Product management is one of the most romanticized roles in tech and one of the most variable, especially when you're just starting out.

I'm a student who's interned across startups, public sector, and big tech in product, software development, and research roles. From a Series A startup to a government agency to Intuit – no two experiences looked the same.

The title "PM" can mean wildly different things depending on the company, the team, and honestly, a bit of luck. Especially with employers looking at our generation as the up and coming "AI Native" graduate glasses, there is more variability in what might look like and it is important to gauge it, prepare of it and decide if it is it for you.

This session is a candid, discussion-based conversation for anyone early in their PM journey or thinking about breaking in.

Topics we'll explore together:

• What early career PMs are actually expected to do and how much that varies by company size, industry, and team
• How to make decisions and drive influence when you have no authority and no track record yet
• The gap between the PM role you imagined and the one you actually land — and how to navigate that uncertainty

I'll share what I've seen across very different environments, and I want to hear from the room too including especially from folks who've hired, managed, or mentored early career PMs.

SPEAKER
Avni Kapoor, PM Intern at Intuit | BSc Cognitive & Computer Science, SFU

Avni is a student at Simon Fraser University with internship experience spanning startups, public sector, and big tech across product management, software development, and AI research.

Most recently, she's been on the Intuit Agent Chat team driving mobile rollout across QuickBooks and TurboTax. Previous roles include PM and SWE intern at WorkSafeBC, APM at CoPilot AI, and AI research assistant at SFU's Rosie Lab. She's also Co-President of SFU Blueprint and Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Undergraduate Journal of Cognitive Science. More here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/avni-kapoor/