About Product Circle

Product Circle is a by-application community for product managers and founders in India, run by the team behind Mehman. More than 250 PMs and founders have joined. Members meet experienced product people, exchange ideas, find opportunities and learn from people who have been there and built that, through six things that happen on a steady rhythm.

What is Product Circle?

Product Circle is a community for people who build products. Members meet every week for an AMA and every two weeks for a product teardown. Once a month there's a chai meetup in person. Between those, there's a jobs and opportunities board that never closes, and office hours with VCs and founders who have raised, built and hired before you.

It is deliberately small enough that people know each other. You don't join a feed of thousands of strangers. You join a group where people learn your name, your one-line tagline and what you're working on.

The full list of what members get is on the membership page.

Who Product Circle is for

Product Circle is for product people. In practice that means:

• Product managers who want peers outside their own company: people to compare notes with, test an idea on, or ask the question they can't ask at work. There's more on this on the page for product managers.
• Founders who are doing the product job themselves, or hiring someone to do it, and want time with people who have raised, built and hired before. See the page for founders.
• People in between: the ex-founder who's back in a product role, the PM thinking about starting something, the founder looking for a co-founder on the product side.

There's no list of required titles or years of experience on this page. Product managers at any level are welcome to apply, from APM to CPO. The application asks for your role, company and years in product, one product decision you're proud of and why, and what you want from the community. What matters is how you think about products, not your title. The how to join page explains what makes a strong application.

Why Product Circle exists

Most product work happens inside one company, with one set of users, one set of constraints and one set of opinions. That's fine until you hit a problem nobody around you has solved before. Then the most useful thing is a person outside your company who has been there.

Product Circle exists to put those people in the same room, regularly. Not once a year at a conference, but every week, in formats that make it easy to talk honestly:

• An AMA where members bring the questions they can't ask at work.
• A teardown where you look at someone else's product and say plainly what works, what doesn't and what to steal.
• A chai meetup with good conversation and no slides.

If you're comparing options, our guide to product management communities in India covers what to look for in any community, not just this one.

How Product Circle is run

Product Circle is run by the team behind Mehman, which describes itself as a personal AI for travel that books visas, flights, stays, pickups, cabs, restaurants and tickets, and is currently on a waitlist. A few things follow from how Product Circle is set up:

1. Joining is by application. You apply with a short form. There's no open invite link.
2. A person reads every application. Applications are read personally by the team, not filtered by a script, and new members are added in small batches.
3. New members are introduced properly. Selected members are added to the member group and introduced with a one-line tagline, so others know who you are and why to talk to you. More on that on the member intros page.
4. The rhythm stays steady. Weekly, every two weeks, monthly. You can plan around it, and you don't have to be online all day to keep up.

Details that only matter once you're in, such as schedules, where meetups happen and how to book office hours, are shared with members.

What makes Product Circle different

A few things set Product Circle apart.

Small enough that people know each other

The point is relationships, not reach. A smaller circle means people recognise each other at the second meetup, remember what you asked in last week's AMA, and answer when you post a question.

A steady rhythm, not one-off events

A one-off event gives you a business card. A rhythm gives you people you actually know a few months later.

Formats built around doing, not watching

Each format asks something of you: questions for the AMA, notes in a teardown, a real problem for a 20-minute office hours slot. That's how members get value, and why the formats are short.

People who have been there

The AMAs are with PMs and founders. Office hours are with VCs and founders who have raised, built and hired. The idea throughout is to learn from people one or two steps ahead of you.

Product Circle at a glance

• What it is: a by-application community for product managers and founders.
• Where: India-focused. The chai meetup is in person; other details are shared with members.
• Who runs it: the team behind Mehman.
• Size: 250+ PMs and founders have joined.
• What you get: six things on a steady rhythm.
• How to join: apply, a person reads it, and if accepted you're in.

Frequently asked questions

Why is joining Product Circle by application?

Because the circle is meant to stay small enough that people know each other. An application lets the team read how you think about products, through one product decision you're proud of, and introduce you properly once you're in. Every application is read by a person, not filtered by a script.

Why does Product Circle run on a fixed rhythm?

A rhythm is what turns strangers into people you know. The AMA is weekly, teardowns are every two weeks and the chai meetup is monthly, so you see the same faces often enough to build on last time's conversation. It also means you can plan around it without being online all day.

How is Product Circle different from other PM communities?

It's by application, small enough that people know each other, and runs on a steady rhythm: a weekly AMA, teardowns every two weeks and a monthly chai meetup. Every application is read by a person. For a wider view of the options, see our guide to product management communities in India.

What does Product Circle ask of its members?

Mostly, to take part. Each format asks for something small: a question for the AMA, a note in a teardown, one real problem for an office hours slot. Members who bring something to each format tend to get the most back from it.

Apply to join

If this sounds like your kind of room, the next step is a short application. Tell us your role, one product decision you're proud of and what you want from the community. Start on the how to join page.