# Hubert Palan

> Hubert Palan is the Czech-born founder and CEO of Productboard, the AI-powered product management platform used by 5,400+ companies including Salesforce, Zoom, and Microsoft. After earning an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and spending nearly four years as VP of Product at GoodData, he founded Productboard in 2014 with co-founder Daniel Hejl to solve a problem he'd lived firsthand: the disconnect between customer feedback, product strategy, and what actually gets built. The company reached unicorn status in 2022 with a $1.725B valuation following a $125M Series D, and Palan has since led a bold AI-first transformation of the platform with products like Productboard Spark and Productboard Pulse.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Productboard
- **Organizations:** Productboard, GoodData, Maestro Market, Accenture, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business
- **From:** Prague, Czech Republic
- **Nationality:** Czech
- **Education:** Master's in Computer Science, Software Engineering & Database Systems, Czech Technical University in Prague, MBA in Entrepreneurship, UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business
- **Known for:** Founded Productboard and grew it to unicorn status ($1.725B valuation) in 2022, Raised $257.7M total funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, Dragoneer, and Tiger Global, Grew Productboard to serve 5,400+ companies including Zoom, Salesforce, Microsoft, Toyota, and UiPath

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Consultant at Accenture
- **~2010** — Enrolled in MBA program at UC Berkeley Haas; studied under Steve Blank, father of lean startup methodology
- **~2011** — Head of Product & Marketing at Maestro Market
- **2011-2013** — VP of Product at GoodData; helped grow company from 6 to ~300 employees over nearly 4 years
- **June 2011** — On a flight from Prague to New York, brainstormed the idea that would become Productboard
- **January 2013** — Came up with the name 'Productboard'; connected with future co-founder Daniel Hejl via Facebook
- **April 2013 - April 2014** — Conducted 1,000+ customer interviews and tested 13 different prototypes while still at GoodData
- **November 2013** — Left GoodData to focus on Productboard full-time
- **2014** — Officially founded Productboard with co-founder and CTO Daniel Hejl
- **2015** — Raised seed funding including from Credo Ventures
- **2018** — Raised Series A; platform gaining traction with early-stage digital-first startups
- **2019** — Raised Series B; expanded team and international presence
- **2020** — Raised Series C
- **February 2022** — Raised $125M Series D led by Dragoneer and Tiger Global; company valued at $1.725B (unicorn status)
- **2024** — Revenue reached $71.8M; 5,400+ companies using Productboard
- **2025** — Led major restructuring, parting with 30%+ of team to go AI-first; launched Productboard Spark AI agent

## Achievements

- Founded Productboard and grew it to unicorn status ($1.725B valuation) in 2022
- Raised $257.7M total funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, Dragoneer, and Tiger Global
- Grew Productboard to serve 5,400+ companies including Zoom, Salesforce, Microsoft, Toyota, and UiPath
- Featured on Forbes' 'Next Billion-Dollar Startups' list
- Grew annual revenue from $22.2M (2022) to $71.8M (2024)
- Launched Productboard Spark - an AI agent that helps product managers maintain strategic context
- Conducted 1,000+ customer interviews and tested 13 prototypes during the founding phase
- Grew GoodData from 6 to ~300 employees as VP of Product before founding Productboard
- Acquired SatisMeter to expand Productboard's feedback capabilities

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Participated in SaaStr Annual's AI Summit panel discussing AI's impact on product management
- **2025-01** — Announced major restructuring: 30%+ workforce reduction to go AI-first; launched Productboard Spark AI agent
- **2024-12** — Productboard revenue reached $71.8M with 5,400+ company customers
- **2024** — Launched Productboard Pulse, an AI-powered product that synthesizes insights from multiple sources
- **2024** — Launched decoupled Insights experience as a standalone product for high-volume customer insight management
- **2022-02** — Raised $125M Series D at $1.725B valuation, achieving unicorn status

## Links

- Website: http://hubertpalan.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hubertpalan
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/hpalan
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/productboard

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hubert-palan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-26