Roblox CPO on 10 Counterintuitive Principles for Building Software Products | Manuel Bronstein | E267

In this episode, Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia interviews Manuel Bronstein, Chief Product Officer at Roblox. Roblox is not just a video game—it's a platform that enables people to play, create, and build businesses in immersive virtual worlds. With over 85 million daily active users growing at 20% year-over-year, Roblox has paid out more than $923 million to its creator community in 2024 alone.

Manuel brings extensive experience from leading roles at major tech platforms including Xbox, Zynga, YouTube, and Google Assistant. As Roblox's CPO, he oversees the platform's product strategy and development, focusing on creating tools and systems that empower creators while maintaining trust and safety at scale.

In this episode, we'll explore:
- The evolution of Roblox from gaming platform to virtual economy
- How Roblox manages its creator marketplace and virtual economy
- Manuel's product leadership principles and frameworks
- Strategies for maintaining startup culture while scaling
- The future of virtual worlds and immersive platforms

Chapters:
(00:00) 🎮 Introduction and Career Journey
(05:25) 🚀 From Gaming to Platforms: Leadership Lessons
(15:30) 💰 Building and Managing Virtual Economies
(25:45) 🛠️ Product Development at Scale
(35:20) 🔮 The Future of Virtual Worlds
(45:10) 💡 Leadership Principles and Team Building

Key Takeaways 👇:

• Virtual Economy Management: Manuel emphasizes the importance of building systems that can scale while maintaining trust and safety, particularly in managing a virtual economy with real monetary value.
• Leadership Principles: Focus on building fast and learning faster, using first principles thinking, and implementing radical simplification to solve complex problems.
• Platform Dynamics: Understanding the unique challenges of managing a platform that serves both creators and users, requiring different approaches to engagement and monetization.
• Scaling Culture: Manuel shares strategies for maintaining startup-like innovation and execution speed while growing into a major platform.
• Systems Thinking: The importance of designing scalable systems from the start, particularly when dealing with user-generated content and virtual economies.

Credits:
Host: Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia
Guest: Manuel Bronstein

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