From Six Sigma to AI: Turning Discovery Into Revenue with Jose Gonzalez

Jose Gonzalez, VP of Product at Ticketmaster, shares how a career spanning the dot-com bubble, Johnson & Johnson, Yahoo, EA, Amazon, and a Techstars-backed AI startup shaped his approach to product leadership. He breaks down the power law behind media platforms, what it takes to scale teams under pressure, and why trying to put the AI genie back in the bottle is the wrong move. **Main Topics Covered:** - An unconventional path from web dev and Six Sigma process engineering at J&J to VP of Product at Ticketmaster - How power law dynamics drive media platforms, and why you can't build your business around hits alone - Co-founding an AI startup (Naria) through Techstars, and what the experience taught him about timing and product-market fit - Scaling teams fast: hiring for horsepower over perfect fit, and knowing when to lower the bar without dropping it - Why AI adoption mirrors the MP3/Kazaa/Spotify era, and the leaders who stop resisting will define what comes next - Using AI at Ticketmaster to connect fans with the right event at the right moment through smarter signals and discovery **Links & Resources** - Connect with Jose Gonzalez: LinkedIn - Connect with Stephen Koza: LinkedIn - Connect with EverOps: Website | LinkedIn