Hi
This is the second in the “state of” series. It started last year with this post.
It feels like appreciation for project and product managers at crypto projects increased over the past year. We’re still a not at general acceptance level though.
As teams start focusing on shipping the need for PM’s becomes clearer. As they struggle with shipping the need becomes more urgent. Most projects seem to be somewhere between those two places.
VC-funded projects hire PM’s. They’re also the projects that often have a Silicon Valley pedigree to some extent. I’ve spoken to a couple well respected VC’s in the space about this.
Both recognize PM’s as a critical differentiator between projects that ship and those that don’t. They see PM’s as critical roles in the teams they fund and support.
Self-funded projects (I’m hesitating to use the ICO term here…) seem to be catching-on too. Many still resist any type of structure whatsoever. They see any centralized coordination as unnecessary at best. They believe swarms and self-organization are enough to achieve their goals.
Others are starting to hire PM’s. These projects are typically the more mature ones, from the perspective of lifespan or leadership team maturity.
Projects that haven’t shipped in 9+ months, for example, want and need the help PM’s provide. Projects that have leadership teams with a win under their belt in previous lives recognize the need too.
(Tip: Take a look at projects that fit one or both criteria and offer to help them 😉 )
That said, PM’s at crypto projects have been laid off this year too. PM’s get grouped into the non-essential personnel category. This is a broad category, incorporating almost everyone except core developers.
So I’d say the general outlook for crypto PM’s is hopeful. We still have a lot to prove though. The good news is the opportunities for us to prove them seem to be on the rise.
How do you feel about the crypto PM outlook for 2019?
Let’s discuss in the comments here.
And now, on to this week’s jobs…
Product Manager at Coda
Technical Program Director at Tezos Commons Foundation
Product Manager at Request Network Foundation
Product Lead at dy/dx
Senior Product Manager at Origin Protocol
Program Manager at Protocol Labs
Senior Product Manager at OmiseGo in Bangkok
Coinbase Pro Product Manager at Coinbase in San Francisco
Product Manager at Gnosis
Project Manager at Aragon DAC
Product Manager at Bloxroute Labs
Product Manager at Tendermint
Product Manager at Oasis Labs
Catch you next week,
Chris