Kelsey Nichols

Are we helping or hurting? That is a question many residents of San Francisco ask ourselves in the midst of a stark and increasing equity gap. As a parent, community member, and incoming board member of the Horizons at San Francisco Friends School, I’m keenly aware of the potential learning loss our public school students in the Mission District experience in the summer months without our support. Our city is undergoing another crisis - looming budget cuts threaten vital programs like Horizons at SFFS that provide equitable learning for Mission youth. We urgently need your support to secure bridge funding and ensure our summer enrichment continues. Our scholars and families are relying on Horizons' high-quality academics and social-emotional growth.  Horizons has been successfully leveraging the months when students are out of school to stem summer learning loss for children in San Francisco for ~10 years. The program has also intentionally increased impact by supporting their scholars through their educational journey during the school year and into High School. Last year, Horizons impacted 150+ scholars with targeted small classroom instruction, confidence-building, and joyful community enrichment experiences- thanks to our dedicated summer education workforce. But we can't continue without you. Please join me in supporting Horizons at SFFS today to expand partnerships, engage more crisis-impacted families, and grow our supportive community stronger. In past years, the SF Department of Children, Youth and Families has been a partner to increase access to education for our students. This summer, as we face a potential 40% loss to our summer program due to DCYF funding cuts that have impacted so many vital programs in our city, we’ve decided to celebrate Horizons Giving Day, the whole month of May. Please join me in our movement - your gift saves the summer for San Francisco scholars and helps bridge the educational equity gap in our city. Let’s help together. In gratitude, friendship and community, Aneesha #GiveTheGiftofSummer #SparkPassions #HorizonsGivingDay https://lnkd.in/gJAYnibC Links for reference: Horizons at SFFS: https://lnkd.in/gfsdugDX Impact Report: https://lnkd.in/gZc2jn85 Press Release on DCYF Loss of Funding: https://lnkd.in/gNprpSyB

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I talk to so many people weekly who are feeling stuck in their roles, careers or lives. Whether you... 👉 quit your job or been laid off, 👉 want to change jobs/careers,   👉 need product or business related advice 👉 help resetting your goals  👉 level up in product management I am opening up my calendar to those who need a little boost, or even a transformation in the way they do things today. 💡 I’ve been lifted by incredible opportunities and mentors, and I want to pay it forward. ⭐ So if I can help you at all → send me a DM 🙏 #probono #coaching

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It takes a village. But what happens when 7 sets of friends get together, buy all the properties in a town-home community and then raise their families there? A modern day commune! This is happening in the heart of the SF Bay Area. "The U.S. is going through an epidemic of loneliness. This has been so, so great for that. The small interactions with your friends. Especially during the pandemic, this was amazing. Other people listening to this should consider whether it's a townhome or a cul-de-sac or whatever, America is lonely and this is a great way to address some of that." In today's Startup Dad I sat down with two of the 14 adults in a modern day commune, Yousuf Bhaijee (Eaze, Zynga, Disney) and Chris Lloyd (Humane, Pinterest, Opera) to talk about their unique living style with the families. There are 15 kids across 7 families living in close proximity to one another. We discussed: 💙 How this whole modern day commune experiment got started 💙 What it means to live in a modern day commune 💙 The shared rituals, benefits and drawbacks of this lifestyle 💙 The positive impacts on mental health 💙 The benefits of sharing 💙 How gender roles take on new meaning in communal living 💙 The most surprising aspects of a communal lifestyle 💙 Family privacy and parenting styles when you live in close proximity with others I developed a new perspective for the importance of community, sharing, and ways to rewrite loneliness and transform it into something much more positive. Watch or listen everywhere you get your podcasts. Links below. #StartupDad

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If you have a YC interview coming up - reach out and our team of YC Alumni can help set up some mock interviews

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> you always have a strategy, even if it is implicit and not written down. Writing helps you sharpen it, have a shared understanding. > one of the simplest yet most powerful things you can do, is to write your strategy down.

