Hackers that turned product manager?
I'd love to hear your journey. I have considered making the transition in the past but am not confident I have all the necessary skills yet.
How did you do it?
#ask-ih
I'd love to hear your journey. I have considered making the transition in the past but am not confident I have all the necessary skills yet.
How did you do it?
#ask-ih
I'm a longtime product manager - done it at startups as well as big companies before working on startups. There's really only 1 thing to me that matters in product management - you obsess and dream of understanding and solving customer problems. So I think that makes most hackers ideal product managers in that you find ways to understand the problems, build mini test solutions and iterate. Of course in company structures there's more diplomacy required as you're not doing this alone - you need to be able to run meetings, do presentations, inspire and lead a team, build consensus around the roadmap. Basically communicate and manage. The other area beyond problems would be revenue accountability. Most product folks end up being accountable for the product's revenue so understanding the pricing, revenue goals, margins etc... But as a hacker your most probably already thinking this way so again another reason I think a hacker is ideal. The other aspect would be ability to push back against technical folks - hackers should have a pretty good technical stack already in their head. Combining this with a love of problem solving makes is what makes a ideal product manager to me :)
Yeah the customer aspect is one reason I’m thinking about making the switch, I come from customer service prior to my engineering position and wish I got to do a bit more of that day to day.
It all sounds very interesting!
Do you have any preference to setting (start up vs large company)?
Thanks for the nice write up!
I think each is different - at startups pros : more about you being hands on, less bureaucracy, you’re sometimes closer to the decision makers, usually tighter integration with other team members, faster execution. Large : lots of resources - goto any conference, get any training, get to lead large teams in different geographic locations, easy travel budget, marquee name that everyone usually knows.
Cons - startup - usually less pay than large with enticement of options that are usually not worth it. Large - usually very political, can feel like a cog in a big machine.
I’d recommend being flexible - I think it’s less important on size than finding a opportunity that matches with what you want to do :)
Yeah those are some good points and I'm sure it all varies greatly company to company . Thanks again for the insight!
Hi John!
Massive thanks for the elaborate response! Would it be okay for me to reach out to you via email? I am looking to chat to as many makers turning (or turned) product managers as I can.
Valentij
Happy to my email is on my profile :)
Sweet! It's nearly 1am on my side atm (The Netherlands) but I'll be sure to reach out first thing in the morning.
Thanks again and talk soon!
interested in hearing about this too as I've thought of doing the same!
Awesome! I'd love to connect with you if possible. Anyway we can chat for a bit?
Yeah of course, just put an email up on my IH profile, feel free to reach out there!
Same here, Ive recently started thinking that becoming a product manager before committing to being a founder could be a benefit for me, interested in responses!
Thanks in advance.
Hi Nestor! Thanks for the response. I'd love to chat with you about this for a bit! Would you be down for that? Let me know if and how I can reach out to you.
Valentijn
Sure, hit me up @ ing.nestorh@gmail.com