Women in Product Panel at POPSUGAR
“How did you get started in product management?”
This is one of the most commonly asked questions among aspiring product managers because every Product person has a different journey to Product Management. The Women in Product Mixer and Panel on Thursday 2/21 at POPSUGAR had a wonderfully diverse panel, each panelist shared their very own journey to Product and answered questions about being a woman in tech and the skills needed to be successful.
The many different ways one can enter the world of Product!
Amy Sun, Partner at Sequoia Capital. Amy Sun started as a Product Marketer, she built out the Growth Marketing program at Uber and transitioned to Product Management at Uber then Facebook. Her new role is in venture capital.
Alice Liang, Head of Product at Lenda. Alice started her career in biophysics but decided to move away from medical research to product management to build products that impact people (that don’t take 10+ years!).
Erin Medlin, Director of Product, Platform at Restoration Hardware. Erin has an information technology background. She started as a Business Analyst, switched to Project Management, and eventually transitioned to Product Management because she likes to work on tools that make people’s lives easier.
Yardley Ip, General Manager at Trulia, a Zillow Group brand. After business school, Yardley went from being an Engineer to being a Product leader in both tech and non-tech companies. Yardley shares that back when she made the transition, there was a lack of awareness of how important soft skills are.
Thien-Kim Ngo, Product Manager at ShopStyle, a Rakuten company. Thien-Kim worked in Business Development and Data Analytics at ShopStyle before making her way to Product. During her tenure at ShopStyle, she discovered a passion for consumer data and how that insight can be used to build great consumer products.
Shireen Brathwaite, Director of Product at UpMetrics. Shireen transitioned from Engineering to Product. Shireen advised that “caring about the product” is the most important thing for anyone interested in pursuing a role in Product Management.
Sherry Young, Associate Product Manager at Macys.com. Prior to her transition, Sherry worked in investment banking then worked in corporate finance in a tech company. The proximity to technology inspired her transition to work in Product Management.
Moderator: Sabrina H. Eldredge, VP, Product Management at POPSUGAR. Sabrina transitioned from Engineering to Design and finally to Product after several years of not finding the right function that really inspired her.
Has being a woman negatively or positively affected you?
The panelists agreed that being a women in tech can mean you get second-guessed more than your male peers. Amy felt that she had to work harder because there can be “forces against you”, but as a result, she pushed herself harder to develop and grow as a PM. Alice shared an advice she carried close to her heart, and that is to “not think you’re different just because you’re a woman”. Yardley pointed out that more men tend to interview for jobs when they’ve never had previous experience while women tend to second-guess their ability because of lack of experience. Yardley’s best advice for women was to work on “conveying yourself in a way so that you don’t sell yourself short” unknowingly to others around you.
“If you pull your shield up and you think you belong, no one’s going to look at you differently” — Alice Liang
Having a role model…
Mentors are people who you meet from time to time, someone who give you advice when you seek help. Sponsors are people who will back you up and actively help you. Yardley advised everyone to “…approach people with skill sets you want to learn” because cold emails work!
Additionally, networking puts you in contact with people who have the same interests as you. It is a great way to establish relationships that can lead to mentorship or sponsorship.
About soft skills…
Soft skills important to PMs include communication skills, empathy, how to listen and relate to others, and how to engage and influence others. All of the panelists agreed that soft skills are much more important than technical skills and they’re also harder to learn.
What about technical skills?
PMs should understand what users really want. A the end of the day, the level of technical skills you need really depends on the specific PM role you are in. PMs should be technical enough to ask the right questions when working with the team.
How do you empower the team?
Erin‘s tip to empower the team was to define the North Star. Even in Agile environments, it pays to help the team understand where you’re going and why.
“Share KPIs and metrics with the team so they know their work is actually moving the company forward.” — Erin Medlin
“Be goal and outcome focused, not feature focused. I like SMART goals.” — Shireen Brathwaite
What are things you wish you knew about Product Management before becoming a PM?
“Leadership skills are so important because leadership skills are earned. Treat your stakeholders like your true partners.” — Yardley Ip
All of the panelists agreed that Product Management is very different in every company. There is not one “unicorn company” that has all the processes perfected. No, not even companies that ship great products like Uber and Facebook. PMs have to learn to embrace chaos while learning to work with the team and stakeholders. Although PMs often feel pressured to have all the answers, the reality is, no one has all the answers all the time. So learn to tell your team you don’t have all the answers and don’t be afraid to ask for help!
This event was organized by The Expat Woman. Yardley Ip is a co-founder and board member of Women in Product, a highly-engaged community of women builders and leaders. You can join the Women in Product community or sign up for the newsletter for monthly events, networking opportunities, and much more!
