The interview with Nick, Product Team’s Program Manager, begins now.
Q. Could you briefly introduce yourself? And tell us what responsibilities you have in your team.
A. Hi. I am Nick, Program Manager at GroundX. You may not be so familiar with the term “Program Manager”, but it’s actually the same thing as PM, which is pretty common in the IT industry. I am in charge of managing the entire process of a project, so I establish plans to introduce a new service or a feature on the market, discuss requirements, do resource planning, scheduling, and I also track the work progress. I also handle various issues that arise during service operations, and I create separate plans and processes for recurring, repetitive issues.
Q. How did you join GroundX, and what did you do prior to joining?
A. I studied Chemical Engineering, so my first job was in overseas sales at a petrochemical company. I basically did what Jang Geu-rae from the K-Drama “Misaeng” did: contacting the factory to ship the orders according to the clients’ request, book ships, prepare freight documents for the shipping company and the client. The work itself was pretty dynamic and fun. But I stumbled upon Bitcoin and Blockchain while doing some studying on investment and got so fascinated with it that I even changed my field. GroundX is the second company I joined after entering the blockchain field. The first one was a blockchain startup; it was with the experience I gained there as a PM that I got accepted into GroundX after two attempts. I didn’t even make it to the interview the first time.
Q. So you joined GroundX on your second attempt! What do you think made the difference between the first and second application?
A. I had an extra year to prepare. For my first application, I didn’t have any solid experience nor understanding of the development process of an IT product. It was shortly after I started working as a PM at the first startup that I saw the job announcement at GroundX. And I just applied without thinking much, and not surprisingly, my resume didn’t even pass the initial screen. Back then, I didn’t have much to offer except passion and interest for blockchain, so I decided to make the most out of my PM job under the given circumstances. As a result, I passed the initial screening for my second application and I eventually joined the company after three interviews.
Q. What do you think is the most required skill for working at GroundX?
A. To name just one, I would say communication skills. By that, I don’t mean just speaking fluently. When there is an issue, you have to document the points that require discussion, call together a meeting with those in charge, share the conclusions and action points that came out from the discussion, and track the work progress using the ticketing system. This whole process is what I think communication skills constitute.
Q. Do you have any special tips for doing a good job as a Program Manager at GroundX? It could be a book or a personal know-how.
A. You need to learn to enjoy email surfing. During peak season, you see like 3–40 emails in your mailbox after a short 30-minute meeting. These are mostly notifications for being mentioned as the person in charge for tickets or document updates. You have to sort them quickly and meticulously. Otherwise, the email waves will eventually swallow you up… 🏄♂️🌊
For example,
1) I simply delete meeting invitation mails right after checking the agenda and clicking accept or decline. Because you can always find them on the Calendar.
2) And If I am just CCed for reference, I skim over it to get the gist and archive it.
3) If multiple emails have arrived for a discussion regarding a single ticket in my absence, I delete everything except for the latest one, because they all have to do with one ticket anyways.
4) If I am asked to provide my opinion or make a decision, I go to that ticket, leave it in comment, CC whoever that’s appropriate and archive the email.
5) Emails regarding issues that need some time to think over or are difficult to solve immediately, I leave them in the inbox. So these emails in my inbox constitute the my work backlog. So I am most happy when my inbox is empty.
6) A book to recommend…hmm.. It’s not exactly a book, but the PM team created a document called “How to Jira Smartly”, since GroundX uses a software called Jira. We are constantly updating it on the company’s wiki page. It contains valuable tips and functional extensions for working. If you are interested, please check out GroundX Career Page!
Q. Compared to previous workplaces, how is GroundX different in terms of the way people work?
A. We document more and share more. While it may be a pain for those in charge, we use open documents and tickets instead of private messages, and exchange constant feedback to make improvements. All this may take up a long time, but it minimizes the inefficiencies when someone else needs to refer to an old document or when a significant time has passed that I myself have forgotten about it. In addition, tracking the work progress on an open platform like this allows anyone to access it anytime to know what is being done and is at which stage. This is something that GroundX is especially committed to in order to make work more efficient. And I think it’s still working well.
