97: Adam Fishman - Killing Projects for a Living: Mozilla’s Stage-Gating Secrets

AI Wrappers vs. Real Problems: Building Beyond the Hype Cycle with my buddy Adam

Mar 09, 2025

, interim SVP of New Products at Mozilla, shares insights on zero-to-one product development, killing unsustainable projects, and navigating AI’s impact on B2B SaaS. He breaks down Mozilla’s stage-gating process for innovation, the challenges of balancing ambition with practicality, and why distribution often trumps product in today’s crowded market.

We might also mention our favorite topic again, the NPS, maybe :D

Chapters

00:00–03:30

Adam’s role at Mozilla: Building beyond Firefox, managing innovation, and why “killing projects” is critical.

03:30–15:30

Stage Gating 101: How Mozilla’s framework prioritizes ideas, allocates resources, and avoids “innovation theater.”
The 5 stages: Discovery, Exploration, Viability, Growth, and Sustaining.

15:30–30:00

AI’s Double-Edged Sword: Turbocharging prototyping vs. drowning in “wrapper” tools.
Why distribution (not product) is the new battleground for SaaS.

30:00–45:00

Corporate Innovation Realities: Avoiding “software sprawl,” managing founder-minded PMs, and surviving existential pivots.
Adam’s take on AI-driven sales tools: “We’re flooding the zone with crap.”

45:00–01:00:00