The Automated Research Loop
by Kevin Yien • Head of Product, Merchant Experiences at Stripe
Kevin leads product for merchant experiences at Stripe. Previously, he built the restaurant business and ecosystem teams at Square and served as Head of Product and Design at Mutiny.
🎙️ Episode Context
Kevin Yien shares counter-intuitive insights on product management, arguing that great PMs convert team potential into kinetic energy. He discusses tactical frameworks for improving product sense through decision logging, hiring via 'unsell' emails, and automating user research loops.
Problem It Solves
Overcomes the 'I don't have time' excuse for not talking to customers by removing the operational friction of sourcing and scheduling.
Framework Overview
Treat your sales and support teams as a research engine. Use automation tools to listen for triggers in customer conversations and automatically invite those customers to research sessions without manual intervention.
🧠 Framework Structure
Identify keywords relevant to your pr...
Set up alerts (e.g., Gong to Slack) w...
Automate outreach (e.g., Zapier to Em...
When to Use
When you need a continuous stream of specific user feedback (B2B context) but lack dedicated research ops.
Common Mistakes
Stopping user interviews because you feel you 'know' the customer already.
Real World Example
Using Gong to detect when a customer mentions 'POS issues', creating a Slack alert, which triggers a Zapier workflow to email that customer a research invite.
There is a world of difference between reading a report about a line cook and then standing with a line cook.
— Kevin Yien