Semicolon Spotlight Series: Ayodele Noutouglo

This series spotlights Semicolon Ancestors (graduates of Semicolon Techpreneurship Program) who are currently working in different sectors and roles across the globe.

Today’s spotlight is on Ayodele Noutouglo, a Semicolon Ancestor (Cohort 5) and now an Elder (employee). He sheds light on why he currently works as a product manager, even though he trained as a Software Engineer.

Why did a software engineer transition into a product manager? Okay, scratch transition, because AY, as fondly called, said it’s not a transition. It is growth. Hear him out.

• Please introduce yourself.

My name is Ayodele, I work as a Product Manager for one of Semicolon’s flagship products, Enum. I like to think of myself as a ‘solutionCraftsman.

• Explain what you do in one simple sentence.

I solve problems for individuals and businesses by defining, executing and launching exceptional products that enable them to meet their needs.

• You are a software engineer, who has also transitioned to a product manager…can you tell me the reason for the change?

Yes. I don’t consider this a change, however, but growth. It means that in addition to Software Engineering, I have been able to discover and develop an important pack of skills that enable me to contribute to the effective management of a product via any of the product manager archetypes. So I transitioned as a way of reflecting growth in the development of such skills as are essential for product strategy, team leadership and product execution, to mention a few. It means that I still do some Engineering too. Haha.

• What has the transitioning look like? And what new things did you have to learn?

It’s been really interesting. I went from mostly sitting by myself, doing my work to having to work with every single person on the team, phew! As a Scrum Master, it became important for me to realize the essence of communication, prioritization and of course, organization.

I had to learn the product management craft, the frameworks, the methodologies, the tools and more importantly, be able to put them into practice.

• What do you enjoy doing most in your day-to-day job?

I mostly enjoy releasing features that meet the needs of customers and businesses. I also enjoy the thrill and camaraderie that comes with working with teams and driving alignment towards shared goals and a collective vision.

• Productivity tools you can’t go a day without?

Hahaha. Everything Google! Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides. I even have the adorable Google Drive installed on my PC and will soon adopt it as my hard disk when I increase the storage capacity. Then my endearing Atlassian Jira. I am literally in love with Jira as it is very useful in enabling effective product execution.

• How do you unwind?

I like to go on outings with colleagues or meet new people, have fun and eat good food, but I also love to spend time alone or with a cherished friend to think through and discuss systems, innovations and worldviews.