Meet Amit Samdarshi, Senior Product Manager
When Senior Product Manager Amit Samdarshi took over AI Phishing Coach in mid-2025, the product was moving fast but without a clear rhythm. Within one quarter, his team built a planning system that transformed how they worked, delivering more than 20 releases.
November 25, 2025
Returning Home to a New Challenge
After a decade in Singapore, Amit was ready for a new chapter. Moving back to India meant reconnecting with home and stepping into his first global B2B product leadership role.
“I was born here but had never worked here,” he said. “Abnormal’s remote flexibility made that transition smooth. It lets me be closer to home while doing some of the most interesting work of my career.”
Initially, Amit focused on Microsoft Team Security. But by mid-2025, he was asked to also take over AI Phishing Coach — a product designed to help people recognize and respond to phishing attempts using AI-driven simulations and feedback loops.
When he joined the team, the product had momentum but needed structure. “We had built the foundation, but releases felt reactive,” he said. “Everyone was working hard, but it was difficult to articulate the difference we were making each quarter.”
Creating Clarity Through Planning
Amit’s solution was deceptively simple: a weekly release model grounded in clarity and communication.
“Release planning wasn’t a big focus before, and that created hiccups with marketing and the field,” he said. “We didn’t want to slow the team down, but we needed predictability.”
He introduced a grid system that mapped each feature across weeks and months, helping the team visualize priorities and progress. Every stakeholder knew what was coming next, and every release was communicated in advance. To ensure this, the team also did weekly demos to provide predictability on what was promised is near completion. This was important to ensure the team was delivering on their commitments.
“I believe that the act and mindset of planning is sometimes more important than the plan itself.”
That shift turned release management into a team-wide rhythm. By the end of Q3, they had shipped 24 releases in 13 weeks—each one documented, reviewed, and celebrated. The approach inspired other teams to adopt similar methods.
Connecting with Transparency
To strengthen cross-functional alignment, Amit set up a dedicated Slack channel for product updates. Each week, he shared what launched, what was coming next, and a quick snapshot of progress toward business goals.
The change improved transparency across engineering, sales, and leadership. “People know what’s happening, and that builds confidence,” he said. “It makes it easier for leadership, marketing, and sales to move in sync.”
For Amit, the combination of transparency and velocity was validation that process and progress can coexist — that momentum feels better when everyone can see how far they’ve come.
Designing Faster, Thinking Sharper
As a product leader, Amit uses AI not just to build smarter products, but to work smarter himself.
“I use V0 for rapid prototyping,” he said. “Sometimes it replaces a full product document because seeing a design makes it real for engineers.”
He also uses ChatGPT for brainstorming, and Glean and Gong to analyze customer sentiment and identify emerging needs. Each tool brings speed and clarity to his day-to-day work — even when they occasionally misunderstand the mission.
These tools, he said, have become an extension of his thinking process. “They save time on the repetitive parts so I can focus on creativity, communication, and impact.”
“V0 sometimes flags my inputs because it thinks I’m phishing people,” he laughed. “I have to remind it that I’m building the phishing-defense product.”
Stretching to Grow as a Leader
Taking on a fast-moving, global product taught Amit as much about himself as it did about product management.
“I work with 11 or 12 functions regularly,” he said. “At first it felt overwhelming, but now I understand what each function owns and how to bring everyone together.”
He describes himself as instinctive by nature, not a planner — and that’s exactly what made this experience transformative.
“This taught me to combine ambition with structure. I had to stretch myself to grow in ways that didn’t come naturally.”
That growth also changed how he thinks about leadership. “Before you convince others, you have to really convince yourself,” he said. “Once you’re clear, everything else follows.”
Balancing late-night meetings across time zones with time for family and fitness requires intention. “I try to get six hours of sleep, sometimes seven if I’m lucky,” he said with a smile. “Going to the gym or time-boxing my day helps me stay grounded and keep moving.”
Finding Purpose in Building What’s Next
Today, Amit feels deeply connected to both the product and the people behind it.
“The visibility that AI Phishing Coach has — and how much the company is counting on it — gives me a real sense of purpose,” he said. “Every improvement we ship contributes to Abnormal’s success.”
And while the milestones matter, what keeps him motivated is growth — his own, his team’s, and the company’s.
“The change isn’t just in my role — it’s in how I think and lead. Each experience here shapes who I’ll become next.”
