5 Reasons Why I’m Bursting with Excitement for Product at Heart
The countdown is on: Product at Heart is right around the corner! And while I generally try to restrain myself when talking about this event, I hope you’ll allow me a few moments of pure excitement. Here’s what makes the 2023 event especially thrilling.
#1 We’re going indie
Have we run this conference before? Yes. Arne Kittler and I have co-organized this conference in its previous incarnation as Mind the Product Engage Hamburg since 2017. But 2023 is the first time we’re running it on our own. It’s a MAJOR change for us, starting with creating a brand-new company, Cultivate Curiosity GmbH. We are also now responsible for sponsors, ticket sales, and marketing in addition to curating the speakers and topics.
Ever since we decided to take the leap, we’ve been blown away by all the encouraging messages and guidance from the product community. I’m touched that so many people (all our team, vendors, volunteers, ticket holders, and sponsors) trusted us enough to make it happen. And even though the event is no longer affiliated with MTP or Pendo, you’ll have the chance to meet the MTP folks and some Pendo colleagues at the event—a fact we are very happy about.
Was it more work? Oh, yes, so much more work than we could have imagined! But we do hope it’s worth the effort.
#2 We have a truly world-class lineup of speakers
For the conference we followed the same curatorial approach we first used for the 2019 event: First we decide on the topics/themes that we think are important for product people right now, then we reach out to people who have already been talking about that topic for some time. This might include experts, practitioners, or thought leaders from our field.
It’s also important to us to make sure people hear various perspectives on a particular topic. This approach to organizing the line-up together had a massive impact on overall attendee feedback, a clear indication that we were doing the right thing.
For 2023, we’ve selected four themes and three speakers per theme. The topics are:
Providing Directional Clarity to the People Around You
Finding Clarity of Thought for Yourself
Exploring Product Operations
Knowledge Exchange for PMs: How to Learn from Others
There will also be keynotes by Teresa Torres, John Cutler, Alicia Shao, Karin Schoefegger, and Jeff Gothelf.
Explore the agenda here and find the full list of speakers here.
For our half-day Leadership Forum on Wednesday, June 28, we took the same curation approach. Our intimate group of 60 product leads will enjoy a keynote from Sam McAfee, a mini workshop from Shaun and Emilie, and a fireside chat that I’ll be hosting with Teresa Torres.
Learn more about the Leadership Forum here and find the full list of speakers here.
#3 It’s a sold-out event hosting more product people than ever
This point is short but definitely sweet: More product people than ever will get the chance to learn with and from each other this year. In total we have 879 people attending Product at Heart and many of them will attend several of the events. This is so cool—I’m absolutely here for the community vibes!
#4 I can’t wait to see the new branding in real life
This is a very personal one. I can’t wait to see all the new branding unfold. All the roll-ups, banners, and stage designs currently only exist as PDFs and image files. I’m super excited to see how all those months of planning and designing and thousands of micro decisions translate into a real, lived experience.
Just a mock on top of last year’s pictures - I can’t wait to see how it looks in reality.
#5 I love hanging out with so many amazing people in Hamburg
What happens on stage is of course extremely important (see point #2). But what happens off stage, or backstage, or in the breaks, or at the speakers’ dinner, or in the coffee queue, is just as meaningful. I already know I will meet so many talented and smart people that week. And I’m not only talking about the speakers, but also the bigger product family, my coachees who I have never met in real life (thanks COVID), and all the attendees. Yes, it is draining for an introvert like me, but for this very limited time a year, I really like it and am sure I will learn a ton from all these interactions. Plus, I love having the opportunity to introduce so many visitors to my lovely city, Hamburg.
If you have your ticket, I can’t wait to see you there! Don’t have one? Make sure you sign up for our mailing list or follow Product at Heart on LinkedIn or Twitter to get the latest updates about the 2024 event. And if you can’t wait a whole year, check out our video archive after the summer break since we’ll be putting all the talks online then.