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I found this article to be a great summary of what a product manager does- understanding all stakeholders and acting as the glue across the organization. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/g39gC_4G

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Consider that Starbucks is a market leader in consumer technology and loyalty and is armed with data and insights to make strategic decisions that can mitigate the macro-economic impacts driving customer frequency down and they still can't hold the line. Restaurants that don't have those resources are absolutely suffering far worse, unable to understand why, and making guesses about what they can do to turn it around. Restaurant loyalty and top-notch apps in 2024 are a must-have to navigate such treacherous waters.

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🌟 Excited to share this insightful blog post by my talented friend Laura Liu Cruickshanks on the essentials of Product-Led Growth! A must-read for anyone passionate about product innovation and growth! Check it out here: [A Beginner's Guide to Navigating Product-Led Growth](https://lnkd.in/dpBDCS9s) #ProductLedGrowth #Innovation #GrowthStrategy #Pendo #MustRead

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My biggest fear as a product manager are Friday afternoon code deployments. 😄 Kidding (but really, please don’t). My actual biggest fear is that I’m not driving the value my teams and customers need from me. 🔗 As product managers, our job is to drive value for our product’s teams and customers. We aren’t necessarily the people who deliver the tangible results that our peers and customers see – a lot of what we do is traditionally “behind the scenes” work. It makes sense, product management is often seen as the bridge between business and technology, customers and solutions, etc. 💡 That’s where a lot of my fear comes from. I’ve felt it the first day I served as a product manager, I still feel it over a decade later even with a list of achievements saying otherwise. But fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to work with coaches and mentors in the product space, each of which assure me that the feeling is normal. I recently had a conversation with a product manager from the MAANG space; several more years of experience than I and an even longer list of achievements. He, too, still holds a fear that he may not be driving value. But, he counters that fear with a few affirmations like these: “I am the reason my developers know what to build and why it matters.” “I am the reason my marketing and sales teams know who the product is for and how to engage them.” “I am the reason my product is solving a problem that people in my space want to solve in the first place.” 💭 Today, I still use affirmations to overcome my fears. They remind me that fear is “False Evidence Appearing Real.” What are you most afraid of as a product manager? How do you face your fear and overcome it? #productmanagement #productmanagers #impostersyndrome #fear #affirmations

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There are so many sources of information out there for product managers on their job hunt that it can be overwhelming. One of the best that I've found is Ari Janover's page over at: https://lnkd.in/g_-8kuVg Ari is about as thoughtful and genuine person that you'll talk with and he knows how to cut to the chase and provide you with solid information whether you're a seasoned pro, looking to give new life to your search and an apiring product manager who is looking for that first opportunity. Check out his page and newsletter. I'm using his thoughts about creating a Bespoke Resume to help facilitate the conversations that I'm having with companies. Thanks, Ari! #productmanagement

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👀 Hidden jobs! 👀 (Sorry/NotSorry for the clickbait title) 😎 I recently learned that there are many VC (Venture Capital) firms out there that maintain their own job boards for open positions at the companies that they invest in. This is a great resource to find openings at startups (and some pretty well established companies, too) that may not be listed here on LinkedIn or other boards. I thought it would be useful to put together a list of the ones I have found so far. If you are looking for work, check out my list! (A work in progress, but please repost and share). https://lnkd.in/gnQsb3H8 Oh and did I mention that I am #opentowork and looking for a new role in Engineering Management? Check out my profile and HMU if you've got something interesting! 🙏 Thanks!

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Chief Product Officers have the shortest tenure of any C-Suite member: 2.5 years. In my recent interviews with Product Leaders, a common theme emerged - navigating a role under a non-technical Founder/CEO can be extremely challenging…but not impossible: CPOs that focused on educating their org about how product works, shared their vision and strategy constantly, and showcased how product metrics tied to clear ROI and customer value had longer tenures and better, more collaborative relationships with the rest of the organization > those who didn’t.

