This week on Agencies Drinking Beer, Kevin and Kyle interview one of Proposify’s own team members, Ricky Ferris, our product manager.
While Ricky has only been the product manager at Proposify for about 15 months, he and Kyle go back more than ten years, having first met at a deck party playing guitar. A year or two later and Ricky was employee #1 when Kevin and Kyle first started their digital agency, Headspace. Ricky shares the pros and cons of working both at an agency and the transition to working at a software startup.
Ricky also talks about his role as product manager at Proposify, how he juggles designing new features, manages QA, coordinates the release schedule, and dives deep into metrics to see what’s working. He also interacts directly with customers to get their feedback so we can plan the best features that will have the best impact on both our customers and our business. Which led the conversation back to agencies, wondering whether agencies would benefit from their own version of a product manager. Someone who is both deep in the weeds but can still analyze the 30,000 foot view, someone who can see what’s working and what needs to be changed, all while still being on the front lines of the business.
Ricky also shares his work philosophy: “Work for the job you want. Picture the company as you want to see it and by doing that you’ll make the right decisions to advance both your progress and the company’s progress in the right direction. Don’t just work for what it is right now, work for what’s it’s going to be.”
Bonus: A musician in his spare time, you'll hear one of Ricky's original songs.
