Maria-Elena Tzanev, Product Manager at Stryber, talks about her day-to-day work life and what it takes to be successful as a product manager.
I'm a product manager at Stryber. I've been with the company for roughly two and a half years. My job is to make sure that the digital product meets the needs of the user and the business goals.
Definitely working between the two teams. I love the tech side, but I also love the business side too. And I love being the one that's in between both in communicating. It’s also a great feeling to be able to be part of the team that is actually building a product that people are using.
Even though I love it, I think being between the two sides is difficult sometimes and managing all the different stakeholders can get quite tricky.
A lot of empathy and a lot of patience. You need to make sure that everyone feels heard and understood which can get tricky at times, especially with bigger team. Lastly, mastering the art of saying no. It’s a known thing in the product world, and it’s definitely something that PMs need to be good at to progress in their role.
Stryber is a very open company. Despite being fewer women than men, it's not a topic that has ever even come to my mind. Everyone is treated equally.
A recent venture and a very crazy one, related to quick commerce. It was so exciting. We had so much to do. We were all running around doing everything and anything we could to help make the venture a success, even if it was outside of our role. It was a lot of hard work, but we all had a lot of fun.
Very hard-working but also a lot of fun. I feel like I'm working with friends, which is amazing and something that is very special about Stryber. Everyone at the company is incredibly motivated and hands-on - it’s an inspiring team to be a part of.
Watch the full interview here.