Building & Integrating a Product/Design Team

Created 9 years ago in Product & Design / Lean Startup

What kind of PM or designer can best address your issues and meet your dev-team needs? Where do you find this person? How do you screen them to make sure they're awesome?

As a former manager and design consultant, I've got experience building teams at various startups - doing a mix of external recruiting, identifying and nurturing internal talent, managing contractors and external teams, and most importantly, figuring out the optimal configuration and skills in the first place. We'll discuss where you are, where you'd like to be, and identify the experience and skillsets your next hire(s) need to have to best address your needs, not to mention the questions you to ask to screen for them.

I've also got experience tackling design/product/dev friction - a pretty common issue that arises as startups mature, products pivot, and needs change, resulting in a lack of trust, resentment, and stalemates. I'm a good sounding board for issues, provide a diplomatic external perspective that (usually) everyone is willing to hear, and can suggest creative solutions to painful problems.

The reviews on my LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyeastment) demonstrate my history of championing various internal teams and getting them to work better together - and I love helping folks with this particular topic because the end result is more happiness for everyone involved! :D