Making an impact through authenticity and curiosity | Ami Vora (CPO at Faire, ex-WhatsApp, FB, IG)

Ami Vora is the Chief Product Officer of Faire, which connects independent retailers and brands around the world. Before Faire, Ami spent over 15 years at Meta, including as VP of Product and Design for WhatsApp (2B+ users), VP of Product for Facebook’s ads system (now $130B of annual revenue), and director at Instagram. She began her career working on developer tools at Microsoft. In our conversation, we discuss: • Why execution eats strategy for breakfast • Using metaphor to rally teams around one shared goal • How to build cross-functional relationships • “Dinosaur brain,” “Toddler soccer,” and the “hill climbing” metaphors • A tactic for handling disagreement • Tips for working well with product-minded founders as a product leader • The story of Ami’s incredible 15-year journey from temp to VP at Meta • Much more — Brought to you by: • Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers https://www.sidebar.com/lenny • Anvil—The fastest way to build software for documents: https://www.useanvil.com/lenny • User Testing—Human understanding. Human experiences: https://www.usertesting.com/lenny Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/authenticity-and-curiosity-ami-vora Where to find Ami Vora: • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amvora/ • Substack: https://amivora.substack.com/ 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) Ami’s background (02:00) The myth of perfection in success (07:55) Emotionally connecting with the job (09:55) Embracing curiosity in moments of challenge (13:16) Thinking in feedback loops (17:17) The “dinosaur brain” metaphor in product reviews (20:20) Strategies for conducting effective product reviews (26:33) Using metaphors and imagery to communicate your vision (29:35) The power of having a shared narrative (31:55) WhatsApp: an example of metaphor in action (34:44) Emulating people that inspire you (36:19) WhatsApp video calling (37:35) Why execution is greater than strategy (41:36) Time allotment for strategy vs. execution (45:10) How to become a better strategic thinker (47:59) The intricacies of implementing feedback (51:53) Being a female leader in tech (55:13) Advice for young women in tech (56:07) Setting goals and aligning incentives (01:01:40) Acknowledging hard truths (01:05:46) Lessons from transitioning to Faire (01:08:40) The importance of a good CPO/CEO relationship (01:11:17) Vetting heads of product and maintaining customer focus (01:12:40) How Ami went from intern to leading major products at Meta (01:14:53) The one thing you should do to be successful in product (01:17:25) Lightning round Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.