The Better Builders Bureau is a monthly meetup Scott Truitt and I host in San Francisco. The role of a Product Manager at a tech start-up is such a varied position that we thought it’d be a good idea to bring all of us together to share stories about what works, what doesn’t work, and how we might do things better.
Past Events
1/13/2015
Please allow me to introduce myself. – Lane Becker on the Get Satisfaction help tab.
Get Satisfaction blazed a new trail as a distributed support platform but what was even more revolutionary was the lightweight way it integrated into the sites that used it. The Help Tab grew out of a conversation and Lane Becker will tell the tale of its origin, evolution, and launch.
11/11/2014

The way you do the things you do. Behavioral economics in product design. – Vince Maniago of Mint.com
Budgets are like diets and exercise, good for you to start but a pain to keep on track. How do you re-engage on-boarded users work towards their goals without sounding like a nag. Vince has uncovered some not-so-rational results on what behavior drives real action and will talk about how he applied these principles in product design. What drives people to do what they do and how does this affect product innovation. How do we influence “good” financial decisions through product design.
10/14/2014

Launching Square in Japan – Lessons learned by Randy Reddig
When payments provider Square decided to expand internationally, they looked to Japan. Why did Square decide on Japan? The Japanese have a high bar for customer service and are legendary for their attention to detail. In addition, the Japanese business environment is notoriously difficult for foreign companies to navigate and the financial sector, in particular, is a regulatory minefield.
“It took a massive coordinated effort between business, product, and engineering,” says Randy Reddig, a member of Square’s founding team, who lead Square’s expansion in Japan. Learn firsthand about his experience, what he learned, and his advice for anyone contemplating a similar adventure.