From Ops to PM: Breaking into Product Workshop

Akins Van Horne

Start-up Product Leader, xGusto

Build the skills, make the impact, and win advocates needed to break into PM

At fast-growing startups, the strongest product hires are often already inside the company, sitting in ops and solving problems product development teams struggle to prioritize. These domain experts, with demonstrated resourcefulness, often make the best PMs. This course is the hiring manager's side of that decision: what makes an operator stand out and become a no-brainer hire for the next PM opening.

You get

2 content hours
Practical in-session assignments
Individual feedback from me and peers
Strategies for standing out as a product-minded operator
When and how to build with AI when engineering, product and design can't or won't
Strategies for building influence and advocates

Why learn from me

I've spent my career as a product leader building great PM teams. I've had this conversation with many operators who aspire to be PMs. I've hired some and passed on most. I teach how PM hiring managers think and what it takes to stand out.

What you’ll learn

Build essential skills needed to be considered for product roles, and to hit the ground running once you're there.

Identify your Ops-Product Fit
Leverage tools and AI for 10x impact

Break out of an Ops-driven mindset and effectively discuss product strategy
Build compelling product opportunity statements

Map your stakeholders and advocates
Prepare for critical conversations

Workshop agenda

Assessing your context
Identifying the situational context within the product organization
Standing out - Build
Here we'll focus on what you can build or solve to stand out.
Standing out - Think
Here we'll focus on how you can provide thought partnership and thought leadership to the product org.
Cultivate your advocates
Map stakeholders and prepare for important conversations.