Who am I? And why now?
I’m Akshayaa — a Product Manager @ Wish.
I aspire to one day lead my own product division and maybe even a business venture of my own. My goal as a PM is to understand user/business problems and work alongside a diverse group of individuals to deliver meaningful digital solutions that enhance the user experience. I’m passionate about technology, people & problems, especially a combination of the three!
But let’s get back to right now…
As PMs we know well to get feedback our product’s performance and iterate to get to the best version of it. Now, why not do the same for your own skillset? That’s exactly what I’m trying to do with with this.
I’m using Medium as an avenue for improving my writing skills & keep my curiosity satiated. While in the product realm, I’m focussing on adding new skills to my ever-growing PM Toolbox. With this, I hope to gain skills to effectively cultivate, lead and empower a team.
Thus far in my career, I’ve been able to hone my technical skills (Agile product delivery, data analysis, story-telling skills) while at the same time growing my Business Acumen. In 2021, I hope to:
- Keep growing my business acumen
- Build up my confidence in public writing
- Learn to communicate in an engaging & concise manner
- Understand how to empower others
And I’m going to do it by:
- Meeting more people, expanding my network, understanding challenges faced by organizational leaders
- Continue writing more articles, even if they may not be perfect, and getting feedback on them
- Analysing gaps in current user experiences & use my design instincts to see what a potential solution could look like
Prior to delving into the world of Product, my past experience includes hardware engineering product development work & project management. I chose to pivot over to Product since I discovered that was the best way to get to the answers ofall the “Why?” questions I had as a product developer, while also being a part of the solution ideation. Problems are where I thrive best!
Outside of work, you’ll either find me playing a boardgame (I have an extensive collection & am always looking for more), doing something/anything outside (I’m not too picky as long as I’m around nature) or reading a book (I’m all ears for suggestions!).
