Bridging the Gap: Transitioning from Product Support to Product Management

My journey in product management began at a startup software company called Scalaric, where we developed solutions for Tagger Media, an influencer marketing platform. While I had a strong foundation in business and finance from my education, I lacked technical domain knowledge and hands-on product experience, a common challenge for many aspiring product managers. This is the story of how I navigated that journey. It taught me invaluable lessons about product development, user empathy, and strategic thinking. Let's move on!

Starting with the Fundamentals

The entry threshold for product management is notoriously high - and for good reason. This is an interdisciplinary role that sits at the intersection of multiple domains: project management, business strategy, human resources, marketing, finance, engineering, and design. A successful product manager needs to bridge the gap between business objectives, user needs, and technical feasibility - often without having direct authority over the people executing the work.

It's a role that requires:

• project and product management skills,
• the ability to influence without authority,
• building trust and credibility with engineering, design, support, marketing, sales, revenue, and customer success teams,
• as well as a strong grasp of growth tactics, sales pipelines, go-to-market strategy, and the product lifecycle.

In addition, product managers must be able to define product metrics, track performance, plan strategically, and balance short-term tactics with long-term vision. It requires the ability to operate across multiple altitudes, building strategic, tactical, and operational plans simultaneously.

I had a solid business and financial background from my studies, experience in corporate environments through internships at UBS and Brown Brothers Harriman, and several professional certifications. What I lacked was technical domain knowledge in software development and hands-on product management experience.

My initial role involved significant product support responsibilities - even if it was called Junior Technical IT Product Manager. I worked closely with sales and support teams, triaged and resolved countless tickets with developers (and many on my own), and prioritized small features and improvements using the Kaizen approach of constant, incremental improvement.

This foundation provided several advantages that I still draw on today:

• User Empathy: Nothing builds empathy like directly helping frustrated users. I learned to see the product through their eyes and understand their pain points. It gave me deep insights into their workflows.
• Technical Understanding: Collaborating with developers to fix bugs and implement small features helped me understand how our product actually worked under the hood, not just how it was supposed to work.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: I learned SQL to better analyze user behavior and back my decisions with data, which also significantly improved my understanding of our application infrastructure and data constraints in developing new features.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Working with sales, support, and development teams taught me how to communicate effectively across different departments and adapt my language to my current environment.
• Problem-Solving: Support is essentially constant problem-solving under pressure. It's a skill that transfers directly to product management.

Growing in Autonomy and Responsibility

A significant shift occurred when our product team structure changed. Initially, we operated as an external vendor with a divided product team — part at Scalaric and part at Tagger Media. Eventually, the Scalaric product team was empowered to make decisions for the entire Tagger product.

This reorganization gave us more autonomy and allowed me to be even closer to the clients. I continued providing product support but also began tackling more complex features and customer implementations that required custom development - mainly ambassador landing pages integrated with our Influencer Marketing platform. These projects gave me exceptional experience in balancing customer needs with technical constraints, limited resources, and business objectives.

During this period, I focused on:

• Improving internal processes and documentation
• Developing and refining my data analysis skills
• Managing customer-specific implementations
• Prioritizing feature development based on business impact
• Building stronger relationships with development teams

This growth phase was crucial for my development as a product manager. I was able to demonstrate my value while continuously expanding my skills and preparing to take on increasingly complex challenges.

Navigating Acquisition and Transformation

A pivotal moment in my career came when Tagger Media was acquired by Sprout Social, a NASDAQ-listed company with a broader product portfolio. Our small team (~20 developers, 3 designers, 4 PMs) played a crucial role in the due diligence process despite our limited resources. We still needed to keep the lights on!

This transition presented both challenges and opportunities. I had to adapt to a more mature corporate environment while preserving the agility and innovation that had made our small team successful. It was a delicate balance, but one that allowed me to leverage both my startup experience and my understanding of corporate processes from my previous internships.

At Sprout Social, I finally had the opportunity to introduce process improvements and integrate with new teams. I played a crucial role in identifying what didn't work while highlighting what worked well in the area of product support, and customer implementations, advocating that we didn't need to integrate all processes from Sprout - sometimes "perfect is the enemy of good." Fortunately, our new organization was understanding and collaborative! We learned a lot and implemented top-tier product management processes, yet we were still allowed to remain agile and work in our preferred ways - as long as we could justify them. I'm truly grateful for that.

Evolving into Holistic Product Management with strong business acumen

As teams at Sprout Social took over product support and other operational responsibilities, I was able to transition toward more strategic product management. I conducted market analyses and product researches, showcasing ideas for how we could position and evolve our product.

I immersed myself in product management literature, expanding my theoretical knowledge while applying it to real-world challenges (Inspired, Loved, This is Service: Design Thinking, Blue Ocean Strategy, The Design of Everyday Things - just to name a few positions from this time). This combination of practical experience and continuous learning accelerated my growth as a product manager.

Today, I lead the implementation of larger, more complex projects, bringing a broader strategic vision to life. I have provided product research and competitive analyses for several significant projects under consideration. I've also successfully implemented initiatives that have expanded our product capabilities and are expected to create significant business impact in the near future. And I'm just getting started - there's much more to come.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

One of the biggest challenges in this transition was imposter syndrome. I often felt that my non-traditional background made me less qualified than colleagues who had come to the product team with a background in software development.

What helped me overcome this was realizing that my economic background and support experience gave me unique insights that many product managers lacked. I could assess business justification, point out prioritizing value innovation over technical innovation, differentiate between project types (new SKUs, partnership-driven, refactor), anticipate user problems, communicate technical concepts clearly, and build strong relationships with the support and success teams - all valuable assets in product management.

If you're making a similar transition, remember that your background is a strength, not a weakness. You bring a perspective that's often missing from product teams.

Key Lessons for Aspiring Product Managers

Looking back on my journey from product support to strategic product management, several key lessons stand out:

1. Start Where You Are

You don't need to begin with a "Product Manager" title to start developing product management skills. Look for opportunities to solve user problems, analyze data, and improve processes wherever you are.

2. Develop Technical Fluency

Learning SQL was transformative for me. It allowed me to analyze data independently and understand our application infrastructure better. Find the technical skills that will give you leverage in your specific context.

3. Balance Tactical and Strategic Thinking

Even when handling day-to-day support issues, keep an eye on the bigger picture. Connect individual features to larger business goals and market trends. This mindset will prepare you for more strategic roles.

4. Embrace Organizational Change

Acquisitions, reorganizations, and other changes can create opportunities for growth. Be adaptable and look for ways to add value during transitions.

5. Combine Diverse Experiences

My background in both corporate environments and startups gave me a unique perspective. Don't view your diverse experiences as disconnected. Find ways to synthesize insights from different contexts.

Conclusion

The journey from support to strategic product management isn't always straightforward, but it can be incredibly rewarding. By starting with fundamentals, growing in autonomy, navigating organizational changes, and continuously learning, you can build a successful career in product management.

If you're currently in a support role or another adjacent position and aspiring to product management, I hope my journey encourages you. The path may not be direct, but with persistence, continuous learning, and a focus on creating value, you can successfully make the transition from supporting products to shaping them.

Remember that great product managers come from diverse backgrounds - and your unique experiences may be the secret weapon that sets you apart.

My final and most important advice is this: identify your origin story - your strongest asset and make it even stronger. However, since product management is an interdisciplinary role that requires trust and collaboration across various domains, you can't afford to have significant gaps in other areas. It's crucial to recognize where you lack proficiency and actively work to improve those skills. By doing so, you ensure a well-rounded skill set while turning your unique strengths into your greatest advantage.