Entry-Level Positions For Aspiring Directors Of Product
Joshua, a Director of Product, advises against entry-level roles in finance or consulting for aspiring product leaders, believing these "don't make for a good leader," instead suggesting early-stage startups where one "can't ask for permission" and must be resourceful. Alternatively, building deep functional expertise through academia or a generalist approach at various startups, "learning how to do a little bit of everything," can pave the way to leading product teams or founding a company.
Startup Experience, Early-Stage Company, Problem-Solving Skills, Resourcefulness, Functional Expertise
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Joshua Han
Director of Product
Stiddle
UC Berkeley
N/A
Political Science, American Studies
Technology
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Immigrant, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Work at a startup, especially in the early stages, to gain experience and wear many hats. This allows for quick learning and proactive decision-making.
2. Develop deep expertise in a specific domain or function to increase your value as a future founder or leader. This can involve pursuing advanced degrees or focusing on a particular skill set.
3. Consider roles in operations or as a generalist to build a broad range of skills and experience. This approach is valuable for learning how to "get stuff done" and understand different aspects of a business.
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there in this field that an undergraduate college student might consider?
Being a founder and product person is interesting. There's no one right way to do it. It's honestly about wherever you can actually have the agency to make a change and be proactive.
I would avoid roles where you're just expected to do what you're told. This might be controversial, but I'm thinking of roles in finance or consulting, like an investment banker or a consultant. I think these roles make for very good problem solvers in a corporate environment, but not good leaders or founders.
Founders need to figure out their own problems, be resourceful, and think outside the box. They need an environment that allows them to make decisions, rather than just being told what to do.
On the flip side, I think roles or companies that an undergrad college student should consider for their first full-time roles are in startups, preferably in the very early stages. I would try to work very closely with founders.
This could be in a pre-seed or seed-stage startup where founders are still working one-on-one with everyone. Things move very quickly, you need to wear many hats, and you can't ask for permission before you do something.
Another path is if you really care about something and know what you want to work on long-term. Build the domain or functional expertise for that first. Founders are often very good at a certain function or have a lot of industry experience.
This could mean going into academia, pursuing a master's or PhD to figure out a niche problem that matters to you. From there, you can commercialize it and become a founder. That might mean meeting a co-founder who is more business-oriented.
Having functional expertise might also mean you don't care about the specific industry or problem, but you enjoy solving problems. You are a fixer and know how to get things done. This could mean going into operations or being a generalist at a startup.
You can learn to do a little bit of everything and keep that cycle going as you move through different companies. Eventually, you might decide to lead a product team of your own or become a founder one day.