From first users to billions: Google’s Robby Stein joins TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Getting people to try your first product is one challenge. Changing a product that billions of people already rely on is another. The ambition is still to move fast, test ideas, and build something better. But when every update carries consequences at a global scale, the instincts that helped you get started may need an update of their own.

That tension is at the center of this Builders Stage session, “From MVP to Billions of Users: How Product Decisions Must Change at Scale,” a fireside chat at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Led by Robby Stein, vice president of product for Google Search, this session explores how product teams balance speed with trust, and innovation with reliability, when their decisions affect billions of users.

Disrupt returns to Moscone West in San Francisco, October 13-15, bringing together 10,000+ start-ups, investors, and tech decision-makers. Hear how product decision-making evolves as the stakes get higher by registering for your ticket now to save up to $200 before prices increase on September 25, 11:59 p.m. PT. Save up to 30% more if you grab group passes for four or more.

When your product outgrows your original playbook

How do you keep experimenting when users expect your product to work every time? How do you introduce something new without undermining what people already value? And which early-stage instincts should you hold onto as your company grows?

Stein’s session tackles the shift from building a first minimum viable product to making decisions inside one of the world’s largest product organizations. The conversation focuses on what changes when moving, while maintaining trust and delivering a reliable experience.

For founders, the value isn’t in copying Google’s processes. It’s in examining the decisions behind them: where speed creates an advantage, where greater care becomes essential, and how to recognize when the way you build needs to evolve alongside the product.