Women in Product Conference 2019
The Women in Product Conference 2019 was a spectacular gathering of 2000+ women creators and builders whose goal was to connect, learn and get inspired by each other. Founded by women leaders in 2016, Women in Product (WIP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing women with equal access and representation in product careers at all levels. In just a few years, the organization has grown by leaps and bounds to 15,000 constituents and 30+ chapters today.
The tickets for the event went on sale mid-September and it was sold out within just a few hours. Luckily, I purchased my ticket on time! Once I signed up, I received useful information on the speakers of the event, chapter updates and post-conference workshops. And as we got closer to the day of the event, I also got the opportunity to sign-up for peer speed-mentoring sessions at the event. Emails with the QR code for speed check-in and instructions to download and use the socio event app that published the agenda for the event were helpful.
The event was held at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco on November 12, 2019. After an hour’s train ride and a brisk 30-minute walk, I reached the venue early and bright. It was energizing to see the queue of women with a common purpose, checking in and collecting their badge. My check-in was efficient and took just about a minute.
My Biggest Takeaways
The line of speakers for the day were product leaders from companies such as PayPal, Intuit, Google, Walmart, Twitch to name a few. The full list was incredibly impressive, and the talks were brilliant.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
“No one’s path is liner” — Peggy Alford, SVP, PayPal
“Have a relationship with yourself” — Diane Von Furstenberg, Founder, DVF
“Life can be run like a product roadmap” — Jimena Almendares, VP, Intuit
“It is more important to get it right than it is to be right” — Lucinda Newcomb, VP Walmart
For me, the following slide from Amanda Richardson was the biggest takeaway. I plan to frame it and keep this on my desk!
Volunteering and Mentoring
PayPal was a Title Sponsor and we had our booth up-front at the Sponsor Pavilion. As I volunteered at the booth, I was excited to share details on the opportunities for women product managers at PayPal. Below, I share some of the top questions that I was asked at the booth which also came up during my speed-mentoring sessions in the afternoon.
Do I need to have a technical background to be a product manager?
Although a technical background is certainly helpful for discussions with engineering, technical background is not mandatory. What is necessary is a mindset to learn. As a product manager, it is important to learn and understand the needs of the customer and their pain-points. What is equally important is also to be able to communicate these pain-points eloquently to the stakeholders. As you brainstorm solutions with the rest of the organization, you may gradually learn some of the technicalities over time.
I am a software engineer; how do I break into product management?
In my opinion, an MBA can be helpful. If that is not an option, you can enroll in online courses as a substitute to get you started. Have a conversation with your product manager to shadow him or her to learn the basics. Speak to your colleagues outside of your department to get a good understanding of their roles and learn about when and how they contribute to the product release. Network to be informed of job openings within and outside your company. Get a mentor and a coach to provide guidance and support. Lastly, if you think you have a good grasp of business fundamentals and you are ready to make the switch, try to create something of your own (a product or service for your customers) and remember to start small. Doing a few of these can help you transition to product management.
An MBA is very expensive. Is it worth it?
Indeed. Getting an MBA degree can be quite expensive. In my case, I wanted a strong business foundation that would give me a 360-degree view of the business departments and their roles. Also, the mindset that I had was that since I was paying a lot of money, it was my chance to ask a lot of questions! So, I cultivated the habit of questioning and not taking things at face-value which proved to be very useful in my career. (Pro tip: lectures love it if you are attentive and ask questions. Way to get an ‘A’!). In addition, I also enjoyed analyzing the case studies which helped me debate and understand business scenarios better. For those who end up doing an MBA, I highly recommend that you also do a product management internship which will help you get a foot in the door for a full-time product management position.
A lot of universities offer part-time programs and a lot of companies sponsor part of the education as well. In addition, you can get scholarships or teaching assistantship to help with tuition.
If you are interested in looking for product management opportunities, check out: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/jobs
And an important reminder …
Towards the end of the day, I was touched listening to Shripriya Mahesh on how she battled cancer over the last two years. Thankfully, she has recovered and doing better now. As she shared her inspiring journey through the rough phase of her life, she talked about the problems she encountered with face-id 1.0 when she was undergoing chemo. It simply wouldn’t recognize her, reminding her that she looked different. Citing similar examples, she says that what she got from her experience was “Perspective”. It’s a reminder for all product managers to be purpose driven and that while we prioritize and build for the 80% of the use cases for the normal user, we must go back to think of how the rest of the users are impacted.
“Even the small parts of our product, can have huge impact” — Shripriya Mahesh, Founding Partner, Spero Ventures
“Build a meaning and powerful life for ourselves and for others” — Shripriya Mahesh, Founding Partner, Spero Ventures
Looking back, it was an incredible day with a lot to think about and I look forward to next year’s event.
If you missed the event, the video is available on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/507374638
If you’d like to participate, you can learn more about WIP and the upcoming events here: https://www.womenpm.org/
