In this episode of Taking the Lead, host Christina Brady, CEO of Luster, sits down with Jodi Mesa, the Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Luster. Jodi shares her inspiring journey from a self-taught college student to a tech industry leader. Her passion for technology and psychology, influenced by her parents’ careers in education and technology, set the foundation for her innovative approach to product development.
Jodi’s story is a testament to the power of self-initiative and continuous learning. She recounts how she taught herself HTML and JavaScript by reading O’Reilly books and leading a team of student developers without formal training. This determination to learn on the job allowed her to transition into significant roles, including her first product management position at Examiner.com. Jodi emphasizes the importance of connecting company goals with strategic steps, a lesson she learned early in her career.
A significant theme in the conversation is the critical role of understanding customers in product development. Jodi highlights how direct interaction with users can lead to better product alignment with real-world needs. She underscores that a product is only as good as the understanding of its customers, advocating for regular customer engagement to guide strategic decisions and enhance user experience.
Another key topic is the management of tech debt. Jodi explains the balance between good and bad tech debt, noting that while some tech debt is necessary for quick experimentation, excessive tech debt can hinder progress and affect customer satisfaction. She also discusses the importance of hiring top talent and maintaining a strategic approach to product development to stay competitive in the market.
Christina and Jodi also explore the impact of mentorship and the challenges of overcoming self-limiting beliefs, especially for women in tech. Jodi shares how mentorship helped her tackle challenging roles and the importance of confidence in pursuing opportunities. This episode is packed with insights on leadership, innovation, and the value of a customer-centric approach to product development. Don’t miss the full conversation on Taking the Lead.
Featured Guest

Name: Jodi Mesa
What she does: CPO & Co-Founder
Company: Luster
Noteworthy: Jodi Mesa: A self-taught tech leader with a background in psychology. She combines technical expertise with a passion for understanding user behavior.
Key Insights
Tech Leadership Requires Self-Initiative and Continuous Learning
Effective tech leadership demands a proactive approach to learning and problem-solving. Success in this field often stems from self-taught skills and a willingness to dive into new challenges without formal training. Understanding the technical aspects of a project, even when they fall outside one’s formal education, can significantly enhance one’s ability to lead. Developing technical proficiency through self-study, such as learning HTML and JavaScript independently, sets a strong foundation. This hands-on experience with technology, combined with curiosity and determination, equips leaders to guide teams effectively and make informed decisions that drive innovation.
Customer Understanding is Crucial for Product Development
A deep understanding of customer needs is fundamental to successful product development. Building products that truly resonate with users requires direct and frequent interaction with them. This engagement helps in identifying real-world problems and tailoring solutions that meet these specific needs. Organizations that prioritize customer feedback and integrate it into their development processes can create more user-friendly and effective products. Moreover, aligning product strategies with customer insights ensures that the development efforts are focused on solving relevant and impactful issues, leading to higher satisfaction and retention rates.
Managing Tech Debt Strategically Enhances Innovation
Managing tech debt effectively is essential for maintaining a balance between innovation and operational stability. While some level of tech debt is inevitable and can even be beneficial for rapid experimentation, it’s crucial to distinguish between acceptable and harmful tech debt. Good tech debt allows for quick validation of ideas without over-investing in early stages. However, failing to address accumulated tech debt can anchor an organization, making it difficult to innovate and respond to market changes. Prioritizing tasks, hiring skilled technical talent, and having a clear plan for addressing tech debt can prevent it from becoming a significant barrier to progress, ensuring the organization’s long-term competitiveness and customer satisfaction.
Episode Highlights
The Intersection of Psychology and Technology
Jodi Mesa discusses how her background in psychology has influenced her approach to technology and product development. She explains that her interest in psychology and technology began in college, where she worked on building technology for educational purposes. Jodi highlights the importance of understanding human behavior and cognitive processes when designing technology solutions. This unique blend of skills has allowed her to create products that are not only technically sound but also user-friendly and impactful. She emphasizes that education and technology together can significantly enhance upward mobility and personal growth.
“It’s so wonderful when you feel like all of your past 25 years and even longer than that, I would say, have really come to a confluence and a convergence of all the things you’re passionate about, the things you love doing, the skills you feel like you’re good at and the areas you want to grow.”
Navigating Early Career Challenges
Jodi shares insights into the challenges she faced early in her career, particularly in gaining technical knowledge without formal education in the field. She recalls how she taught herself HTML and JavaScript by reading O’Reilly books and leading a team of student developers without prior experience. This part of the discussion underscores the value of self-motivation, curiosity, and the willingness to learn on the job. Jodi’s journey from being a self-taught coder to leading product teams highlights the importance of perseverance and continuous learning in the tech industry.
””I am completely self-taught. Back in the day we used to download software and, so I taught myself HTML and JavaScript and got a job saying, ‘Hey, I will learn anything, and I’m passionate about this. And here’s why I care about being a part of this team.'”
Leadership and Strategic Vision in Product Management
The conversation dives into the strategic aspects of product management and leadership. Jodi Mesa explains how she transitioned into a product role at Examiner.com, where she had to learn about product management on the go. She emphasizes the importance of connecting company goals with strategic steps and the need for a clear vision to guide the product development process. Jodi highlights the role of leadership in aligning teams towards a common goal and the significance of strategic thinking in making impactful decisions that drive the company forward.
“It was something where I was like, ‘Hey, let’s find some people who are in the space. Let’s find some mentors.’ There weren’t courses or boot camps or anything like that. And so that was just a really interesting forte where it was, ‘Here are the goals the company is trying to achieve. And here’s where we’re at, like, how do we connect the dots and build steps towards getting there?'”
The Role of Mentorship and Overcoming Self-Limiting Beliefs
Jodi discusses the impact of mentorship on her career and the importance of overcoming self-limiting beliefs. She reflects on her experiences with mentors who encouraged her to take on challenging roles, such as driving a Series C funding round despite not knowing what it entailed initially. Jodi also talks about the common tendency among women to underestimate their qualifications and the importance of confidence in pursuing opportunities. This part of the discussion highlights the transformative power of mentorship and the need for self-belief to achieve professional growth.
“I had a wonderful mentor there. And she was like, ‘Hey, we’re looking at raising our Series C, and I want you to help drive this.’ And I was like, ‘What is a Series C?’ I was fairly early on in my career, and she was like, ‘Can you do that?’ I was like, ‘Absolutely,’ […] it was, it’s a scary moment to volunteer for something, but then just, when you have the hindsight of 2020 and you go back and yeah, I did those things. But at the moment, I was thinking, ‘I can’t do this.'”