Execution Is Everything: Roi Yanai (VP Product, AppsFlyer) on Measurement, Privacy, and Product Craft
Host: Eyal David · Guest: Roy Yanai · About the host
According to Roy Yanai, VP Product at AppsFlyer, the idea is only the beginning — what sets a product manager apart is execution. The way to drive a big move is to show real value with minimum effort: when there's no cost, the ROI is infinite. He also treats writing as a tool for precision.
In this episode
- Execution is everything — the idea is only the beginning; what sets you apart is the execution, and you can show real value with minimum effort (when there's no cost, the ROI is infinite).
- Writing is a tool for precision, not just communication: a One Pager that defines mission, problem statement and solution distills fuzzy thinking into clarity — first for yourself, and then for others.
- The skills Roi looks for in a product manager: the ability To Inspire (to make people follow you), Product Sense (to make sure you're taking things to the right place), and Communication Skills — including the ability to TLDR and distill outcomes.
- The privacy revolution changed the rules of the game: Apple killed the measurement method the ads industry was built on, and Google is next in line — whoever prepares properly comes out stronger and not naked.
- The EU's DMA regulation, which forces Apple to open iOS to new app stores, is an earthquake — and a huge opportunity for the world of cross-channel measurement.
- The recommended path into product: make the move within the company, show your skills, find a champion in management and declare your intentions — the risk in declaring is low, and the benefit is high.
Listen to this episode
Episode Description
Roi Yanai, VP Product at AppsFlyer, leads the measurement organization — the core of the product. In a conversation with Eyal David he tells how AppsFlyer helps app developers understand where their users come from and what they do, how the industry survived Apple's privacy revolution (ATT), and what's coming with Google and third-party cookies. Alongside this, a personal entrepreneurial story unfolds — from the hackathon he founded at Reichman, through a startup, to a senior role — and the recurring lesson: execution is everything, writing as a tool for precision, and the key skills of a product manager.
Full transcript with speakers and timestamps
Selected quotes
“Execution is everything.”
“Again, when there's no cost, then the ROI is infinite.”
“I very much believe in writing, because I think it serves us... In my eyes, it's a kind of feedback mechanism. A lot of things that sit in our heads and seem very clear to us — the moment we start to write them down... I'm writing something here that's vague, unclear, I have to — wait — distill this.”
Questions & answers
What does AppsFlyer actually do?
AppsFlyer helps mobile app developers understand where their customers come from and what they do inside the app — a measurement tool for advertising and for all the efforts across channels like social media and email campaigns. It's faithful to the unbiased principle: it only measures, and never engages in advertising itself.
What were the most important skills Roi looks for in a product manager?
Three: the ability To Inspire — someone who makes people (PMs, R&D, stakeholders and customers) follow them; Product Sense — not just to solve, but to make sure the place you're taking things to is the right one; and Communication Skills — conciseness, the ability to TLDR and to convey outcomes fast. Writing, he says, is the central tool for sharpening all of them.
How did Apple affect the measurement industry?
Apple, as part of a broad privacy trend (alongside GDPR and CCPA), changed the entire measurement method that AppsFlyer and the ads industry were built on, and killed a central measurement capability. It was a dramatic moment in the company — which Roi led the bridging of — and in hindsight dramatic for the good: the company came out of it stronger. Google is next in line with the third-party cookie revolution.
What is the One Pager approach and the connection to Bezos?
Roi encourages the product organization to write a One Pager that defines mission, problem statement and solution (as well as competitive, segments and cost). This connects to the Bezos Way: starting by writing the PR statement and working backwards to the feature itself. Writing serves as a feedback mechanism that exposes ambiguity and sharpens ideas.
What's the recommendation for someone who wants to move into a product manager role?
If possible — make the transition within the company, which is the accepted way today: show your skills, find a champion in the product organization (product lead or director) and declare your intentions. Many people are afraid to declare, but the risk of harm is low and the benefit is high. And read — Good to Great, Inspired and Lean Startup.
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