recognition, permission, and submission as practical steps toward identity revelation 
• why inner conflict becomes toxic leadership and damages workplace culture 
• Kat’s memoir Girls With Pearls Have Power and the message of resilience 
• courses including Empowered By Design and Seven Days To Resilience 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kat-perkins-21543432/

In this episode of Product Led Growth Leaders, host Thomas Watkins interviews Jim Carlough, Chief Sales Officer, Author, and Leadership Coach.

Jim discusses the importance of leadership development, succession planning, and mentoring, highlighting how poor leadership drives costly employee turnover. He introduces his book, The Six Pillars of Effective Leadership, emphasizing integrity, empathy, and stability as essential traits. Jim shares practical stories and announces upcoming leadership workshops. The episode offers actionable advice for leaders at all levels, showing how strong leadership principles can benefit organizations and individuals across industries.

Learn more about Jim's work HERE.

Connect with Jim on LinkedIn HERE.

Check out Jim's book, The Six Pillars of Effective Leadership, HERE.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.

Your host, Thomas Watkins, talks with the Product Management Leader, Executive/Personal Coach, Facilitator, and Organizational Advisor, JC Landivar. JC shares his unconventional journey into product management, emphasizing the importance of understanding user needs and strategic decision-making.

He discusses the evolving landscape of product management, the critical role of user feedback, and the challenges of aligning product strategies with market demands. JC also highlights his coaching techniques, helping clients navigate their product management challenges. The conversation touches on the transformative potential of AI and the need for adaptability in the rapidly changing tech environment.

Connect with JC on LinkedIn HERE.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.

Learn more about Thomas's work at 3Leaf HERE.

Your host, Thomas Watkins, talks with the Chief Accessibility Officer of AudioEye, Mike Paciello. Mike shares his journey from technical writing to founding web accessibility companies. The discussion highlights the evolution of web accessibility, emphasizing its importance in user experience (UX).

Mike elaborates on the role of AI in enhancing accessibility, automating solutions, and making digital content more inclusive. He underscores the significance of empathy in design and encourages listeners to advocate for inclusive practices in technology.

Learn more about Mike's work HERE.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn HERE.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.

Learn more about Thomas's work at 3Leaf HERE.

Your host, Thomas Watkins, talks with the Co-Founder and Product Manager of Buska, Toni Dos Santos. Toni shares his extensive experience and insights, emphasizing the importance of business acumen in product management.

He discusses his newsletter, "The Product Courier," which offers AI tutorials for product teams. Key highlights include the significance of engaging with customers early, the iterative process of achieving PMF, and the potential of AI tools for rapid prototyping. The episode concludes with plans for future collaboration and resource sharing.

Learn more about Toni's work HERE.

Connect with Toni on LinkedIn HERE.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.

Learn more about Thomas's work at 3Leaf HERE.

Your host, Thomas Watkins, talks with the CEO of Engaging Webinars, Jeff Brandeis. Jeff discusses the challenges of virtual presentations, especially post-COVID-19, and the common issue of unengaging webinars.

He emphasizes the importance of understanding audience needs and creating interactive, educational content rather than sales pitches. Jeff introduces Engage Hub, a software tool that enhances presentations by allowing dynamic content management. He also touches on the role of AI in presentations and the significance of personal connection. Jeff shares success stories of improved engagement rates and offers a free consultation for listeners.

Learn more about Jeff's work HERE.

Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn HERE.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.

Learn more about Thomas's work at 3Leaf HERE.

Your host, Thomas Watkins, talks with the Business Coach for Tech Founders of Human Interfaces, Vladimir Baranov. Vladimir shares his extensive background, from programming trading systems to scaling startups and launching satellites.

Vladimir focuses on the challenges faced by founders, particularly in transitioning from engineering to business mindsets. He emphasizes the importance of understanding market needs, direct customer engagement, and strategic decision-making. He also discusses the evolving role of AI in startups and offers practical advice for navigating the complexities of building and scaling tech businesses.

Learn more about Vladimir's work HERE.

Connect with Vladimir on LinkedIn HERE.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.

Learn more about Thomas's work at 3Leaf HERE.

Your host, Thomas Watkins, talks with the Co-Founder of Sherlock, Mike Cofone. Mike shares his career journey from aspiring Olympian to data-driven sales expert. Mike covers challenges in email deliverability, transitioning to alternative communication methods, and leveraging AI in sales.

Mike emphasizes the importance of direct outreach, gathering customer feedback, and integrating sales, marketing, and product teams. He advocates for a balanced approach combining technology with human interaction to enhance sales strategies and drive revenue growth.

Learn more about Mike's work HERE.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn HERE.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.

Learn more about Thomas's work at 3Leaf HERE.

Your host, Thomas Watkins, talks with the Founder of Basic Arts, Alex Smith. Alex discusses his transition from marketing to strategy, emphasizing the need to make strategic principles accessible to all founders.

He highlights common misconceptions, such as the belief that a superior product guarantees success, and stresses the importance of finding a unique market position. The conversation also touches on the role of AI in business and the challenges of integrating strategic work into design processes.

Learn more about Alex's work HERE.

Connect with Alex on LinkedIn HERE.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply HERE.

Learn more about Thomas's work at 3Leaf HERE.