Meet the Next Gen Builder: Edik Mitelman, SVP & General Manager of AppsFlyer Privacy Cloud

In this episode of Next Gen Builders, Francois Ajenstat chats with Edik Mitelman, SVP and GM of AppsFlyer’s Privacy Cloud and Data Collaboration Platform—which helps companies collaborate and innovate with data together securely, while keeping user privacy front and center.

Francois and Edik get into what it’s like to build a startup within a fast-scaling bigger company—and why someone would take on that kind of challenge in the first place. Edik shares how being part of a smaller, scrappier team can deliver exceptional value and actually bring you closer to your users, making sure every line of code has a clear purpose.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.

The power of a beginner’s mindset

While Edik’s current forte is in product management (PM), it wasn’t always the case. His career started in software engineering, and that path forged a true beginner’s mindset. When asked what advice he’d give his younger self transitioning from engineering to product, Edik doesn’t hesitate:

• “You know nothing.” A daily reminder he gives himself—even today.
• Experience is valuable—but not enough. Many young PMs rely too heavily on past experience. Edik stresses that product managers must assume they don’t know and be willing to validate everything.
• Test, talk, and learn. Constantly test hypotheses, run experiments, and engage with customers. Insight comes from research, not assumptions.
• Coming from engineering? Let go of certainty. Unlike engineering, product work is full of unknowns. Thinking you know can lead you astray.
• “We are not the users.” A crucial reminder that PMs need to stay close to real customer needs, not internal assumptions.

To paraphrase Francois: “I love the expression ‘having a beginner's mind’—always curious, always open.” Edik agrees. And that mindset? It’s not just for PMs—it’s for everyone, every time you build something new.

Why product management feels different at every company size

Edik’s journey and the beginner’s mindset he developed brought a fresh philosophy around product in general, and how it leads to driving innovation and startup growth from within a larger company. But how does product management work for different-sized companies? Edik offers his perspective:

• The craft stays the same: Whether B2B or B2C, startup or enterprise, the core of product management—discovery, objectives and key results (OKRs), working with engineering—doesn’t really change. Neither does the customer obsession.
• What does change? Stakeholders: In startups, everyone’s in one room—you just talk. In large companies, you coordinate across time zones, departments, and chains of command—often without formal authority.
• Communication and pace differ dramatically: Startups are fast and informal, with an “ask for forgiveness” culture. Enterprises, on the other hand, can be slow, process-heavy, and require approvals. What took a day in a startup may take noticeably longer in an enterprise.
• More time spent aligning people than building: The bigger the organization, the more effort PMs spend on stakeholder management compared to pure product work.

Building what’s next, not just what’s now

Edik now leads Privacy Cloud and the Data Collaboration Platform at AppsFlyer, a startup-like team operating within a fast-growing, global tech company. While AppsFlyer’s core product is a market leader in mobile attribution, marketing measurement, and analytics, even products of that scale eventually hit their TAM (total addressable market).

To keep pushing forward, AppsFlyer created a structure that empowers general managers (GMs) like Edik to leverage the company’s scale and experience in mobile and marketing measurement data to build entirely new products in adjacent markets, helping AppsFlyer innovate and grow beyond the limits of its core offerings.

The path to product-market fit

Once Privacy Cloud and the Data Collaboration Platform had space to grow, the next challenge was figuring out when to double down—and when to walk away. Unlike core products, where ROI is tightly tied to revenue goals, incubation bets need different success markers. According to Edik, the most important milestone is product-market fit.

To gauge success, Edik looks at a blend of early signals and deeper traction:

• Early indicators like design partnerships, first deals, and usage trends
• Customer behavior that shows repeat engagement and growing value
• Clear metrics tied to real-world outcomes, not just internal milestones

It’s not just about selling a product—it’s about making sure people use it, love it, and come back for more. That mindset has to permeate the entire team.

To instill that culture:

• Every team member is responsible for understanding customer needs.
• OKRs are tied to business outcomes, not just output.
• Success = usage—if no one uses the feature, it doesn’t count.

But this discipline isn’t just about speed. It’s about survival—and beating incumbents with focus, agility, and relentless customer obsession. At AppsFlyer, that philosophy is increasingly core to how new products are brought to market: cross-functional accountability, real usage metrics, and a deep focus on long-term customer value.

And it’s paying off: The company’s Privacy Cloud and Data Collaboration Platform—developed using the very principles Edik shares—has seen strong adoption across quick commerce, CPG, and financial services. Brands are reporting up to 400% return on ad spend and meaningful improvements in marketing performance.

It’s a compelling example of how real product-market fit emerges when innovation is grounded in customer collaboration, measured by usage, and supported by the infrastructure of a trusted global platform.

How failure breeds success

Francois raises a concern: If teams are measured by OKRs tied to usage and success, will that stifle bold bets?

Edik says no—and shares a story. When he introduced OKRs at AppsFlyer, his team kept failing while everyone else reported smooth progress. But in his view, consistent success means you’re not pushing hard enough. “If you're always successful—always in the green—you're not taking risks.”

Failure only hurts if you don’t learn from it. At first, Edik’s team felt exposed—walking into planning meetings full of red marks while others stayed green. But over time, failure became a badge of learning, not shame.

As teams get used to failing smartly, the process gets faster. Safe-to-fail cultures lead to bold ideas, faster pivots, and sharper instincts.

To GM or not to GM?

Is the GM model the secret to speed and innovation?

It depends. At AppsFlyer, GMs run incubations while the core business sticks to the traditional VP structure. GMs bring accountability and focus—but silos are a real risk. Sometimes they miss opportunities to collaborate.

Edik’s advice: Try the GM model if you’re building a portfolio. If it doesn’t work, it’s easier to consolidate than to break apart later. Plus, you don’t need a GM title to think like one. A GM mindset means owning outcomes, caring about customers, balancing tradeoffs, and thinking holistically.

Structure helps enforce that mindset when it doesn’t happen organically—but ideally, you grow leaders who think this way naturally. Francois believes that mindset drives results, and Edik agrees. And when that mindset spreads, the whole organization moves faster and smarter.

Tune in to Edik’s story

Edik’s journey shows us what it takes to build something new inside something big: a beginner’s mindset, a deep connection to users, and a culture that treats failure as fuel. Whether you’re a PM, a founder, or a leader inside a growing company, his insights offer a powerful reminder: Innovation isn’t just about speed—it’s about learning faster than the competition.

This conversation is packed with real talk, lessons learned, and bold ideas we couldn’t fit into one blog post. Listen to the full episode of Next Gen Builders to hear the rest.