As most of you know, my official professional title in life has typically been Growth Marketer or Chief Marketing Officer.
I never once thought of myself as a Product Manager.
That changed in 2021. Inside.com began working on a social network of sorts. Someone internally had to take charge (we’re a startup after all, we can’t just go hire people for every little pivot that comes our way).
That internal person was me.
I knew the growth needs, how operations worked, how sales worked, and how to make our new product fit within the greater scope of our business model. I also knew how to work with the developers and designers thanks to my past as a full-stack marketing consultant.
Additionally, I got to use two of my greatest skills as our accidental pm – activation and operations.
A talent of mine is activating individuals to take charge and helping them see the bigger picture, while getting all teams to operationally be where they need to be.
It wasn’t something I actively sought after to do. It just sorta happened.
You know what? I love it. I think I really love being a Product Manager.
On my weekly executive standup last Friday, Inside.com CEO, Jason Calacanis, even stopped the meeting to say, “Alex, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you’re a great fucking product manager.”
Now I lead all things growth and product and Inside.com, which is rad.
And now, I’m an accidental product manager. I dig it.
-AJM
That internal person was me.
I knew the growth needs, how operations worked, how sales worked, and how to make our new product fit within the greater scope of our business model. I also knew how to work with the developers and designers thanks to my past as a full-stack marketing consultant.
Additionally, I got to use two of my greatest skills as our accidental pm – activation and operations.
A talent of mine is activating individuals to take charge and helping them see the bigger picture, while getting all teams to operationally be where they need to be.
It wasn’t something I actively sought after to do. It just sorta happened.
You know what? I love it. I think I really love being a Product Manager.
On my weekly executive standup last Friday, Inside.com CEO, Jason Calacanis, even stopped the meeting to say, “Alex, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you’re a great fucking product manager.”
Now I lead all things growth and product and Inside.com, which is rad.
And now, I’m an accidental product manager. I dig it.
-AJM