Deepesh Banerji is Senior Vice President of Technology at Deputy – a workforce management software for shift-based businesses. 

Deepesh has worked across many firms and industries, starting as a product manager at Everyday Health Group in New York and rising to VP Product as the business scaled from startup to IPO. He also worked in senior product roles at ViacomCBS and Beem It before joining Deputy in 2019. I chatted with Deepesh about launching Beem It, dealing with the pandemic at Deputy and what skills you need to work in product management.  Enjoy!

Timestamps:

[1:06]- Who Deepesh wanted to be when he grew up

[1:36]- Deepesh’s founder journey in college

[2:48]-Deepesh’s career journey

[5:22]- Was it a challenge jumping between industries?

[7:28]- What skills are needed in any industry you are in?

[9:26]- Deepesh’s experience launching Beem It 

[13:20]- Was there ever a conflict between the banks behind Beem It?

[14:02]-Handling the pandemic at Deputy

[17:10]- What does product at a startup involve?

[21:01]-Traits that good junior PMs display

[22:45]- How to learn these traits 

[24:24]-How to align people to a unified mission in a large company

[27:10]- Is it more difficult to talk to your customers in a larger company?

[30:40]- What’s the best investment Deepesh has made in his personal life?

[32:15]- Deepesh’s perspective on failure

[33:45]- Advice for students

References:
Deepesh's LinkedIn and Twitter
Deputy
Everyday Health Group
Beem It
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
Working Backwards
Inspired: How to Build Tech Products Customers Love