Innowatts VP of Product on Balancing Innovation and Commercialization in Regulated Industries

What do product leaders need to consider when balancing innovation and commercialization in regulated industries like energy? In episode 500 of Product Talk hosted by Message Broadcast Sr. VP of Product Sid Shaik, Innowatts VP of Product Siddharth Dhar shares his insights on building successful B2B products that drive both technical innovation and commercial success, drawing on his experience in the energy sector. He discusses the importance of aligning product, marketing, and sales teams from the start to ensure a cohesive go-to-market strategy.

Subscribe to the Product Talk podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and catch every conversation with leading product executives.

---

---

LISTEN ON ITUNES

---

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY

---

---

Show Notes

1. Balancing innovation and commercialization is critical for building successful B2B products, especially in regulated industries.
2. Understanding customer willingness to pay and pricing early on is crucial for creating a sustainable business model.
3. Aligning product, marketing, and sales teams from the start ensures a cohesive go-to-market strategy.
4. Regulated industries like energy face unique challenges around long-term capital investments, safety, and equitable access.
5. Leveraging data and analytics can help utilities improve grid operations, reduce costs, and enhance customer engagement.
6. As a product leader, self-awareness of your strengths, weaknesses, and biases is key to scaling a business.
7. Synthesizing learnings through activities like long bike rides or “meditation on wheels” can provide valuable perspective.
8. Bringing internal stakeholders like engineering, sales, and customer success along the product journey is crucial for alignment.
9. Focusing on speed vs. haste, and thoroughly evaluating scenarios, can help avoid rushed decisions.
10. Fostering a safe, supportive team environment through rituals and trust-building is important for sustained success.
11. Blending financial acumen with product leadership is becoming increasingly valuable.
12. Exploring “product-led sales” models can be an interesting approach for niche B2B industries.
13. Anticipating second and third-order impacts of technology disruption, like transformer shortages, is important.
14. Balancing innovation, customer needs, and equitable access is a key challenge in regulated sectors.
15. Leveraging open-source contributions and industry partnerships can be growth engines for B2B products.
16. Maintaining a “general manager” mindset to balance commercialization and technical debt is crucial.
17. Finding joy in creating value for customers and teams can sustain a product leader’s motivation.
18. Product-led growth principles can be adapted for niche B2B industries through “product-led sales” models.
19. Utilities are undergoing a customer engagement transformation, driven by changing consumer expectations.
20. Navigating the tension between technology disruption and ensuring equitable energy access is an ongoing challenge.