About

My Pitch

I'm on a mission to create products people love as an independent entrepreneur.

I believe it's possible to simultaneously
1. Create a great product business
2. Be independent
3. Have a work-life balance.

I want to achieve these things for myself and share my journey with others so they can too.

How I can benefit you:
- As an entrepreneur, introducing you to great products built or endorsed by me.
- As a writer, sharing my journey so you can learn from mistakes and successes.
- As a product leader, consulting or coaching you to build a great product yourself.

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My Story

I grew up in Atlanta, went to Middlebury College, and got my first tech job at Epic in 2013.

I moved to Boston in 2014 and experienced high growth tech startups for the first time. I worked as an Analyst for a startup incubator, then joined one of the startups that graduated from the incubator as a Product Manager. At Cogo Labs, I learned how internet businesses work and the foundational skills required to run, grow, and optimize one. At EverQuote, I learned how to be a Product Manager. While I’m grateful for the immense amount of personal growth I owe to these roles, I eventually became frustrated with both companies. They both obsessed about turning data into growth at all costs without considering the value of the business to real human beings. Ultimately, I couldn’t stomach working at a company with such little care for the consumer experience.

My takeaways:
1. It’s important to me to work on products people love to use.

While I was learning how to be a Product Manager, I started developing Shayr on the side. Launching my own mobile app was on my bucket list and the work made me a better Product Manager by experiencing first-hand what it’s like to be an Engineer, Designer, and Marketer. I was passionate about the product and loved the independence of the work. At the same time, I discovered the Indie Hacker and FIRE movements and became inspired to build my own independent product business. I left EverQuote to focus on Shayr full-time. I eventually launched Shayr to both iOS and Google Play stores, but felt burnt out before reaching a solid business model.

My takeaways:
1. I have the skills to develop products independently.
2. To sustain my independence, I need to prioritize a business model way earlier.

After Shayr, I joined WHOOP in 2020 as the team’s third Product Manager. I was thrilled to be working on 1) a product people already loved 2) another mobile app and 3) a subscription business. It’s incredibly satisfying to talk to users of your product and have them tell you they love the feature you just launched. And a subscription business means you have to earn your customers business every month; which keeps the business aligned with customer value. In my first two years at WHOOP, we went from a $200M valuation to a $1B valuation. Our team grew from 100 to 700 employees. But when growth plateaued, problems that were previously easy to ignore became stifling. It turned out that WHOOP’s CEO cared more about executing his specific vision for the product, than product improvements rooted in customer needs. That, combined with over-hiring and pressure from investors to grow, led to an environment of constant pressure to execute and whiplash from the CEO’s changing whims. It also led to layoffs. After surviving a few rounds, I was eventually laid off too.

My takeaways:
1. Heavily prioritizing Growth — a common result of the traditional VC startup investment model — has insidious effects. I’d rather work at a business that grows more carefully and sustainably.
2. It’s important to me be empowered to formulate my own strategies for product improvement rooted in customer needs, rather than executing someone else’s intuition-based vision.

Reflecting on WHOOP and my earlier career… there has to be another way! It must be possible to be successful, to have a healthy relationship with Growth, to be customer-centric, to work smarter not harder, and to be empowered to do great work. That’s the type of workplace I’m looking for. I’ve resolved to find it or build it for myself.

My dreams:
1. As a product leader at CellarTracker, we build an amazing product, business, and workplace.
2. As a solo entrepreneur, I build a great, sustainable, independent product business.

If my story resonates, please reach out!