Lessons from a Product Manager

We chat to Clinton Chan about his experiences in the startup world

Saurav Risbud
Textbook Ventures
7 min readApr 14, 2021

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Clinton Chan is a recent Law and International Studies graduate from UNSW and a former General Manager of Textbook Ventures. He has been working as a product manager at Sonder since January 2020. We asked Clint about his journey in the startup world and the key learnings he has had so far.

What sparked your interest in the startup/tech world?

I fell into the startup and tech scene over the last few years. It started off when I was studying in Shanghai on a year-long exchange. At the time, there were a lot of VC-backed startups springing up in China such as the bike-sharing app Mobike. I had the chance to work in an accelerator that was directly involved with MoBike and other big Chinese startups.

From this, I realised that I really liked the creativity and pace of the startup world.

When I returned to Australia, I continued this interest by working for a venture capital firm called Right Click Capital. I later worked in sales for a SaaS company called Checkbox where I was able to get my teeth into B2B business models and really understand how startups work operationally.

I also had the opportunity to work at startup generator Antler. I was part of the team that brought the program to Sydney and helped to run a program and a half. I am now working as a product manager at Sonder - an on-demand personal safety and wellbeing service.

Could you tell us more about your role as a product manager?

As a product manager, you have to ensure that business outcomes are met by ensuring that the core problems relating to your product are solved. The traditional view of a product manager is a jack-of-all-trades that sits in the middle of the engineering team, the customer and business needs. On top of this, product managers have to be outcome-driven- we have to be heat-seeking missiles for business problems, improvements in the product, and the best way to deliver value to customers and users.

At Sonder, I used to manage the mobile application. However, I’ve recently shifted to creating a new product from scratch, which I’ve never done before. I am currently in the phase of prototyping and testing with customers.

What are some key learnings and challenges from your experience so far?

Working in a small startup can be difficult due to the lack of resources. Also, when you are working in a larger corporation, things are generally given to you on a platter. The outcomes and expectations of a task are clear and there are accepted processes you follow. In a startup, I often don’t know what to do. Each week, I’ll be given problems to solve or opportunities to seek out.

I often feel like a missionary going out into unknown lands. There are no clear processes and not everyone in the company is clear on the exact outcomes we want to achieve.

This requires you to be self-aware and have the smarts to constantly think about the bigger picture for the business.

What have been some of the highlights of working at a startup?

In a nutshell, I have much more free rein to do what I want at the pace I want. More broadly, there’s much more scope to put your hand up if you are passionate about an opportunity. I really like the try hard and fail fast approach to working. You learn a lot and I don’t think I would be rewarded for taking the same risks and failing at a larger corporation.

Sonder’s app interface. Source: https://be.sondersafe.com/blog/app_update

Any tips for students looking to break into product management?

I was inspired to get into product management by one of the former General Managers of Textbook Ventures - Jenny Chu.

To get started, I decided to take a course in product management from Academy Xi. But zooming out, I think the core skills of being a PM involve being methodical about solving problems. This is where consultants and product managers think in fairly similar ways. The thinking tends to be categorical and relies on frameworks to find customer problems and solve them optimally. You need to have one eye on the granular details and the other on the “north star”- what the desired outcome is of what you are doing.

It’s really common for people to get caught up in the nitty-gritty. In university, we are taught to be really detail-oriented. This is important, but you need to be able to traverse being really big picture driven and focusing on the details and technicals. Anybody who enjoys solving problems and traversing high and low-level questions is well-positioned to be a product manager.

Lastly, I would say you need to love working well with people and not have an ego. As the role starts to become more “cool”, you need to keep in mind that the job involves being selfless and being around people a lot. You should ask yourself if this is something you enjoy or not.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I have 2 or 3 possible paths I could go down the next few years. I definitely want to pursue some form of higher education and move overseas for that. As much as I love Australia, I do see my future overseas, studying something such as machine learning or biotechnology which would open up my mind and career opportunities.

In terms of career paths, I can see myself getting into a senior product role at a larger organisation- to understand how products evolve as a company matures. Alternatively, I would consider moving into management consulting to build up my business acumen. This is because, by the ten-year mark, I would have liked to start my own technology company.

A wild Clinton (top, third from left) is spotted in the Sonder office

How has a failure (or apparent failure at the time) set you up for success in the future?

A year and a half ago, I applied to law clerkships and got a few interviews but didn’t get any offers. At the time, it was quite heartbreaking.

I was under a lot of pressure and wasn’t taking care of myself emotionally or spiritually. This made me realise that I needed to prioritise my health not on a reactionary basis but on a proactive basis. I picked up mindfulness, eating healthier (and more vegetarian food), sleeping better and reading more.

Beyond these lifestyle changes, this “failure” pivoted me to product management. I knew I didn’t do too well in my clerkship interviews because I hated the law. I loved studying it but didn’t quite fit in with the people and environment at law firms.

So instead, I decided to do what I love from the get-go. That led me towards taking that course in product management and getting a role at Sonder.

Why do you think students should get involved in the startup space? And for those interested, do you have any tips, tools or resources?

I believe that technology is at the forefront of improving the way we live. I also feel that other industries don’t value fresh talent and young intellect as highly as startups and tech. There are a lot of opportunities for young people to be creative and work on new problems to solve.

That’s what attracted me to the product management and startup space. Technology can have such a positive impact on human existence and I wanted to spread that to society.

I also love the flexibility and pace of the work and young people can have so much control and input into their day-to-day. You should cherish this and make the most of your twenties by helping to solve some of the most interesting problems out there.

In terms of tools - I love listening to podcasts. But I think outside of this, there are two things every student should do:

  1. Spend time with people who push and inspire you. I have a lot of friends in the tech space who have done a lot in their short time on earth. Hearing about their habits, goals and how they see the world has helped lead me on my journey.
  2. Read widely. Beyond books, there are so many resources across YouTube, Spotify, ClubHouse, you name it. A favourite book I’ve picked up recently is Across That Bridge by John Lewis - a civil rights leader in the US and a close confidant of Martin Luther King Junior. In the book, he shares great lessons on inspiring change, bringing people together and improving the lives of others. I’m trying to actualise as many of these principles as I can day-to-day and am more conscious about the injustices around me.

Want to know how you can take the first step to find your dream start-up experience like Clint? Be sure to follow Textbook Ventures’ Facebook page and subscribe to our newsletter to find out about more exciting opportunities with amazing VCs and startups making a difference.

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Saurav Risbud
Textbook Ventures

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