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# Following your instinct as a product leader, with Rick Smith
- URL: https://www.productledalliance.com/following-your-instinct-as-a-product-leader-with-rick-smith/
- Published: 2022-05-11T14:09:05.000Z
- Updated: 2024-10-16T18:02:46.000Z
- Description: We chat with Rick Smith, CEO at Axon, who takes us through his inspirational product leadership journey; from the tragedy that sparked a passion to seek new technologies to protect life, to powering through user pushback and bringing about fundamental change in society.
- Author: Adam Bennett
- Tags: Podcasts, Product Leadership

For the next insight-laden episode, we chat with Rick Smith, CEO at Axon (Formerly TASER) the global leader of connected public safety technologies. Rick takes us through his inspirational product leadership journey; from the tragedy that sparked a passion to seek new technologies to protect life, to powering through user pushback and bringing about fundamental changes in society. 

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[‎For the Love of Product 💙🎙: Following your extinct as a product leader, with Rick Smith on Apple Podcasts‎Show For the Love of Product 💙🎙, Ep Following your extinct as a product leader, with Rick Smith - 11 May 2022![](https://podcasts.apple.com/favicon.ico)Apple Podcasts![](https://is2-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts124/v4/64/ba/1e/64ba1edb-3068-bf90-c2ea-b5f54a484a60/mza_2133586491409119876.png/1200x630wp.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/following-your-extinct-as-a-product-leader-with-rick-smith/id1549178796?i=1000560524956)

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## Key talking points include:  

- How the product vision is creating a future world without guns.
- Why solving the most challenging problems drives the community at Axon.
- The power of user feedback during a product launch.
- Rick’s advice on building a product team from the ground up.
- Why a customer telling you “hell no” can be a GREAT sign.

## A little about the guest  

Rick is known for being a pioneer of technology, especially when it comes to solving challenging problems. He founded the company that made the bullet obsolete, building the device that became more well-known and ubiquitous in law enforcement. 

From starting the company - now known as Axon - in a garage, Rick has pushed it beyond weapon technology and towards a broader purpose of matching technology to public safety needs to make the world a safer place. He’s built an incredible product team from the ground up, growing into a global brand that’s now changing the world.

Axon’s mission today is to protect life and the company has seen huge success as a SaaS business, disrupting the public safety space and arriving at nearly an $11B valuation today.

## Get involved  

Wanna get involved in the conversation?

It’s easy - just join our [Slack channel](https://productledalliance.com/join-the-pla-slack-community/) of over 5,000 product-led enthusiasts. Access is 100% free, and it has a range of channels for you to take full advantage of; from upcoming events and recommended reading, to job opportunities, and recommended tools.

You can be part of the pod! If you’re a CPO, Founder, Inventor, or a passionate product-led advocate, pick a topic and get in touch here: [adam@productledalliance.com](mailto:adam@productledalliance.com).

Be sure to catch more episodes of [For the Love of Product](https://productledalliance.com/for-the-love-of-product-podcast/)!

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