TL;DR

• Product management is a unique and poorly understood discipline, especially as it applies to software and other tech-related companies.
• Product management is very much the dream occupation of the jack-of-all-trades, not-necessarily-master-of-any individual who possesses “raw intellectual horsepower.”
• The ideal candidate for a product management role is “a technologist who got tired of being a technologist who wants to solve a business problem through a feature or a product.”
• Creating and showing constant momentum through personal portfolio projects and volunteering is a powerful means of landing a new job as a product manager, especially if one has never officially held the…

Originally published by McCombs MBA Program in 2011

Quick: name the U.S. News top-20 MBA program where you can afford to own a nice, spacious home in a truly urban setting.

Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Here’s a hint: this MBA program is in the same city that ranks #1 on Kiplinger’s 2010 Best Cities for the Next Decade list, #2 in Parenting’s Best Cities for Families and #12 in Bloomberg’s 2011 America’s Best Places list. It is also just 20 minutes from Money Magazine’s #3 ranked “Fastest Job Growth” county.

Still stumped? Does it help to know that this…

(originally published by VentureBeat.com)

October 25, 2014 5:00 PM
Dan Driscoll, reQwip.com

It’s 9:30PM on a beautiful October Sunday in Austin and I am sitting in my car with Uber’s partner app lighting up my iPhone.

The last six months have been crazy. In May, I graduated from The University of Texas with a pair of master’s degrees, and two days later I joined the Seed Sumo startup accelerator. Last month my company, reQwip, raised a small seed round and launched at demo day. This past week, we pushed our iPhone and Android apps into their respective stores.

Tonight, I’m…

A personal (not expert) thesis for trend-spotting

NOTE: I am NOT an investment professional and in no way should this post be taken as financial advice. If you seek financial advice, contact a professional. This post is solely intended as a personal testimony regarding my method for evaluating career, financial and social opportunities.

When I am considering any investment decision — be it financial or my time—I go back to the sixth grade.

I turned 12 in sixth grade, which means I was almost a year older than most of my classmates. That didn’t help, because many of…

Building your network, one cup at a time

Hi [insert name],

My name is Dan Driscoll and I just moved to Austin from DC. I read about you in [insert tech blog] and was inspired to reach out.

I would love to buy you a cup coffee and pick your brain for 20 minutes. Not looking for a job, just want to learn more about the space you are in.

Is there a good time that we can meet this week to chat, perhaps at [insert coffee shop]? …

Building a brand for the long haul

I believe that amazing customer service is an absolute must for any company — be it publicly-traded or a startup—that I am considering for an investment.

Back in 2011, I took positions in Southwest Airlines (LUV) and Starbucks (SBUX) at roughly the same time. Southwest, despite having one of the best ad campaigns of any brand, let alone among airlines, was struggling and down nearly 30% three months after I bought in. World economic uncertainties, high fuel costs and unusual weather patterns in the past year were wreaking havoc on Southwest, but I…

What startup geeks need to know when considering a business school.

So, you’ve decided to get your MBA? As in, you’ve done the calculus, and you are definitely taking two years “off” from the “traditional” workforce in order to better yourself at a business school.

Are you crazy?! You say you want to be an entrepreneur? You don’t need the MBA degree for that! Or do you …? At least for this post, let’s assume you do.

NOTE: Personally, I did find my MBA experience to be the wellspring of discovery, opportunity, networking and self-confidence that I would have struggled…