Adam is available for hire
Hire AdamAdam Root
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Location
Dallas, TX, United States
Toptal Member Since
May 16, 2019
Adam began his career in design and then moved into product management at digital innovation firms. He founded a martech startup where he raised $17 million from venture capitalists. After exiting his startup, he led product efforts for an SF venture capital firm. Adam was then recruited by NYSE:FNF to lead product for one of their portfolio companies. Soon after, he led product for a work management application for tradespeople. Now Adam acts as a product lead for Toptal clients.
Project Highlights
Evidence of Impact Experience for $1-billion NGO
Led the product management efforts for digital innovation experience that forecasted to generate $30 million in donations in first year.
B2C Marketing Technology Application
Created the vision and roadmap for a martech app. Won Entrepreneur's Net Award and Frost & Sullivan's Leadership Award. Captured interest in Inc. and Forbes and onboarded Sony, FedEx, Southwest Airlines, Dallas Cowboys, Papa John's, and Hilton.
Dippin’ Dots
Led the executive team that created the Dippin' Dots viral campaign that garnered well over 10 million views, a potential combined total reach of 1.4 billion, and more than a dozen tier-one media articles.
Expertise
Work Experience
Product Management Executive
2022 - PRESENT
Toptal
- Led large product management teams for enterprise clients to build software solutions that Increase revenue, maximize efficiency gains, capture market share, and decrease churn.
- Acted as a principal product manager driving digital innovation efforts for a multinational utility with a $44+ billion market cap. Key accomplishments—$4 billion forecasted in decreased costs and 40% predicted growth in solar-powered connections.
- Served as a senior growth product manager for a $1+ billion NGO focused on donations from foundations, HNW, and channel partners. Created an app forecasted to yield $30 million in gifts that dynamically show impact across 100 countries in real time.
VP of Product
2019 - 2022
FieldPulse
- Built and led teams in five countries across product management, design, user research, engineering, and customer success. Oversaw the entire core experience, including CRM, agreements, price book, proposals, payments, dispatch, and scheduling.
- Created strategy, roadmap, and execution plan for one of the first home services workforce management mobile apps for iPhone, Android, and mobile web. Led the product management team and outside development team on product implementation.
- Increased the payment MRR by 1,376.29% and decreased the net MRR churn by 59.35%.
VP of Marketing and Product
2018 - 2019
Real Geeks
- Partnered with parent company Fidelity NYSE:FNF and its CEO, CTO, VP of sales, and VP of account services to decrease churn and increase growth.
- Created a technical product management culture incorporating best practices in data, testing, and agile development.
- Managed the $100,000+ monthly advertising spend with over 40% CPL decrease. Connected and transformed 10,000+ real-time data contributing to $20+ million in ARR.
Chief Operating Officer
2017 - 2018
Zen Media
- Provided operational leadership to the executive team. Tracked operations and innovation initiatives. Analyzed complex financial information to provide accurate and timely M&A recommendations.
- Grew the team by 200% while improving gross margin by over 100%. Created a strategy for Dippin' Dots that garnered over a billion native impressions (more than a Super Bowl commercial) and yielded a Gold ADDY Award from AFF.
- Managed the entire company's output and personnel responsible for online marketing, mobile applications, web applications, public relations, paid media, content marketing, influencer marketing, and video production.
General Partner, VP of Product
2016 - 2017
Tricent Capital
- Collaborated with partners to develop a data-driven deal selection tool called Fundability Score that attempted to predict the successful return on investment on startup investments. Designed and developed SOP for deal sourcing and deal selection.
- Supported portfolio companies by mentoring the executive management team with best practices for product management, user experience, marketing, and customer success.
- Invested and exited a portfolio company with a 200% return in 12 months. Developed a massive open online course platform for angel investors and founders.
Chief Product Officer
2014 - 2016
SocialCentiv (acquired and rebranded as Respondology)
- Managed VPs and directors across product management, UX, and engineering. Administered a $5 million budget and created SOPs for product management, UX, and engineering.
- Nurtured relationships with stakeholders, evangelized products, and delivered Keynote presentations.
- Implemented a continuing education program for product management, UX, and engineering. Implemented an international NPS system.
- Filed 10+ US patents and issued three of them. Led a geographical advertising initiative that yielded the Silver ADDY Award from the AFF.
- Shortened the product development lifecycles by 100%, cutting churn by 50%, increasing DAU by 47%, and increasing NPS score by 113%.
VP of Product
2009 - 2014
SocialCentiv (acquired and rebranded as Respondology)
- Co-founded a company and secured $12 million in funding, established product management, UX, and engineering departments, including recruiting a VP of engineering and growing the engineering team from one to 14.
- Oversaw product roadmap strategy and administered a $3 million R&D budget. Managed all technology communication with the press, investors, and cross-department teams.
- Grew the user base by 1,500% within five days after launch at SXSW 2013. Won Entrepreneur magazine's Net 100 Award and Frost & Sullivan's Customer Value Leadership Award. Published works in Forbes, Mashable, and Huffington Post.
