Behind the screens at Fisdom – A Product & Growth Manager’s account

When I tell people that I handle product and growth at an online investment platform – Fisdom , they wonder what could be the so-called “Product”. While a physical product like a box of cookies or a consumer durable gadget like a laptop or a TV as a product is much easier to comprehend, an intangible product like ours is difficult. The product we offer to our customers, through which we create value for our customers is our app – The Fisdom app. 

I am sure you must have been using the Fisdom app and enjoying its features. My job entails adding new features to the Fisdom app as well as improving existing ones to solve customer problems.

Let me walk you through my job and give you a behind- the screen account of how we go about how exactly we go about bringing in a particular feature or a concept to you. 

If I have to put it in one line – “It begins with a concept for a product that customers will interact with and then assesses its success”. 

My job as a Product Manager

As a Product Manager, I am responsible for a variety of tasks. The role is to determine a product’s release path and organize all of the operations required to bring a product to market. It includes bridging gaps between company teams working on a product and its final trip to release.

I’m more accurately described as being at the crossroads of business, technology, and user experience (UX). The reason for this is that the role encompasses a wide range of duties, from strategic to tactical, as well as providing critical cross-functional leadership.

Did all this sound too technical to you? I will try to break it down further to give you a better understanding. 

My key responsibilities

Identifying opportunities

The opportunity to create a new successful product or improve an existing one by adding vital features is the first thing I must see. To make the best judgments to improve a product, I need to examine current trends and understand the market.

Analyzing customer needs

What is a product that doesn’t find value with our customers? Knowing what the market wants is essential for a successful product.   I must comprehend both why customers purchase things and what our competition is doing.

Analysing customer needs is one of the important functions that I carry out.  I must identify, collect, manage, and prioritize customer needs and desires. While doing this I also look at the best way of bringing about the changes that our customers are looking for.

Team and stakeholders management

As a product manager, it is my responsibility to guarantee that all team members work

together to achieve the primary goal. Any product development doesn’t happen in silos, different teams are involved in bringing a feature on the app to the customers. 

One of the most significant responsibilities is to convey the requirements to the design and development team clearly and concisely, as well as to properly coordinate the development process. However, I must also negotiate with stakeholders and strike a balance between their wants and expectations.

Constant product improvement and new product introduction

I have to constantly improve the existing product, test it, analyze data, and manage defects. Eventually, I have to decide what the end-product should be like and its development and launch strategy. 

We are soon launching Stock Broking on Fisdom , bringing us closer to our mission of helping our customers in personal finance management.

Do sign up here for early access to stockbroking.

The author manages product & growth at Fisdom . Akash is a strong product management professional and is an alumnus of IIM Kozhikode and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.