What is your role with Bitpanda Pro and when did you join the team?
I am a Senior Product Manager and lead all the projects surrounding Bitpanda Pro. My role involves the management of all internal stakeholders from Sales to Marketing and Development. By planning the strategy and priorities for the product together with the team, we drive Bitpanda Pro forward every day. I joined a little bit over a year ago and I am very happy to work with such a young, dynamic and professional team.
What were you doing prior to joining the Bitpanda Pro team?
Over the last 15 years, I have worked in a variety of industries and countries. New York was the start of my professional career, where I worked with high net-worth individuals to support their investment needs within the area of insurance. I then made the leap across the Atlantic and worked as an international consultant for Deutsche Telekom, covering a wide spectrum of telecommunication-related projects. Based out of Germany, I spent most of my time on planes and or living in hotels working in Asia, Africa, LATAM and Europe. Eventually, I opted for a more settled life and this is when Austria called.
What does a day in the life of a Product Manager for Bitpanda Pro look like?
Nothing runs without a good cup of coffee! So after the first cup, I start by managing my priorities for the day and week ahead. Most of the day is spent on the phone or in meetings, ensuring that all internal stakeholders are aligned on the next feature releases, marketing activities and any sales activities around this. Occasionally, I jump on a call with our Institutional Sales team to discuss potential partners for Bitpanda Pro and how we can work together.
I also spend time doing more strategic tasks and scoping out new concepts for the product. However, the most important part of my job is people management. This means making sure the team is focused and motivated to move ahead. A good product manager is nothing without a good team.
Being a Product Manager must pose some unique challenges, what is one challenge with Bitpanda Pro that you’ve overcome in your time at Bitpanda?
When I arrived, we had just launched a very nice technical product and we still needed to get the right people involved from various departments. We started out as a small team of people with a sound knowledge of crypto and learned to navigate the landscapes of crypto exchanges. Most of Bitpanda's audience were familiar with the Broker side of the business and the Pro team worked hard to bring the new product to light with its own value proposition and message. Today, we are a solid team with clear targets and goals, working together to push Pro forward everyday.
Unfortunately, fintech is a very male-dominated industry. What advice would you give to women hoping to apply and work up to a senior position such as yours?
I see it as a great opportunity for women to come into this space and really rock the show! Whenever you introduce diversity into the workplace, it always brings out new ideas and creates a more balanced working environment. You see this very much at Bitpanda. I would recommend that you dare to believe that you deserve it! For most of my professional career, I worked in male-dominated environments and have seen far too often that we as women downplay our own achievements and abilities. Getting to the top does not mean “acting” like a man. I always remained true to myself and my character and through this, gained respect amongst my colleagues.
What are the best parts of your job?
The best part of my job is the people. Getting to work with so many different teams and people from all walks of life, you learn a lot about how to manage situations and also get inspired for new ideas. At the end of the day, even if the day was difficult, it is working with a good team that makes a world of difference.
What, in your opinion, makes Bitpanda Pro a great product?
Following Bitpanda’s company mission, tearing down the barriers to personal finance, Bitpanda Pro is a logical addition to the Bitpanda portfolio by providing a simple and elegant solution for the more advanced traders.
We service a wide user base from basic retail traders to more sophisticated institutional businesses. Unlike most exchanges, we are based in Vienna and comply with local FMA regulations instilling trust in our customers. Our primary objective is to offer attractive crypto-fiat pairs by focusing on rolling out all the major currencies in Europe.
On the technical side, Bitpanda Pro is a completely in-house built exchange with a user-friendly interface which makes it a clean and easy solution for any day traders. We also provide well-designed and documented REST and Websocket API for our more advanced API traders.
What advice would you give your younger self before you started your professional career?
I would ask myself, do you know you will work in Vienna as a Senior Product Manager for a crypto company? As I grew up in New York, it would have been unfathomable to think that this is where I would end up today! In hindsight, I would tell myself to take more risks and never doubt your judgement because everything will work out just fine!
And lastly, where do you see Bitpanda Pro five years from now?
We are the number one exchange to go in Europe with high trading volumes and deep liquidity. Pro provides clean and user friendly solutions for our retail traders, while also ensuring our institutional clients enjoy the Rolls Royce services and features of the exchange!
Like what you read? Check out Bitpanda Pro, or have a look at our current job openings and join our team!
