Hi,
We are looking for the fellow entrepreneurs to build a new venture (to see my definition of an entrepreneur see my post Why I am (and will always be) an entrepreneur). The new start-up is being incubated under the aegis of a successful, multi-crore venture.
We believe that the job titles have limited utility, but they do play a role in defining and communicating core responsibilities. To fit our specific need we have named the position: Associate Product Manager.
APM is member of the core team and will work in close coordination with me.
Key responsibilities:
- Manage the product lifecycle for the product, from consumer insights through to launch and post-launch product improvements
- Develop PRDs (product requirement documents) for each product/function.
- Conduct market research, surveys, and meetings with customers/prospects to understand market need, competition, etc.
- Work with design and engineering teams to develop innovative and breakthrough solutions with a strong focus on cost, quality and performance
- Plan & deliver products which meet specified performance and cost criteria within development budget and timelines
Required Skills
- STRONG entrepreneurial bend of mind with skills to back the ambition
- We feel that you need to have 2-6 years of experience in product/project management, software business analysis or related fields to hit the ground running. However, we will be glad to be proven wrong with this assessment. So feel free to dazzle and surprise us.
- Basic understanding and keen interest in building and growing products in Internet and mobile space
- Proven ability to work in cross-functional environments including sales, marketing, business management, customer support and engineering teams.
- Small business/startup experience would definitely be a plus
- Open to travel internationally to meet customers, technology partners, etc.
- Strong blend of analytical, decision-making and creative problem solving skills
- Excellent written and verbal English communication
Why should you consider this position?
You will be working in close coordination with two accomplished entrepreneurs working towards building their next success story. You will join the venture very early in the conception stage of the project. So you will have the opportunity to see and contribute towards building the product and the business from the ground up. As the company and the product grow, your area of responsibility as well as professional skillset will continue to grow as the core member of the team.
We are open and willing to consider funding and incubating entrepreneurs to build their own dream after they have proven their attitude, aptitude and skills.
If you think you have the right stuff, Reach me at rajeev@rajeevsoni.com or +91 8750611761.
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
What does the word Associate mean?
Are you sure its used right?
Tip – Have you tried posting on Linkedin? It costs Rs 1700 (India) and works like a charm!
Check : https://www.linkedin.com/job/consumer/overview/index/13533866
Rajeev Soni
Hey Alok,
The Associate means that the person is not a full-fledged Product Manager, single-handedly responsible for all PM activities for the product. Instead he/she will be assisting the Product Manager, in this case me, in all things related to the Product Management. So, another word one can use in place of Associate is Assistant. I have seen many job postings that use the word associate instead of assistant, so I am assuming that it is a generally accepted practice.
The person in this position will be working with us to build and launch the product. As things progress, we expect that this person will take on additional responsibilities and own the complete product management piece in the next two years.
Your idea for LinkedIn is good and it is part of my second line of action for hiring. First, I want to explore if we might have some awesome, entrepreneurial candidates who hang out on Therodinhoods. They may not have all the skills to become a product manager and don’t want to rely on dumb luck to get things right in their own startups. So, they can come train with us, help us build and launch our product. Once they have had the hands-on experience to build a venture from scratch in an environment where they have guidance from the folks who have done it before, they can then work on their own venture. And as I said, we will be happy to fund them and direct them as we go along.
I understand that finding people who are entrepreneurial and energetic, but have enough self-awareness and humility to know that they may first want to acquire the right skills and experience, is a tough bet. Yet, I am willing to try and find players among the swath of punters out there. See Players and Punters for details.
If however, that doesn’t work and I do not find the right person through therodinhoods and other places where entrepreneurs hangout (Yourstory.in, w2e etc), LinkedIn is certainly a very viable next option to explore. Unfortunately the link you mentioned is not working, would you have an alternate?