Creating products that delight customers and deliver business value.
My Beginning
My journey into Product Management begins with heat. In the heat of West Texas, I was working as a land developer and home builder.
My desire to escape that heat, lead me to futures trading, and the heat of the trading desk. In time, when not operating a heavy machine, I was researching strategies to trade the futures market (something I knew little about).
Leaving for work before the market opened and coming back after it closed, led to the desire to automate these trading strategies.
“The elements of good trading are: cutting losses, cutting losses, and cutting losses. If you can follow these three rules, you may have a chance.”
— Ed Seykota
My First Product
Automation wasn’t enough, especially if my automated strategies weren’t very good (they weren’t). News would come in, and my losses would run up. I’d get home to a lower balance in my account than I left with, and the knowledge that I’d be back in the heat again tomorrow.
I found, I needed to know what was happening while working in the field, and if need be, turn off a strategy or exit a losing position.
This led to my first product, a mobile application that would allow me to manage my brokerage account, and monitor my automated futures trading strategies.
Photo by Matthew T Rader on Unsplash
Escaping the Heat
It turns out, that I wasn’t a very good futures trader (or trading strategist), but I was pretty good at making a product that others wanted.
My app started to make a little money, and I was eventually able to sell it to a brokerage company.
I didn’t make money on the sell, but it did lead to me first professional engineering job, working at that same brokerage company as a software engineer.
I’ve been a product-focused engineer ever since.
Where am I now?
For the past four years, I’ve been working at Netflix. Two years as a Software Engineer, and two years as an Engineering Manager.
I’ve had an opportunity to lead in an interesting and high growth space (Studio Production), and establish a team of talented engineers to help Netflix meet the challenges growth brings.
Where am I going?
Netflix was the opportunity of a lifetime, but in September I made the decision to leave Netflix and find a new path.
I’ve moved back to Dallas, Texas and am shifting my focus from product-focused engineer to product-focused (sans engineer).
I’m seeking a position as a Senior Product Manager or as a Product team lead in the DFW area or remotely.
If you can help me get there, I’d love to talk.