Director of Product Management
2008 - 2009
Agency Entourage
- Led a team of senior product managers, group product managers, and product managers for a digital innovation firm. Created, presented, and delivered product roadmaps for major clients including McDonald's, Shiner Bock beer, and The CW.
- Grew the headcount significantly to fuel the growth plan. Hired, trained, and developed a high-performance, cross-trained team across product management, UX, and engineering.
- Created a product strategy CW TV show, The Vampire Diaries securing over 1,000,000 MAU. Invented a product that blended digital outdoor projection and Twitter live streams, securing over 10,000+ social media engagements per event.
Group Product Manager
2007 - 2008
Root & Madison
- Created a flagship product for a digital innovation firm. Wore several hats as a product manager, product designer, developer, and product marketer.
- Managed complex relationships with diverse stakeholders, including clients, ad agencies, and agency clients.
- Presented Keynote presentations and facilitated panel discussions to showcase the innovation firm's products. Wrote digital content, hosted podcasts, and filmed product tours and guides to generate demand for products.
- Crafted the product vision and roadmap for Urbanworld Film Festival, securing 10,000+ users in less than seven days. Increased the revenue by 200% through fractional product manager retainers sold to advertising agencies.
Graphic Designer
2006 - 2007
Farmers Insurance
- Led product management efforts for a company-wide internal communication product, HelpPoint Today. Created a product roadmap and designed a company-wide web application to improve employee morale and attendance.
- Created a design system to modernize outdated graphics and replace all static web UI elements with new, animated designs.
- Developed creative presentations that aided senior and executive-level managers in winning buy-in support from C-level leadership.
- Designed a web application that decreased employee absences by 20% and generated a 50% increase in surveyed employee morale. I was a 2-time winner of the Farmer's Exceptional Contribution Award.
Project History
Evidence of Impact Experience for $1-billion NGO
Led the product management efforts for digital innovation experience that forecasted to generate $30 million in donations in first year.
Increased funding consideration from large foundations by democratizing the ability to create, find and share World Vision's impact data. Evident edge enables non-technical staff to create visually appealing and granular impact documentation, share it with program officers, track content engagement in real-time, and collect analytics to develop a strategic, confident sales cadence from awareness to close.
B2C Marketing Technology Application
https://web.archive.org/web/20150530060346/http://socialcentiv.com/Created the vision and roadmap for a martech app. Won Entrepreneur's Net Award and Frost & Sullivan's Leadership Award. Captured interest in Inc. and Forbes and onboarded Sony, FedEx, Southwest Airlines, Dallas Cowboys, Papa John's, and Hilton.
An easy-to-use web and mobile application that enabled users to quickly find the ideal customers at the ideal time, directly engage them with special offers, and ultimately turn Twitter conversations into customers. Received over $17 million in funding from venture capitalists, garnered users all over the world, and was eventually acquired.
Dippin’ Dots
https://web.archive.org/web/20170123215828/https://www.dippindots.com/news/2017/01/Open-Letter-to-Sean-Spicer.htmlLed the executive team that created the Dippin' Dots viral campaign that garnered well over 10 million views, a potential combined total reach of 1.4 billion, and more than a dozen tier-one media articles.
The strategy entailed posting an open letter from the CEO, Scott Fischer of Dippin' Dots, to Sean Spicer. It was posted on the company website, and a series of social media posts were crafted to help share the link. Zen Media was awarded a Gold ADDY for this project.
LinkedIN Gen Z Case Study App
https://www.loom.com/share/6024cdeeb6ef4feb8a07d2de7a193815Created the product vision and roadmap for a Generation Z LinkedIn experience. Quantified the opportunity size and determined the ROI and product execution metrics for the first four years. Completed a competitor analysis and go-to-market strategy.
A mobile Gen Z-friendly LinkedIn user experience that helps Gen Z users:
• Set up their profile by watching short videos and completing easy tasks instead of reading articles.
• Learn complex in-demand skills quickly, with elegant visuals that clarify key ideas and help Gen Z stay focused.
• Network with hiring managers akin to dating apps by swiping through a deck of hiring manager cards using InMail credits.
• Set up their profile by watching short videos and completing easy tasks instead of reading articles.
• Learn complex in-demand skills quickly, with elegant visuals that clarify key ideas and help Gen Z stay focused.
• Network with hiring managers akin to dating apps by swiping through a deck of hiring manager cards using InMail credits.
Education
2003 - 2006
Bachelor's Degree in Communications
Oklahoma Christian University - Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Certifications
DECEMBER 2022 - PRESENT
Certified Product Manager
Udacity
NOVEMBER 2015 - PRESENT
Web Analytics Trained Practitioner
Market Motive
JULY 2015 - PRESENT
UX Master Certification
Nielsen Norman Group
APRIL 2015 - PRESENT
Axure Prototyping
AB Collective
JANUARY 2015 - PRESENT
Net Promoter Certified Associate
Satmetrix