How can product leaders build personalized edtech products? In this episode of Product Talk hosted by Kaboo Founder Neha Shah, Dailies Co-Founder & CEO Jessica Shelley shares her inspiration for starting Dailies based on her experience as a teacher, wanting to better engage families in students’ learning. She discusses building the initial product team and navigating the transition from teaching to leading a tech startup. The conversation covers challenges like difficult decisions to cut features and lessons learned from experiments. Jessica emphasizes the importance of aligning on long-term vision over short-term gains and hiring candidates committed to the company mission in a startup environment. Listeners gain insights on iterative product development and community involvement for ongoing learning and career growth.
Subscribe to the Product Talk podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and catch every conversation with leading product executives. Episodes drop on Wednesdays.
Show Notes
- User experience and lived experience can inform product design decisions.
- Small startups can foster close-knit, supportive cultures.
- Founders must adapt quickly to new environments like tech.
- Gathering authentic feedback is crucial for prioritizing features.
- Data and trends may require difficult decisions like cutting features.
- Free users provide different insights than paying customers.
- Long-term metrics like customer lifetime value are important.
- Alignment on company vision helps teams through challenges.
- Involving all team members benefits decision-making.
- Community involvement supports ongoing learning and growth.
- Prioritizing based on needs and resources is key for startups.
- Experiments may not align with business goals in the long run.
- Customer service quality impacts sustainability.
- Commitment to the mission is important in startup hiring.
- Iterative development relies on user and business feedback.
- Transparency helps teams through difficult product decisions.
- Connecting with mentors provides valuable “pressure tests.”
- Exemplars in related spaces inspire design and functionality.
- LinkedIn and communities foster learning and connections.
- Building understanding and trust with customers ensures loyalty.
About the speaker
Jessica Shelley is an educated professional with a Master’s degree focused in Curriculum and Instruction with additional Master’s degrees focused in Special Education (K-12) and Business Management and Leadership. Currently, Jessica is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dailies, an innovative educational platform that aims to empower parents to be the champion in their child’s educational journey and identifies skill gaps to help teachers provide personalized education to students at scale. Jessica is an experienced teacher with a demonstrated history of working with elementary-aged children in the general education classroom. Additionally, she served as a District-wide Elementary Instructional Math Specialist for grades Kindergarten through 5th-grade. Jessica has also worked with the Oregon Department of Education as a test item writer for the Oregon State Summative Assessment. Jessica is a first-generation college graduate and has always been very passionate about making a difference for students who have historically been underserved and underrepresented. She encourages teachers to make learning fun and engaging for all students, while still challenging students to think critically, ask questions, and create new ideas. She believes that education unlocks endless possibilities and strives to instill that in her students. Jessica is also a mom of 5 and enjoys instilling a sense of curiosity and possibility as she works with her children to build and create projects to help them engage in imaginative play. With rocket boosters, jet packs, and dinosaur bones lying around her house, she truly wants to help parents connect with their children in authentic ways while involving endless opportunities for learning at home and school.
About the host
My experience covers the trifecta of B2B Product Management, Sales, and Marketing. I also co-founded a B2C startup focused on family and education technology. I believe technology can be a creative and powerful driving force for change, and am passionate about building products that improve every day experiences.