Fellow - Product Manager
Where // San Francisco, CA -- Fellow Products is a startup serious about product design and great coffee. It was started with the goal of bringing product ideas from the sketchbook to the kitchen table — products that are not only beautifully designed but awesomely functional. Fellow is still an infant and is just starting to crawl. Their first product, the Duo Coffee Steeper, raised $200,000 on Kickstarter. Fast forward three years and Fellow has been able to create a portfolio of award-winning products that meet the full needs of the home enthusiast and specialty cafe.
Why // To do our best work we must have a clear understanding of how we show up in the world. We must know how we approach problems and how those things can inform our interactions and experiences. I’m a tactile person who’s always learned best by taking things apart in order to put them back together better. The intersection of venture design and crafted physical products lent me the opportunity to help build analog things in an increasingly digital world.
What // As employee #1, I helped to grow this Stanford MBA led and Kickstarter-fueled, fledgling startup to an award-winning product design company. I managed the product pipeline, collaborated on design and rapid prototyping workshops, and helped facilitate user feedback sessions to accelerate design iterations and the product development cycle. As we prepared to fulfill and deliver on the flagship, Duo Coffee Steeper, we were also focused on designing, sourcing and building our line of complementary products. I managed the development of their sophomore effort, the Stagg pour-over kettle and presented options for future products. I facilicated design sessions with the ID team in Oakland and helped to translate and deliver feedback to our manufacturing partners in Xiamen, China. I also led experience design and production for our first tradeshow and the brand unveiling at the Specialty Coffee Assc of America in Seattle.
Skills: Product Management, Project Management, Operations, Experience Design, Startup Hustle, and light construction/carpentry.
Results // Our goal was to graduate Fellow from successful crowd-funding campaign to an actual business. This is no small feat, but the work in the early days helped to lay the foundation for the company’s subsequent success. We did everything from building out our office space, to successfully pitching Duo at the largest coffee convention in the world. During my time there, we raised a round of funding, doubled the size of the team, built out our web presence and developed the systems and processes necessary to deliver on the fulfillment of our Kickstarter campaign orders. This unveiling helped to land wholesale partners like Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Sur La Table, West Elm, and the NY MoMA. Fellow grew over 100% year-over-year from 2015 to 2016 and expects to do the same in 2017. Fellow newest product, Stagg EKG, an electric pour-over kettle just raised $450,000 on Kickstarter in January, 2017.