The Product Hero! Let’s start something new.
From Product Managers to Product Managers and people that love Product.
Hello Everybody! (1st random fact: I don't know why, but every time that I see, write or listen "everybody" I think about Backstreet’s Boys "Everybody yeah!" song). So, if after that you keep reading I promise there are some interesting things coming.
This is the first Product Hero article!
A publication that will interview Product Managers from around the world to talk about their experiences, stories, cases and random facts like the Backstreet's Boys thing I just mentioned.
I'll start with myself, just to you know more about where I come from. Ah! Will have a weekly curated list with articles about… Product! So, if you read some interesting article or want to recommend someone to talk about their experiences, please send it to productheroes@gmail.com .
Let's start!
About Me
My name is Arthur Castro, or @arthurklose in case you feel like Googling. I'm 25, Product Addicted, love getting things done, bacon, coffee, Starbucks caramel macchiato with peppermint, bacon, pizza (I said bacon already?) Lego, ccollecting miniatures from touristic places from different parts of the world (feel free to send me any if you want! Hit me up on Twitter @arthurklose).
I started really early with Product Management and Mobile. I was a Cost Engineer and consulted for Industry between my 18's and 20's (wait, the mobile/product is coming!), part of a Marketing Agency and started with Product at Qranio when Google Analytics didn't have mobile version and Appannie was totally free.
Movile (Brazil's biggest mobile company) came later and I was mentored by two of the best mobile professionals that I've ever met; Joca Neto and Jardel Itocazo. They gave me the opportunity to build the first Windows Phone product (WP, are you serious?) for the company in a partnership with one of the biggest carriers from Brazil (Vivo Telefonica). I've tried a lot of things with ASO — App Store Optimization — or “SEO for apps” when just few people talk about it. (thanks to Gabriel Machuret who answered all my questions and gave me his book for free a few years ago)
Everything that I learned helped Movile conquer 1 — 1.5k daily downloads organically in 2013/2014 — which was not so easy. Also helped me figure out some tricks to increase ranking (of course that Google punished me sometimes…) My projects at Movile won 3x the "Tela Viva Móvel" (probably the most important apps prize in Brazil).
After that, Dafiti (the biggest fashion e-commerce in LATAM, invested by Rocket Internet) came in and was an awesome experience. I was one of the first Product Managers hired to build the "Product Culture" that helped Dafiti create a lot of things such as their Android app, that was the first app 100% Material Design app in LATAM. Also our iOS App one of the first apps built 100% with Swift, listed as one of the #BestApps by Apple and won as the Best E-commerce App.
Then I was listed as TOP3 mobile professionals in Brazil by Digitalks Awards (Thanks Jose Simoes for trusting me and all of the team for making the impossible seem easy).
For my last challenge, I joined Esporte Interativo's team (Streaming Sports Acquired by Turner Broadcasting). I had the chance to meet a lot of sports lovers that literally love (and live) their job — and made me a lover too—(2nd random fact: at first I only knew about Tom Brady and even still I won our NFL Fantasy League).
We did a lot of cool things, like one of the first apps in Brazil made for the new AppleTV (also listed as one of #BestApps), an exclusive partnership with LG to build an app to their new Smart Tvs, and the biggest coverage for the UEFA Champions League ("WEEE ARE THE CHAMPIOOONSSS").
So, all of these experiences are equal to 7 years without vacations, 3 different cities and more than 50 lectures in events and universities.
Ok, Time to rest. Not yet.
Next stop: San Francisco! I sold everything that I had, made a pool to sell my AppleWatch, and toke all my money that I saved for my "Sabbatical time". Lived at a Hostel for more than 3 months (and a lot of weeks with just $10 in my pocket) to do a Product School Course as the first international student approved (thanks for the opportunity and all knowledge that you shared Carlos G de Villaumbrosia).
One course at Stanford also, with one of the first talent acquisitions from Facebook and best-seller on Amazon, Sophie-Charlotte Moatti (you rock!), and more than 50 events, like Facebook F8 (My hightlights are here) Mind the Product (thanks Chris Massey!), Manifesto411, meetups like Mobile Growth (you should take a look at the excellent initiative from Branch, the MobileGrowth.org and talk with Elizabeth Kinsey), and PMHQ (one of my favorite sources about Product).
My experience there also included volunteering job, as a way to collaborate with the city that received me so well. If you live in SF and have free time, take a look on the CTN (Community Technology Network). In this project, you're the 'teacher' that help Seniors at Senior Centers to use and learn about use technology. Is a lot about talking, being patience and communicating. To be honest, this experience made me learn much more than actually teach (one of my 'mantras' is: everytime when you teaching with passion, you'll learn more and more and more).
And finally, I got hired by Meitu Technology, a beauty-tech chinese unicorn, to help the Product and ASO expansion to localize and grow in Brazil and LATAM.
After all of that, is time to back to Brazil. And keep creating new thing. And Product Hero! is one of them, let’s connect PM's around the world and build awesome things together! What do you think?
See you next week! :)
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If you have read until here, thank you so much! And if you enjoyed, please like/share with your friends so more people know about it.
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PS: thanks Gisele Góes, the fitness-product-athletic girl for reviewing my English.