Q. Is there a unique team culture within the Product Team at GroundX?
A. I don’t know if you can call it a culture, but we don’t drink alcohol during team dinners. Before the pandemic broke out, our team went out for dinner together, not having done that in a while. We were a group of six men and just ended up ordering a bunch of raw fish with only two bottles of beer. Nobody stopped us from drinking; we all just happened to not enjoy alcohol that much. The dinner ended early in the evening, too.
With a flashback of how the factory manager from my previous petrochemical job used to pour me soju in a beer glass, I thought to myself, “The IT industry surely has its perks”. Nevertheless, I miss having dinner with my team, so maybe after the pandemic subsides.
Q. Tell us what you love about GroundX! What do you like most about the company’s benefits?
A. We have a variety of high-quality snacks in the cafeteria. There are new snacks and beverages that are not easy to come by elsewhere, and it’s also full of healthy alternatives like boiled eggs, bananas, and energy bars. And I can vouch for the effectiveness of the probiotic drink, too. The Operation Team does an excellent job in regularly filling up the snack bar with constantly better ones, and that is a great source of motivation for me.
Due to the pandemic, though, we’ve been working remotely for over a year now. But even though I can’t use the snack bar, I don’t have to worry about getting COVID thanks to the company policy. And besides, I’ve gotten closer with my family. Snacks are nice, but nothing beats a homemade meal.
Q. When was the most difficult moment for you, working in the Product Team? And when was your proudest moment?
A. The period leading up to the launch of Klip was the most difficult. But it was very rewarding when it finally launched on June 3rd last year. It wasn’t easy. During those days I did a lot of overtime, even past midnight. And the launching date had been postponed many times. But on the day it finally came out, customers — I don’t know how they even knew — rushed in from early hours to sign up. So we ran out all KLAY prepared for the event around 10 AM, with 100,000 new users. It was such an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment that made me forget about the hardships and difficulties. And I felt so thankful for each new user.
Q. Is there one thing that you want to achieve at GroundX?
A. I think this is something that the entire crew at GroundX wants: mainstream adoption of blockchain. I want to build a blockchain rooted smoothly in our daily lives without requiring complex technical knowledge. And I believe that Klaytn will be that blockchain.
Q. What is your favorite service launched by GroundX?
A. It goes without saying that it’s Klip, of which I am currently in charge. It seems just like yesterday that I wrote the proposal and bustled about with the prototype explaining it to people. We’ve now come so far as to have a million users. Of course, we still have a long way to go, but it has a soft spot in my heart. I wish it all the best for its future. You still have to go to More > Kakao Apps to access Klip within KakaoTalk, but I am going to eventually make it receive the love it deserves. Please send Klip your love!
Q. What do you like to do in your free time?
A. In my profile picture on the team communication software, I can be seen in my soccer team uniform. I love soccer. Every Sunday, I get up early to play in a 11:11 match in my team “FC Sparrow”. Also during weekdays, I play futsal when I get off of work early. Which means that I never get to play futsal. Curiously tragic.
My position is wing forward, just like Son Heung-min. I make a lot of shoots during the game. With all the stress from work, I put it in the ball and forcefully kick it away, so that I can get ready to fearlessly face my Monday again.
Q. Last question. Any last words for potential candidates at GroundX?
A. Blockchain industry itself is very unique. It may seem like your run-of-the-mill IT company if you don’t have any special interest in the technology. But if you want to do something with blockchain, you won’t find a more solid company than GroundX in Korea. So if you want to help facilitate the mainstream adoption of blockchain (which is bound to happen inevitably), and if you are ready to be KLesmerized by Klaytn and Klip… check out the link below for job vacancies at GroundX!
View open positions at Ground X:
https://www.groundx.xyz/careers
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GroundX: https://www.groundx.xyz/
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