CEO Insights Magazine

There have been tremendous shifts in the business landscape as a result of the introduction of new technology. Better product creation is becoming necessary since new products flood the market every day. Features, product categories, industrial sector, and quality aspects all play significant roles in this regard. When faced with challenges like these, businesses need to ensure they have a strong leader in charge of product development and a dedicated team. Also, unless businesses have a suitable strategy, they are likely to fail at some point; to prevent this, businesses should hire a Chief Product Officer like Vishal Bhatnagar.

Vishal has over twenty-two years of expertise in several areas of Product Development and Technology, making him an accomplished intrapreneur. He has worked in a variety of EduTechs providing (SaaS Based & Enterprise ERP Solutions, E-governances ICT solution, Assessment & Online Learning solutions), B2B & B2C e-Marketplace and has expertise in creating and managing mobile apps with VOD, Live Media Streaming, Live Chat functionality etc. Vishal's industry experience includes the launch and management of five large-scale products from inception through the whole Product Development Life Cycle. Below is an excerpt of Vishal’s exclusive interaction with CEO Insights magazine.

What motivates you as a new-age leader?

To begin with, it's the desire to transform a conceptualized vision into a fully functioning product by making use of Product Development methods and Management strategies. Also, use cutting-edge technology and innovative scientific processes to create solutions with transformative potential. At the end of the day, I just want to be able to say that I made a difference and an impact in the world and that I gave something back to the universe.

Define Vamani Overseas as an organization and its current position in the industry.

India's "C.Dass Group of Companies," which includes Vamani Overseas, has been in business for 40 years.The organization has a vibrant and optimistic atmosphere, making it a pleasant workplace with a positive work culture. The organization has offices in several different Faridabad sites in addition to those in Australia and the United Kingdom. Located in the "SSR Corporate Park" in Faridabad, Haryana, India, Vamani Overseas is responsible for the company's operations. Vamani has expanded from a team of 100+ in 2008 to a team of 6000+ by 2020. In addition, Vamani Overseas (Infotech Division) offers three main products, including JustWines.com.au - the 2nd largest online marketplace in Australia and New Zealand for the sale of a wide variety of wines. JustWines.com is the UK's fastest-growing online wine marketplace. GrowSkills.com is an emerging educational technology platform that will help students in grades 1 through 12 improve their coding abilities and learn special skills. The students will get personalized attention with 1:1 teacher - student connect and will enable them to gain competitive advantage over their peers.

What are some of the most captivating difficulties you have encountered so far in your professional journey? What did you learn and how did you overcome those challenges?

In my professional experience, I have found that the lack of Product Clarity is the single greatest challenge when creating a new product. There are a plethora of problems that arise from a lack of product clarity. The first step in my three-pronged approach to overcoming these obstacles is to build a compelling Product Road Map for the current & future of the product. Since the product road map is a living document that evolves throughout the product's lifecycle, it's a good idea to set up an ideation portal where both consumers and the product research team may submit and discuss new ideas. This will assure the continued success of the product throughout time.

Secondly, develop a Product Mind Map that incorporates the product ecosystem. The Product / Engineering Team, Upper Management, and Product Operations team all benefit greatly from the elucidation provided by Product Mind Map. After the Mind Map has been constructed, it should be reviewed by the Product Steering Committee and the Board of Directors (if applicable). After the preceding steps are completed, product delivery timelines should be developed and made public within the organization. This will keep the Product Team on the same page with the rest of the company about delivery dates. Organizing product deliveries over several sprints is a lot easier with the aid of project management systems like JIRA, Asana, BaseCamp, and Monday.com.

The third stage is to have clearly defined Key Performance Indicators and Product Metrics. The importance of well-defined Product KPIs cannot be overstated. This will include monitoring and CPI (Continuous Product Improvement) on a weekly/ monthly basis.

What has been the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?

Using my three-pronged strategy, it is first and foremost essential to establish absolute product clarity. After that, with the use of PM software like JIRA: Releases should be broken down into Epics, then User Stories, then tasks, and subtasks. Define Sprints to reach goals once the Product Backlog has been established and prioritized. Ensuring the scope of what has to be delivered is constantly clear to relevant stakeholders, holding retrospective meetings, and adjusting the remaining work for the next sprint.

Furthermore, apprise upper management on developments and risks at regular intervals. Scheduled cross-functional team collaborations to monitor product risk and evolving requirements in a Volatile, Uncertain, and Unpredictable (VUCA) environment.

Vishal Bhatnagar, Chief Product Officer, Vamani Overseas

Vishal has completed Management Development Program (MDP) in Data-Driven Product Management from IIM, Lucknow, and an MBA in Marketing (Product Focused) from Amity University. Vishal has worked with a wide variety of firms throughout his career, including DreamTeam Technologies, CPA Global (now part of Clarivate), IndiaMART InterMESH, Umwelt PeopleTech Solutions, BadaBusiness, and GingerWeb.

Location: Noida, UP

Hobbies: Chess, Badminton, Arm Racing, Adventure Traveling by Road & Bike

Favorite Cuisine: South Indian Cuisine, North Indian Cuisine, Thai Cuisine

Favorite Books:

5 AM Club - By Robin Sharma, 6 Thinking Hats - By Edwad D Bono, 7 Habits of Highly Effective people - By Stephen R Covey, 8th Habit - By Stephen R Covey, How to win Friends and Influence People - By Dale Carnie, Successful Product Design and Management Toolkit - By David Fradin, Execution, The discipline of getting things done – By Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan.

Favorite Travel Destination: Mauritius, Seychelles, India, Switzerland, Bali – Indonesia

Awards & Recognition: Delivered a TALK on Strategies & Trends in Open Source Software Development, in National Conference conducted by UGC at Lachoo Memorial College of Science & Technology - Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.