Renana Ashkenazi Talks Startups, Product Thinking, and Parenting on the Product Builder Podcast
Renana Ashkenazi, General Partner at Grove Ventures, recently joined the Product Builder podcast for a candid and insightful conversation about the unexpected parallels between building products, backing startups, and parenting. Hosted by Yael Shamir of Fiverr, the episode dives into how personal growth and professional development intersect, especially in high-stakes, high-ambiguity environments.
Startups and Parenting: More Alike Than You Think
Renana shares how becoming a parent helped refine her approach to decision-making, patience, and prioritization, all of which directly influence her work with early-stage startups. Moreover, drawing from her experiences as a product leader and investor, she explores how entrepreneurs and parents face many of the same challenges: nurturing growth under uncertainty, learning to let go, and staying calm amid chaos.
Key highlights from the episode include:
- Why early-stage startups resemble newborns in their fragility, intensity, and rapid growth cycles.
- How parenting shaped Renana’s leadership and investment style.
- The case for validating market need before obsessing over product perfection.
- Navigating ambiguity and making fast, principled decisions under pressure.
Whether you’re a product manager, founder, or investor—or simply managing multiple roles in life—this conversation offers practical insight and emotional resonance.