Published on July 30, 2025
Hey!
Welcome to your monthly dose of product wisdom, straight from the dualoop team.
This month, we’re calling out a habit we’ve all picked up: using AI for everything. Like junk food, it's everywhere, easy, fast…but we all know it’s not the healthiest option.
Over time, the more we rely on it, the more our cognitive capabilities (= product skills 👀) start to fade.
In this edition, we dig into where we're overusing AI and how to stay sharp in product work.
Plus:
- A free eBook to level up your discovery interviews
- A case on de-risking new ventures (with Novable)
- A quick UX fix that makes luxury feel like luxury
Enjoy the read & the summer!
⚡️ Don't miss it!
The best upcoming product events to keep on your radar:
ProductCamp Berlin | Berlin | August 29th
∞ Product Management training | Brussels | September 8-9th | dualoop
Hatch Conference Berlin | Berlin I September 10-12th
∞ Introduction to designing accessible products | Online | September 16th | dualoop
∞ Product Apéro ⚡️ Product Delight | Brussels | September 17th | dualoop
ProductLab Conf | Berlin I September 17-18th
Future Products Days | Copenhagen I September 24-25th
🚨 What's up in product?
How to stay sharp in the age of AI
AI makes us faster, but we've all seen it: it's also making us more lazy.
New research from MIT and Microsoft shows that heavy AI use can weaken our brain’s reasoning muscles. The more we trust the tools, the less we question them, and over time, our brains adapt by doing less.
In product roles, where our real values are our judgment and creativity, that’s a dangerous trade.
So, how do we keep the benefits of AI without losing the skills that make us great?
🧠 The skills that fade first
“AI helps you go faster. But if you’re unclear, it just speeds up the wrong work.” — Timoté Geimer, CEO at dualoop
5 practices to stay sharp with AI
1. Adopt a stewardship mindset
What’s the actual problem? What context matters? Reflect first, then generate, and treat AI as an intern rather than a strategist.
2. Block time to think without AI
Set aside time to solve problems without using AI. These moments of “cognitive resistance” rebuild your product sense.
3. Strengthen the way you think
Make sure you know your users, your market, your constraints. The more expertise you bring to the table, the more value you'll get from AI.
4. Create AI guidelines
Define when and why AI is used, what kind of work can be AI-assisted, and what needs to be reviewed, validated, or cross-checked.
5. Bonus: keep your brain active
Your brain needs variety and challenge. Balance out AI-assisted tasks with real brain stimulation to invest in your brain's long-term vitality.
“The risk isn’t bad AI answers. The risk is forgetting how to think.” — Martin Crochelet, partner @ dualoop
🚀 Template to the rescue
Struggling to get real insights from discovery interviews? You’re not alone.
That’s why we’re giving away a free copy of our CEO Timoté Geimer’s eBook: “How to Run Better Product Interviews”
Inside, you’ll get:
✔️ A practical guide to plan and run semi-structured interviews
✔️ Tips on how to ask better, bias-free questions
✔️ A full interview kit you can customise and use today
⭐️ In the spotlight
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Our PM training is right across the corner!
What do past participants say about the training? We could try to explain it, but better to hear it straight from them!
In just a few seconds, they’ll tell you why it's worth it, their key highlight, and what they’ve actually applied at work.
🔥 De-risking venture building
“You don’t de-risk by executing better. You de-risk by learning faster.” – Martin Crochelet, partner @ dualoop
Every year, 30,000 new products are launched, but less than half survive.
Even corporate ventures (though they are armed with budgets, backing, and brand) only meet expectations 50% of the time.
So what’s missing? We see the same root cause again and again: teams launch too fast, don't take time to test assumptions or to manage the risks.
In our recent joint webinar with Novable, we explored how product thinking helps venture teams slow down before speeding up. You’ll learn:
- Why product management is your best risk-mitigation tool
- How to apply the product loop to venture building
- The 4 types of risk every venture must confront
- A real-world case where we validated demand before a single line of code
- What “porosity” means, and why it might be the missing link in your innovation model
If you’re building a new product or working on a venture, this article is for you.
🚨 Breaking news
We’re launching a free 6-week intensive product management training for job seekers, followed by 6 weeks of real-world internship.
It's built in partnership with Startup Vie and Bruxelles Formation, and taught by experts from dualoop & special guest speakers.
🔹 End Sept-Dec 2025
🔹 100% free
🔹 Designed for job seekers
🔹 Real job opportunities after training
We’re also looking for inspiring guests/trainers to share their expertise with the next generation of PMs. Interested? Reach out!
∞ What's up at dualoop
Here’s where you can learn, connect & grow with us:
Product Management training
Training | Sept 8-9 | Brussels
Level up your PM skills during our renowned 2-day, hands-on session!
Introduction to designing accessible products
Training | Sept 16 | Online
Design accessible products for every user!
Product Apéro - Product Delight
Event | Sept 17th | Brussels
Nesrine Changuel, product coach, speaker, and author will discuss the concept of Product Delight, an approach to building emotional connection into your product strategy.
🎨 Luxury feel, poor flow?
We audited Scabal’s product page, the luxury menswear brand known for dressing icons like Stromae and Daniel Craig.
A high-end product needs a high-end experience, but Scabal’s menswear site was hiding a few UX flaws that could hurt conversions, from low-contrast fonts to scattered layout logic.
We ran a quick UX/UI audit and made targeted fixes:
✔ Better price placement
✔ More accessible colour and size selectors
✔ Clearer layout and consistent actions
🧐 Turns out, small design issues can quietly cost a lot!
That’s it for this edition, thanks for reading! See you next month, same loop, sharper products. 👋
