Product Manager (Contract) · Jan 2025 - Apr 2025 · Cross-functional team
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WonsultingAI

“Prioritized conversion and monetization instead of adding new features by choosing NOT to build.”
+1,100
22% lift in paid subscribers
+60%
Increase in Net Promoter Score
2
Customer-facing features shipped
50K+
Monthly active users served

Product Challenges

High traffic but stagnating conversion. Users engaged but not paying.

Conversion stagnation
40K MAU but flat paid subscriber growth
Missed revenue potential and CAC not recovering
Payment page drop-off
60% of interested users abandoning at checkout
Direct revenue leakage from ready-to-buy users
NPS declining
User satisfaction trending down quarter over quarter
Reduced referrals and increased churn risk
Engineering-product misalignment
Specs incomplete, leading to rework cycles
40% of engineering time on clarification vs. building

The Strategic Bet

Conventional wisdom

Build more features to increase perceived value. Competitors were shipping weekly.

Data showed

Funnel analysis revealed 60% of drop-off happened at a single step: the payment page. Users were engaged, they just weren't converting. Adding features wouldn't fix that.

The decision

Deprioritize 15 planned features. Focus engineering entirely on conversion optimization: simplify onboarding, reduce payment friction, add social proof at decision points.

Constraints & Trade-offs

Constraints and decisions that shaped product

Operating Constraints

4-month contract timeline
Competing with well-funded competitors shipping weekly
Small engineering team (6 devs) across 3 timezones with existing backlog
Limited A/B testing infrastructure at start

Deprioritize 15 feature requests to focus on conversion

Instead of: Split engineering between features and conversion

Why I chose this

Divided attention means mediocre results on both. Conversion had higher ROI per engineering hour.

Consequence

Short-term: Stakeholders disappointed about delayed features. Long-term: 22% subscriber lift proved the focus was right.

Expand

Invest 2 weeks building proper A/B testing infrastructure

Instead of: Ship changes without testing and measure aggregate metrics

Why I chose this

Without proper testing, we'd never know what actually worked. The 2 weeks paid back in confident decision-making.

Consequence

Delayed first optimization by 2 weeks, but subsequent iterations were 3x faster with clear winner identification.

Expand

Write detailed technical specs upfront, even for "obvious" features

Instead of: Quick verbal handoffs and iterate based on engineering questions

Why I chose this

Verbal handoffs were causing 30% rework. Written specs take more PM time but save engineering time.

Consequence

Rework dropped to 5%. Engineering velocity increased because they could build confidently.

Expand

Strategic Product Leadership

Data-driven product management focusing on feature delivery, conversion optimization, and technical excellence

1

Conversion-First Prioritization

Prioritized conversion over feature parity.

Result
+1,100 paid subscribers (22% lift) in 4 months
2

A/B Testing Infrastructure

Built foundation for data-driven iteration.

Result
3x faster iteration cycles with clear winner identification
3

Spec-Driven Development

Eliminated engineering rework through detailed specs.

Result
Rework dropped from 30% to 5%; engineering velocity increased
4

NPS Feedback Loop

Connected user feedback directly to product decisions.

Result
+60% NPS improvement; detractor count cut in half

What I'd Do Differently

Reflection on what could have been done differently

Took 2 weeks to realize the backlog needed pruning, not executing

Impact: Spent first 2 weeks planning features that shouldn't have been built

Better approach

Start with funnel analysis before touching the backlog

Would have saved 2 weeks and built stakeholder trust faster

Didn't push harder for user research budget

Impact: Some decisions were based on quantitative data alone-missed qualitative context

Better approach

Advocate for 5-10 user interviews monthly, even if informal

Deeper understanding of why users were dropping off, not just where

Over-documented some specs, under-documented others

Impact: Inconsistent engineering experience-some features smooth, others bumpy

Better approach

Create spec templates and checklists for consistency

More predictable delivery across all features

Business Impact

Delivered measurable growth in subscribers, user satisfaction, and product revenue

22% subscriber lift in 4-month engagement

Key Takeaways

1

Focus beats feature parity - doing one thing well beats doing five things poorly.

2

Invest in infrastructure (A/B testing, analytics) early.

3

Written specs aren't overhead, they're insurance against rework.

4

NPS is a lagging indicator - fix the root causes, not the score.

Get in Touch

Let's talk about
what you're building.

Interested in how I can help your team ship faster? I'd love to hear what you're working on.

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