The 10x Opportunities
I find myself looking for ways to grow our business through 10x opportunities. These type of opportunities will not take three months of development time. Yet, they are the kind of opportunities that greatly impact the business. For example, we immediately asked the user to rate the app right after completing a transaction. This simple ask got us a lot more ratings and a lot better ratings. All it took was a simple tweak to 10x our reviews.
A Beneficial Trait to Have for Product Launches
The other thing that I’ve learned through launching various products is that it’s helpful to have a healthy dose of skepticism. This trait allows you to understand where all the places that you can fail are. Therefore, you can address those problems before you launch, and grow this sense of success for the product. As we all know a lot of product initiatives don’t succeed. So by going in with that healthy bit of skepticism, you uncover some of those open issues that might, later on, become a bigger impediment.
How Behavioral Economics Relates To Consumer Products
In the last few years, I’ve been really interested in behavioral economics. I follow a lot of the leaders in that realm like Dan Ariely or Tyler Cowan. I also like to read The Economist because so I can understand macro shifts in the world. For instance, last week The Economist had this technology review on aviation.
I know nothing about aviation but it was really interesting to see the outlook on the industry and that helps. As a PM, you need to understand that there is this a broader world out there. Inevitably you’ll find ways to connect your product to that world. I think that just helps you understand that the world is much greater than just what you’re working on
I think economists are super interesting people because they look at different behaviors and trends in society. A big reason for my interest in them is because I am focused on consumer products. In fact, there is a good deal of behavioral economics interwoven with consumer products. I think that’s just the reality of today’s world.
About the speaker
I’m excited to lead consumer product at Resy — a mobile app that powers reservations at the world’s best restaurants. I joined the team because I’m super passionate about hospitality, and helping restaurants deliver amazing guest experiences. I believe the world is ready for a reservation app that cuts through the noise — making it possible to dine out at the best restaurants without having to scroll through an endless list of mediocre options. Prior to joining Resy, I had the privilege of being one of the first product managers to work on Guest Center, OpenTable's cloud-based reservation management system, and launched the product globally in February 2014. Later that year I led the marketing & development of OpenTable’s mobile payments solution, a ground-breaking innovation that made up the core of the company's mobile strategy. Between OpenTable and Resy, I spent 15 incredible months at i.am+, an AI and wearables company founded by pop-culture icon will.i.am. It was awesome working for such a creative force, and I learned so much from the experience. Specialties: B2B/B2C product management & marketing, go-to-market strategies, service design, agile product development, innovation, idea creation, messaging/positioning development, business strategy, pricing & promotions, acquisition & engagement marketing, quantitative customer research, qualitative customer insights, and strategic partnerships.