When you think of Forbes do you think of product? Probably not. But Nina Foroutan, Director of Product Development at Forbes, joins the Big Bets in Product series to share how the print form magazine has evolved to build a community using technology and data. 

More pointedly, what does a Director of Media of a product look like at a 102-year-old media company, and how do they transform from traditional journalism to digital?

“We fill the gap between traditional departments at companies. And I think it’s really important because you need someone in the room that’s thinking and protecting your end-user and building opportunities for them to engage with your brand.”  – Nina Foroutan

Listen in as Christian explores what it’s like to create a product at a non-product company, and how Forbes is responding to the needs of its readers.

Takeaways: 

• Just having the content isn’t enough
• Building community starts with understanding what your users want
• Behavior and baseline metrics can help you evaluate any new feature, product or service

Things to Listen For:

• [00:49] Creating a product at a non-product company
• [02:21] Why was product an important initial strategy for Forbes?
• [05:38] Content isn’t a product
• ][06:23] First party platform: Forbes One
• [06:46] An example of a feature gaining traction 
• [08:25] What’s a content problem or a content opportunity versus a product or an adoption problem? 
• [10:32] How a product team works with the Forbes editorial team
• [12:54] Is the product side of Forbes impacting the way media or content is consumed? 
• [15:00] Forbes future outlook as they continue to build out the product team
• [18:07] How the original mission guides product development