Anna Borbotko — Building Intellectual Property, Not Just Skills

In this episode, I talk with Anna Borbotko, product marketer turned enablement leader at TomTom. Anna’s career is anything but linear — from dreaming of becoming a journalist, to procurement, to product marketing, and now enablement. Along the way, she has built a strong presence on LinkedIn and launched her own newsletter, Product Marketing Pulse.

We dive into the future of work, the skills that really matter, and why creating your own intellectual property will define careers in the years ahead.

What we talked about:

• How Anna got her role at TomTom during COVID thanks to “the click” with her hiring manager.
• Why she looks beyond hard skills when hiring, and what she really pays attention to in junior candidates.
• The unusual interview question she asks everyone: “If you see a wall in front of you, what would you do?”
• Why product launches aren’t where the real value lies — and why the post-launch phase matters more.
• How TomTom successfully pivoted from B2C to B2B and what it means for product marketers.
• The shift from “skilled labor” to intellectual property — and why the future belongs to those who turn their knowledge into scalable assets.
• Why Anna doesn’t believe in traditional training, and how she’s building a framework for enablement that focuses on learning by doing.
• How building visibility on LinkedIn (even without a big strategy) led to speaking invites, collaborations, and new opportunities.
• Why consistency and presence matter more than going viral.
• Anna’s perspective on AI, why she calls herself a “dinosaur” in adoption, and how she sees enablement evolving into managing AI agents.

One of my favorite quotes from Anna:

“Careers are jungle gyms, not ladders. The winners will be those who keep adapting.”

📌 Connect with Anna:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/product-marketing-amsterdam/
• Newsletter: ex Product Marketing Pulse, now rebranded as Lines & Leaps. (https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7037060648253431809/)

If you’re interested in product marketing, enablement, or simply how to future-proof your career in the age of AI, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.