Suhas Motwani's The Product Folks community now spans 240,000 members, connecting India's product talent with the Bay Area. This community acts as a direct pipeline for Indian product talent and Bay Area ideas, and vice-versa. For many Indian product managers, it's a rare, free gateway to global insights and mentorship from names like Kunal Shah.
How We Got Here
Suhas Motwani started The Product Folks in 2019, initially posting on social media to find product management enthusiasts in Bengaluru. This began after a decade where Indian developers built apps but struggled with user acquisition and scaling, often trying to copy SF without understanding user behaviour.
The Numbers
- TPF hosts over 300 community events annually across 35 cities, bringing together product leaders and founders.
- It facilitates hiring product talent for startups and helps Bay Area founders assess the Indian ecosystem.
- Mentorship comes from experts like Shreyas Doshi and Lenny Rachitsky, with free product guides and case studies available.
- TPF has hosted events with leaders from OpenAI, Replit, and Cursor, indicating strong industry connections.
What Happens Next
🇮🇳 Why This Matters for India
For product managers in Pune and Hyderabad, The Product Folks provides a critical, often free, window into global product thinking and potential career pathways rarely found through traditional channels.
The Take
TPF's real power lies in standardizing the Indian product management skill set to a global benchmark, beyond mere networking. This makes it a crucial, cost-effective talent pipeline for Bay Area startups struggling with high local salaries.
Source:
Analytics India Mag ↗