From End-User to Product Manager
My unexpected journey into tech.
I recently saw a tweet from SaaS growth consultant Asia Orangio with a list of routes into tech.
I replied and added one more: my journey began as the end-user of a product.
This is probably the least common route, but it has a nugget of advice for anyone looking to break into a new field: start with what you know. By digging in and translating your skills to new roles, you can take your career to unexpected places.
From End-User to Customer Success
Every company has a tech stack. From the simplest apps to enterprise solutions, products are needed to get a job done.
And chances are, no product perfectly fits every use case. Much later in my career, when I was evaluating solutions on behalf of my company, my rule of thumb was generally, “Does this do 80% of what we need it to do?” If so, we could change our process or use an additional app for the remaining 20%.
End-users have insights that even the most sophisticated product analytics can’t detect. Analytics may tell a company how their product…
