Louis Badcock, Chief Product & Technology Officer at World of Books Group, joins On The Pulse to trace an unconventional route into product and technology: from an experimental psychology degree, through John Lewis and Tesco, to the fast-scaling used-car marketplace Cazoo. The conversation covers what actually makes a strong product manager, why the “mini CEO” comparison gets overused, how World of Books keeps its teams close to the customer, and why Louis believes AI is about to reshape product and technology roles more than most people expect.

FIVE KEY MOMENTS

• 00:02:48 Louis explains how curiosity, not a computer science degree, took him from an experimental psychology degree into technology via John Lewis’s graduate scheme.
• 00:23:29 What Louis looks for in a great product manager: making good decisions without all the data, then explaining them in the language of the business.
• 00:42:14 Joining the online used-car marketplace Cazoo as it scaled from around 50 employees to roughly 3,000.
• 00:53:15 Fifteen months into his first CPTO role, Louis reflects on bringing product and technology together at World of Books Group.
• 01:04:25 Why Louis believes AI will change product and technology roles dramatically, and how leaders can prepare for it.

GUEST
Louis Badcock linkedin.com/in/louis-badcock-2865843

GUEST COMPANY
World of Books Group linkedin.com/company/world-of-books-group

HOST
Tony Mulcock linkedin.com/in/tonymulcock

HOST COMPANY
Pulse Group https://pulsegroupsolutions.com/

SPONSOR
This episode of On The Pulse is sponsored by Pulse Group.

Produced by Vertical Drop

What does the future of software engineering actually look like?

In this episode, Richard Burns is joined by Matt Whetton, Chief Technology Officer at Acquired.com, to explore how AI is transforming engineering teams, leadership, and the skills needed to stay ahead.

Drawing on more than 25 years of experience, Matt shares why he stepped away from the venture-backed world, what he's learned from leading engineering teams through periods of rapid growth, and why smaller, highly effective teams may outperform larger organisations in the years ahead.

If you work in technology, product, engineering or leadership, this conversation offers practical insights into how the role of engineers is evolving and what that means for the future of the industry.

Chapters

02:30 – Why Matt left the VC-backed world for a bootstrapped business
09:20 – Building smaller, more effective engineering teams
18:30 – The biggest differences between bootstrapped and VC-backed companies
35:40 – How AI is changing the role of software engineers forever

Connect with Richard Burns

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardmarcburns/
Pulse Recruit: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pulse-recruit/

Connect with Matt Whetton

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewwhetton/
Company: https://linkedin.com/company/10631317/

If you enjoyed this episode, please like the video, subscribe to the channel, and let us know your biggest takeaway in the comments.

Produced by Vertical Drop.

In this episode of On The Pulse, Tony sits down with Blake Moseley, VP of Product at JUUL, to talk about the career journey that's taken him from agency life in Australia to leading product teams in one of the UK's fastest-growing tech businesses.

Blake shares how working in agencies shaped the way he thinks about leadership, problem-solving and innovation, why agency talent is thriving in startups, and what it really takes to build high-performing product teams. The conversation also explores the realities of leading through constant change, hiring people who challenge you, and why the best leaders aren't afraid to admit what they don't know.

They also dive into the impact AI is having on product development, how it's completely changing the way products are built, and why keeping up with the pace of innovation has become both exciting and daunting.

00:00 – Tony introduces Blake and his journey from agency life in Australia to product leadership in the UK
03:15 – How working in agencies shaped Blake’s approach to leadership, problem-solving and innovation
08:40 – Why agency talent is thriving in startups and fast-moving businesses
13:10 – What it really takes to build high-performing product teams
18:25 – Leading through constant change and making decisions when things move quickly
23:50 – Hiring people who challenge you and why the best leaders don’t pretend to know everything
29:05 – The impact AI is having on product development and how it’s changing the way products are built
34:20 – Why keeping up with the pace of innovation is both exciting and daunting