Product Operations - Animedge Product Release

LinkedIn Post: Link

⚡ “What could possibly go wrong?”

That’s what I thought before launching AnimEdge—a kiosk (A big long screen to capture photo) where users could turn their photos into anime-style characters live and get them on their phones in seconds.

Collaboration between AGL - Hakuhodo X Hakuhodo India

Turns out, a lot can go wrong.
📍 The Setup:

We had planned everything—kiosk (A big & long screen) installed, Wi-Fi backups with dongles, extension cords, trained teammates, and even tech support on standby in case the system crashed.

Still
Mall power went out for an Hour 🥲

But again the best part? Despite all the chaos… people LOVED the anime outputs.
The line to try AnimEdge kept growing—proof that when the product clicks, users will wait, smile, and come back for more. 🚀✨

📍 The Reality:
Server load spiked when too many users joined—image delivery slowed.

Me and my manager (Archit Deep) were already in panic mode 2 days before the event, imagining everything that could break under pressure. 🏋️

The business team (Pranav Khanna, Komal Preet, Lovekush Kumar) ran stress tests (20+ conversions in under 2 minutes). The tech team (Rijban khan, Amit Kumar Kanaujiya) worked late nights fine-tuning the UI and anime accuracy, and then… the mall power went out. For 1 whole hour. 🏃‍♀️

Imagine 100s of users waiting, excited to see their anime version… and we’re just standing there. 🙂‍↔️

📍 The Learning:
No matter how well you plan, product operations will test you harder than product building.

What saved us?
✅ Teamwork
✅ Backup plans/preparation
✅ Staying calm when things break

✨ This experience taught me:
1. Product ≠ just building features. It’s about scaling in unpredictable, real-world conditions.
2. The best PMs prepare for failures, not just launches.
3. A product’s success depends on both tech excellence and operational resilience.

If you’re working on a product, don’t just ask: “Is it built?”
Ask: “Can it survive the chaos?”