Hey everyone
We're back again with another chance to meet the team , and in the spotlight week is Head of Product, Annette. You can check out the previous intros here.
What is your role at Just About?
I'm Just About's Head of Product. My world revolves around collaborating with leadership to set the product vision, defining the product strategy and ensuring the successful execution of product initiatives.
Here's another way to think about it: while our brilliant team of software engineers are out there welding together the ship, my role is to make sure we're not accidentally building oil tankers to carry aircraft—and to generally build a better shipyard.
What led you to join Just About?
I took notice when I heard that Tom O'Callaghan (Tom), a designer I had worked with previously and think the world of, had joined. Not long after, my husband Alex Price followed Tom's excellent lead and joined Just About as CTO.
I delight in working at startups of this size and temperament (and I love working with my husband), so the inexorable pull of Just About's gravity drew me right in.
How did you get started in this industry?
I started producing music videos for major labels before I finished university. After graduation, I started producing commercials and idents for TV networks, then picked up the Producer role for the biggest awards show in the animation industry. Alongside all that, I worked as a journalist and sponsored athlete in the field of air- and gravity sports (paragliding, BASE jumping and skydiving), then I grew a software services company from a staff of three to 50 as COO, then CEO...and only after all of that did I decide to focus my efforts entirely on software product leadership. My first product leadership role was at Ecologi, a mission-oriented startup in Bristol; Just About is my second.
Product requires an ultra-wide-angle view that takes in business operations, market movements, tech tooling, project management, UX, systems design, data science and people-oriented leadership. If you have a professional story that's as hard-driving as it is squiggly, I humbly suggest that you consider a professional path into Product! Most of the folx I know, follow and respect in this field have life stories just as stochastic as mine. A sprawling breadth of experience suits this work very, very well.
Non-work quick-fire round
What is your favourite...
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Film: Spirited Away
TV Show: Deadwood
Book: Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I traveled full-time for about twenty years before moving onto a boat in England. I still treat the world like it's a giant game of passport bingo I have yet to win. Next on the list is either Brooklyn or Hokkaido.
What did you want to be when you were a kid?
A marine biologist.
Share a hobby you are currently enjoying.
My husband and I have taken up stand-up paddleboarding. We plunk them right into the Thames from our boat, go for an epic journey and take the train back from wherever we end up.
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