Biggest Challenges Faced By A Product Manager At A SaaS Creative Marketplace
Evan's biggest challenge as a Product Manager is prioritization, juggling many responsibilities including "support, prototyping, and talking to customers," in a self-guided role where justifying time allocation, especially for abandoned projects, proves difficult. This highlights the inherent difficulty of navigating a startup environment and the need for effective prioritization skills.
Prioritization, Project Management, Problem-Solving, Decision-Making, Time Management
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Evan Bradshaw
Product Manager
B2B SaaS Marketplace for Creative Production
UCSB
UCSB: Engineering School, Master of Technology Management (MS)
Psychology
Technology, Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Prioritization is a key challenge in a Product Manager role, requiring careful decision-making on how to allocate time across various tasks such as support, prototyping, and customer interaction.
2. Product Managers often wear many hats in startups, demanding self-guidance and justification for time allocation and prioritization choices.
3. The decision to not build a product after investing time and resources is a difficult but necessary aspect of the role, highlighting the challenge of prioritization.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
My biggest challenge as a product manager is prioritization. I wear many different hats and have various roles within my startup. I could spend all my time on support, prototyping, or talking to customers.
There has to be a method for delivering results, and in many cases, that's your job. It's a self-guided role in many organizations, and I believe that's the biggest challenge.
I thought it would be freeing and fun, and it is. However, it's also difficult to justify how you spent your time and how you prioritized, especially if you're building something that you ultimately decide not to pursue. So, prioritizing and deciding what to do is the hardest part.