Tech Club Monthly Wind-Down: October 2025 🎃

October was an energizing month for the Tech Club. We bounced between AI conversations, PM workshops, and fireside chats with leaders who are actively shaping how technology integrates into the real world. If there was one common theme, it was that tools are evolving fast, but organizations and people determine whether that evolution actually sticks. Kudos to Grace Hu and Boris Ostrovskiy for contributing to the blog and providing insights!

Fireside with OpenAI’s Dane Vahey + Prof. Jake Cook (Hosted by Grace Hu)

We had the chance to host a fireside chat with Dane Vahey, who leads B2B Marketing at OpenAI, alongside Jake Cook from HBS.

• AI adoption is fundamentally a leadership challenge. The companies that move fastest aren’t the ones buying the flashiest tools; they’re the ones where leaders set direction, identify internal champions, and create space for experimentation.

• Vertical depth. The most compelling innovation isn’t coming from generic “AI for everything” pitches. It’s coming from industries rich with data, whether it be life sciences, financial services, retail, where deep domain knowledge elevates what AI can actually unlock.

• Move from browsing to action. Dane’s demo of OpenAI’s Atlas browser showed how “search” is shifting from retrieving information to actually doing the work - analyzing, interpreting, and taking steps on our behalf. As voice and agentic interfaces mature, digital experiences will feel more like collaborators than tools. Companies will need to redesign their products for direct, transaction-ready actions rather than passive, click-driven pages.

  
  

Navigating PM Careers with PayPal’s Senior Director of Product (Hosted by Boris Ostrovskiy)

This session was a grounding counterpoint to all the AI talk. The conversation centered on traits that actually make PMs effective: knowing yourself, being willing to experiment, and telling a story that connects why you care about the product. We also got a reminder that the best interviews aren’t performances, but rather conversations powered by curiosity and clarity.

Mastering Change with YouTube’s Former Head of Mobile + AI Drug Discovery CEO (Hosted by Boris Ostrovskiy)

One theme here really landed: conviction can matter more than optics. The speaker chose to work on YouTube’s mobile product when it was on the brink of being shut down, not because it looked good on paper, but because he personally believed mobile was the future. That decision changed the trajectory of his career.

Fireside with Reddit’s CEO and COO (Hosted by Boris Ostrovskiy)

Reddit’s leadership underscored a simple but easy-to-forget principle: every major product decision must ladder back to the community. PMs cannot assume their own instincts or preferences reflect what users actually want. Their job is to understand the motivations, norms, and behaviors of the communities they serve. And yes, along the way, we also got some entertaining detours into Steve’s guilty-pleasure subreddits, which made the point even more memorable.

Capital One PM Case Workshop

A very hands-on session where we walked through how to approach Capital One’s PM interviews. It was tactical, practical, and ended with surprisingly excellent Mexican food. Honestly, that alone could’ve justified the RSVP.

Looking Ahead

October made one thing clear: the landscape is shifting, but the fundamentals still matter. Leadership, clarity, curiosity, and a willingness to rethink what’s possible - those are the real differentiators as tech accelerates around us.

Excited for what’s coming next month. Let’s keep building, learning, and asking better questions!