I created a product manager job for myself — yes, a real paid job

5 years ago, I decided to take a break from the hustle of city living and went back to my hometown in Malaysia — a mid tier city with an almost non-existent tech industry.

I found a software company called Radica Software that operates out of this sleepy small town — selling to enterprises worldwide including the likes of NASA and Apple. Feeling mind-blown and decided to be in touch, I spared sometime looking at their website and social media channels, taking notes of suggestions that could be helpful for their online presence. I later compiled them into an email and send it out.

Surprisingly, I received a reply from Thomas the CEO himself, and we subsequently meetup for coffee. There was no set agenda but it helps that both of us met with an open mind. It was a beginning of a few more coffee sessions, where we chatted about state of (the non-existent) startup scene in town, scarcity of talent and future plans of the company.

At that time, Radica Software was in the midst of expanding the team and looking for developers to work on a new cloud based product (Vecta.io). Armed with an aspiration to try the product management role, I proposed to Thomas the possibility of joining the team as a product manager.

I could tell it came as a surprise — and I should know, after all the product manager is a role that remains rather alien even for many tech companies. However, Thomas was open minded enough to take up my proposal, after much consideration.

And that is the story of how I created the first product manager job for myself — with the company that isn’t even considering to have one in the first place. Of course this is also possible only because Radica Software bears a very opened mind in talent acquisition, especially given the scarcity of tech talent in my hometown.

Getting the job is only the first step.

It was a challenge practising product management without no prior experience, in an environment where everyone too has no idea what a product manager does.

If you like to find out more, I write about these challenges and what entails of my first self-created product manager job in my next article here.

The Takeaway

Later while working with Thomas, I observed his appreciation for people who dare to take the initiative to reach out and ask for things that you want. It sticks with me

“Ask, and you shall get it”

Well that is not exactly what he said. But this has been my mantra, and even more so since I met Thomas. If you are looking to make your life better, I highly encourage you to do the same and do not afraid of breaking the status quo.