Klaukon

Steven van Stiphout

Product leader
with an engineering mindset.

I’m Steven van Stiphout, a Principal Product Manager with a background in engineering, games data and data platforms.

This is where I keep the things I’m interested in outside my day job: writing about product and technology, small experiments, community work, and occasional projects. Klaukon is simply the company I use for that work.

Explore my work Read my thinking

How I think

Start with the problem. Be deliberate about the technology.

I like working on problems where technology can genuinely make things easier, clearer or more useful for people. Sometimes that means building something new. Just as often, it means simplifying what already exists.

My engineering background helps me understand the shape of a system and the trade-offs involved. Product work is then about connecting that to what people are actually trying to achieve, and being honest about what is worth doing.

Experience

A thread through data, platforms and people.

01

Games & player data

I worked with studios on instrumentation and player behaviour: turning data into better decisions about engagement and outcomes. That included helping teams favour optional, enjoyable ways to spend over accidental pay-to-win mechanics.

02

Data platforms & self-service

I moved into product work for data platforms, where the customers are internal teams. The focus was helping people discover, trust and use data through governed self-service, while keeping quality, security and responsibility in view.

03

AI-enabled people

I’m interested in how AI can help people analyse, create, explore and execute. Its value depends on trusted data, sensible governance, practical training and room for people to use their judgement.

What I’m interested in now

AI only helps when people can use it well.

AI can make some work quicker and open up new ways to explore a problem. But it only helps when people can understand where the information comes from, use it safely and decide when not to rely on it.

That takes trusted data, sensible governance, useful training and room for people to exercise judgement. The technology matters, but so do the conditions around it.

Writing, projects and community work

Things I’m thinking about.

Notes on product practice, data and technology, alongside projects, talks, community work and the occasional prototype.

Contact

Get in touch

I write here, share the occasional side project, and am always happy to compare notes on product, data and technology. You can find me on LinkedIn and GitHub.

LinkedIn GitHub