While whatever the road ahead brings is never completely certain, in connecting with product pros from local companies across various industries, this much appears to be true: There are big plans on the horizon in 2023.
For some businesses, the future might entail big hiring plans, strengthening their existing services or charting the promise-filled blue sky of new projects.
Ian Malave, Director of Product at Promenade, forecasted continued growth on a product team that he said has already deepened considerably in 2022. Meanwhile, Betina Chan-Martin, senior director of product, sustainability services at Aspiration, says that those who are piqued by the challenges of fighting a global climate crisis should bookmark the company’s career site.
And for Cosm, a new year means forging ahead on its announced plans to bring its viewing experience to patrons with a physical footprint in the development of Hollywood Park, as alluded to by Director of Product Management Kristin Rivait.
As these product professionals explained, the calendar brims with action aplenty. Below, the professionals preview what’s in store for their teams.
A Inc. 5000 2022-honoree, Aspiration seeks to let individuals play a part in furthering sustainability through various products and services. “Aspiration is a company dedicated to reducing climate change. We do this by enabling consumers, businesses and investors to mitigate their carbon footprint by taking part in our carbon market,” said Betina Chan-Martin, senior director of product, sustainability services.
What projects does your product team have lined up for 2023, and how do they fit into your company’s overall strategic goals for the year?
As our business grows, so does the demand for our carbon market. My team will be rebuilding tools so that our internal operations continue to be robust, efficient and effective to meet this demand. In addition, my team will be focused on building consumer-facing services and experiences enjoyed by those who purchase carbon assets from Aspiration’s carbon market. We’ll be working to build an experience that allows people to connect with the communities and programs that their purchases support in the most transparent way possible.
In your opinion, what makes these projects particularly interesting, challenging or exciting for product professionals to work on?
Climate tech is new, and it’s evolving quickly. The problems we’re solving are familiar, but the nuances are unique. There’s a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty in this space, which is exactly the type of challenge that product managers thrive on.
There’s a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty in this space, which is exactly the type of challenge that product managers thrive on.”
How is your team growing to help meet those goals?
We will be on the lookout for mission-driven product managers that have a proven track record of solving complex, technical and interdependent problems that directly affect the company’s operations and outward-facing product. If this sounds like you, please bookmark our career site.
Based in Santa Monica, Promenade — the company that originally made waves as BloomNation — provides e-commerce tools for small businesses including florists, restaurants, beverage retailers and butcher shops. Director of Product Ian Malave described the coming year as “exciting” for the company’s product team.
What projects does your product team have lined up for 2023, and how do they fit into your company’s overall strategic goals for the year?
Promenade began by powering online orders for florists and has grown considerably in the 10-plus years since then. In that time, we’ve built a robust e-commerce platform and expanded into multiple new verticals, including butchers and restaurants. With this accomplished, we are looking forward to ways in which we can provide even more value to our small business partners in 2023 through solutions that support their business operations, such as point-of-sale and payroll solutions.
We also want to continue building the vertical-specific features that help distinguish Promenade from other platforms. Some of these offerings include tailored solutions for helping businesses more easily manage their inventory and more efficiently pick and pack orders for fulfillment. All in all, 2023 is shaping up to be an exciting year of product growth at Promenade.
In your opinion, what makes these projects particularly interesting, challenging or exciting for product professionals to work on?
The exciting part about Promenade’s plans for 2023 is that we’re doing more than just incremental changes. Our product managers and designers will be at the forefront of driving entirely new products to market and solving big problems for our partners’ businesses.
Product teams at Promenade are structured to provide each team member with significant ownership that ties directly back to the mission of the company, which is to empower local businesses to thrive. As we bring products to market in 2023, the product team will drive coordination on cross-functional teams within Promenade and work directly with our small business partners to see the impact of their work first-hand.
The team’s projects will be instrumental in shaping a new portfolio of products and services for small businesses of all stripes that take Promenade to the next level.
Our product managers and designers will be at the forefront of driving entirely new products to market and solving big problems for our partners’ businesses.”
How is your team growing to help meet those goals?
The product team is continuing to grow to meet the needs of the company as it continues to enter new verticals and offer new products and services. In the past year, our product team has more than doubled in size and now has 15 product managers and designers. We’re looking to continue expanding our team by about 25 percent, including hiring a design manager, senior product manager and product designer.
Because we’re a growing company, new hires at Promenade have more opportunities for leadership and to work with talented people across teams. Our product managers and designers come from a diverse set of backgrounds. Many people at the company — even leadership — have an open-door policy to encourage collaboration and growth. We even have Promenade Academy, which provides training courses for employees. Our co-founders recently created an entrepreneurship course on how to start a business from scratch with a look at how they did it with BloomNation/Promenade.
Los Angeles-based Cosm delivers immersive content experiences in fields like sports, entertainment and education — experiences that, as Director of Product Management Kristin Rivait said, endeavor to unite the “digital and physical worlds.”
What projects does your product team have lined up for 2023, and how do they fit into your company’s overall strategic goals for the year?
At Cosm, we’re bringing the future of immersive experiences and live events to people with our first public venue in Los Angeles. Our team is defining and building technology that will enable people to attend and experience entertainment like never before.
In your opinion, what makes these projects particularly interesting, challenging or exciting for product professionals to work on?
On my first day at Cosm, I was blown away by the LED technology. How could I be in a room with others looking up at the stars and planets in the galaxy, then be transported to the 50-yard line of a football game, followed by being front row at a concert? I felt closer to the action than if I were there.
For someone who has always been very passionate about technology, science, sports, music and entertainment, this was a dream come true. I thought to myself, I want everyone to be able to experience this.
The excitement hasn’t stopped since. We are bridging the digital and physical worlds to create something really special for people to share and are pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
We are bridging the digital and physical worlds to create something really special for people to share and are pushing the boundaries of what is possible.”
How is your team growing to help meet those goals?
We’re always looking for diverse, talented people who share our vision, values and passions and are continuously growing as our ambitious plans do.