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"Know your customers as well as your brothers and sisters" This was one of my favorite pieces of advice from one of my favorite product managers at Google: Josh Woodward. This is also why I'm a huge advocate for beta tester programs for early-stage products. Engaging with your customers from the outset allows you to deeply understand their needs and ensures they play a role in shaping your product over time. But how do you actually run a beta tester program? Topics like "how to run a beta program" related to finding product-market fit are crucial, yet tactical and useful insights are scarce as the builders in the trenches are often too busy to have the time to share their learnings broadly. Which is why I'm happy to do so for them. I had the privilege of meeting and chatting with a few founders like Jessica Liu, Joe Xizhi Lu, Khaled Benguerba and more, and here's what I learned: - Knowing the right number of people to bring into your beta from your waitlist is a balancing act. Begin with a small group to gain detailed insights, then gradually increase the number as you enhance the features. However, avoid expanding too quickly to prevent high turnover. - Launch early. Launching an MVP with less than 60% of the desired features is okay. Often, your early adopters are eager to provide feedback that helps you develop and add the missing features over the following months. - Don't rush to a public launch - wait until you have your "must-have" features sorted - Building community is a great way to build trust and engage users over time, even before they have access to the product - Be an absolute learning machine - e.g., build touchpoints for collecting feedback even within the product

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Happy Wednesday from me and Santo! 👨‍💻 🐶 ❓ This month, I'm running a video series where I'll be answering some of the questions I get from product managers. If you have a question about product, shoot me a DM and let's chat! ✉ #productmanagement #productmanagers #careeradvice #askaquestion #askmeanything

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I wrote Hiring Product Managers to show that hiring can be an agent of change. We need to stop thinking of hiring as simply 'ticking a box' - approaching hiring in a meaningful way can have a great impact on our personal growth, team dynamics & the shaping of our organisational culture. Get your copy!

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For those looking to shake up their growth strategies, I highly recommend Wes Bush, "Product-led Growth, How to Build a Product That Sells Itself." This approach places the product at the forefront, prioritizing user experience and engagement to drive organic growth and lasting customer relationships. As industries face unprecedented disruption, embracing Product-Led Growth could be the key to staying ahead of the curve. Sectors like telecom, finance, and healthcare traditionally rely on sales and marketing-driven approaches, but PLG holds the potential for something truly transformative. By leveraging insights from PLG, organizations can unlock new opportunities for innovation and drive sustainable growth. It's not just about selling a product - it's about creating a seamless, value-driven experience that resonates with users on a deeper level. Let's challenge the status quo and explore strategies that drive meaningful change. #ProductLedGrowth #Innovation #Disruption

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In my weekly conversations with product leaders, the desire for impactful PM-driven training often surfaces, highlighting a real need to empower teams. Hoda Mehr, our CEO at Products That Count, shares her thoughts below. 🤔 Here’s a question for all you product management pros out there: What kind of training do you think makes the biggest difference in accelerating a PM's career? #ProductManagement #ProfessionalGrowth #ProductCareers #ProductsThatCount

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How much does industry experience matter in Product Management? I'm hearing from a lot of folks who I mentor that they are getting great feedback through the interview process only to learn in the end that they didn't have enough industry experience to be hired. I take issue with two things here: 1. You can tell if someone has industry experience by their resume. If it's that important, then don't interview them. 2. I don't think industry experience is that important for most product manager jobs. If you are a talented product manager who has skills for discovery, developing strategy, and engaging stakeholders, then you are miles ahead of most product managers. This individual should be able to ramp within 3 months. By the way, if this is you, keep a look out for when I have roles available. But if you hire an industry expert who is lacking in product thinking, they will take much longer to learn the skills of the field. In the meantime, they are going to do a lot of damage as they do things like: - Trust their own opinion over seeking learnings in the market. - Build to please senior stakeholders. - Alienate the engineering team and lose their trust. I'd love to hear the thoughts of others on this topic.

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My team has been hard at work building the next generation developer experience at Stripe—so proud of them for unveiling a step change for people building on Stripe. Today, we're introducing three big new features: 1) Sandboxes: the next-generation of Stripe test mode. You can *finally* create multiple, isolated environments—handy for building a new feature, or just playing around with something new safely. 2) Workbench: our reimagined developer space, available everywhere in the Stripe dashboard. Inspect anything on the dashboard and get under the hood with the raw JSON in just one click. 3) Event Destinations: our webhook tools are evolving to make it easier to get just the events you need, and now delivering to cloud destinations for the first time. Check out the next generation of Stripe—and get early access—here: https://beta.stripe.dev

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