About Me

Welcome - I'm Waqas. I've spent two decades building technology products and product teams. During that time, I've led strategy, growth & innovation for complex products & platforms used by millions across diverse domains (SaaS, marketplaces, e-commerce, and fintech) at places like Expedia, Dropbox, and most recently Thumbtack. More on that journey here.

My experiences have taught me that durable success rarely comes from just the surface of the products we engage with, but from the systems underneath - the feedback loops, the mental models, the judgement, the org and culture. I call this the mental side of product work - and my writing ("Musings") about this are available here. I publish monthly essays sharing what I've learned about judgement, product, teams, career development and lately, working with AI - often starting somewhere familiar (a coloring book, a rollercoaster, an accordion) and ending, hopefully, in a mindset that clarifies things for you.

On this site, you'll also find a small corner of Urdu poetry couplets - a quieter side I like to carry with me. Across all that I share, I like to offer perspectives, not prescriptions. If anything here resonates with you - wherever you are in your journey - I'd be delighted, and would love to connect!