In Conversation with Philip Awopetu

Welcome to the FIRST issue of The PMist Newsletter - a series of insightful conversations with product and project professionals and newsletter articles to help you thrive and excel at work - especially as a new and aspiring product manager! 🚀

In this first issue, we speak with Philip Awopetu, a product manager who transitioned from a degree in Architecture. As a Product Manager in Indicina, Philip manages – Decide – a financial analytics tool that gives lenders the opportunity to leverage technology in the decision process of approval of loan applications.

The PMist: Thank you for taking out time of your busy schedule to chat with us! So readers want to know you! Introduce yourself and tell us about your career journey so far.

Philip: Nice to be on The PMist! Awesome work you're doing!

My name is Philip Awopetu. I’m a Product Manager at Indicina. We are a fintech and we focus on providing support to the lending industry. The product I manage – Decide – is a financial analytics tool that gives lenders the opportunity to leverage technology in the decision process of approval of loan applications. We also have a product called Originate that helps incoming individuals get into the lending space by taking advantage of our ready-to-use and fully customizable platform for managing all credit operations.

I graduated from the Federal University of Technology, Akure. I studied architecture and had a few months to experience the construction industry. During my school years, I had the opportunity of interning with one of the best architectural firms in Lagos (in Nigeria I’ll say) – Baron Architecture. Here, I got training on how the construction industry operates and also my introduction to office life (and also site work). I also got a chance to intern with other firms during school and got more experience in this space.

After school, I got a private contract to supervise the renovation of a warehouse into a clinic here in Lagos State. It was a short project and after this, I went on to start my NYSC program which was the 2019/2020 batch, and that’s when the pandemic hit and a lot of the construction going on in Lagos State was suspended. During this time, there wasn’t so much of a career journey, haha. 

Quite an interesting journey. Thank you for sharing. You've come so far from Architecture to Product Management. How was the transition? Did you face challenges? How did you overcome them? 

Transitioning into Product Management was never a plan I had. After NYSC, I took a break from everything i.e pursuing a Master's Program, working, and basically just staying idle at my cousin’s place for 4 months. My cousin is responsible for a lot of my transition into the tech space, he’s the real tech bro.

During my 6-month sabbatical, I picked up an interest in the tech space. This was not because I wanted to change the world or do anything super, no, but because I loved how people in tech dressed freely and had a very “soft” and “easy” lifestyle (hmmm… haha… I laugh in stress). So, I started with HTML and CSS and then picked up JavaScript for about 3 months. It wasn’t working for me, I wasn’t feeling excited about “code.” Then an Instagram advert popped up on my radar and I saw “Product Management” it was by Utiva Product School.

It felt like something interesting and more aligned with my vibe at the moment. So, I enrolled to Utiva and shortly after got my first job as a Product Manager with Kiakiaprint –An online printing company. I definitely skipped the part where I applied to like a billion companies and all that, haha. But yeah, product management started at Kiakiaprint for me.

I am sure most people can relate to the billion applications. What has the journey been like since your first job at Kiakia print?

Experience in product management, hmm. I’ll say it’s been a roller coaster ride so far. I have managed small teams of 1 developer, 1 product designer, and 1 QA and now, I  manage 3 different teams across different products. I have also had the opportunity to work with products in e-commerce, health tech and now fintech. These products have exposed me to the difference between B2B and B2C environments.

It’s my 3rd year as a product manager and looking back now, I’m grateful.

Please fill us in on how you stay informed and up to date to date on industry trends?

I am present on a few product management groups (on Slack) and there are times I stumble across a great read that someone posted. I also follow product management leaders on Twitter and they give great content and help me stay updated.

As a PM who works with cross-functional teams, such as engineering and design, how do you build a system that ensures the successful development and launch of a product?

Communication is key here. The design team and engineering team need to understand not just what they are developing but “why?” So, it’s all about giving better context to the design team and ensuring the engineering team is present to guide the feasibility of the design. Once the engineering team is involved from the beginning, it’s easier to develop because the design was made with real-life limitations that support development.

Can you share an example of a particularly challenging problem you had to solve as a product manager and how you approached it?

Increasing revenue. In a previous experience, we had to increase revenue and the online platform was not giving us the numbers we wanted. So, we came up with a few suggestions on what to do and together we agreed on the idea to go the old-fashioned way and hit the market in person. It worked. We realized that our audience was not comfortable with the idea of self-service via an online platform. We adjusted our strategy to fit their needs and we invested in a sales team. 

How have you built relevance in your Product career? What advice will you give to new and aspiring Product Managers to help them thrive and excel in their product career?

In terms of relevance, I wouldn’t say I’ve built relevance outside the organizations I have had the opportunity to work with. My current focus is getting a better grip on the product management space and playing more of an “observer” role while pushing for impact in my organization. I have spoken at certain events and volunteered for podcasts and shared my story on certain platforms (like this one, haha), and I mentor a few people in product management but still very low-key. I’m sure I’ll be more visible in the future especially in mentoring and sharing content concerning product management. Word to new and aspiring product managers will be: keep showing up, keep reading and keep learning.

Philip is an impact-driven product manager, who works closely with cross-functional teams, including engineering, design, marketing, and sales, to bring new products to market and ensure they meet the needs of customers and the company's goals. He helps teams build what matters!

What are your main takeaways from our conversation with Philip? Share them to inspire others!

Connect with Philip on LinkedIn