Chris is available for hire
Hire ChrisChris Hjorth
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Toptal Member Since
September 30, 2019
Chris is a problem solver, a generalist with the ability to dig in and specialize when needed. Over the past 15 years, he has worked independently, founded startups, mentored other startups and individuals as well as innovated in the developing world with the United Nations World Food Programme. Chris loves turning ideas into products and taking them to scale effectively, focusing on strategy, planning, and execution through iterations.
Project Highlights
SCOPE CODA - Digital Malnutrition Management in Remote Locations
Led design and development of a solution that digitalizes children malnutrition management programs in developing countries.
Woomio - Influencer Marketing Analytics
Pivoted the first iteration of the product to influencer marketing analytics resulting in market fit and profitability.
Sharingear - P2P Gear Rental for the Music Industry
Took a two-sided platform from idea to market in three months with little to no resources.
Expertise
Work Experience
Founder | Solopreneur
2023 - PRESENT
Elliott Says
- Built and launched an online membership and course platform from scratch on top of Remix.run leveraging AWS Lambda and microarchitecture to keep costs close to zero.
- Implemented a phase-based go-to-market strategy with innovative lead generation tactics suitable to grow toward profitability from an audience of zero with no authority and no budget.
- Leveraged AI and automation to run the business effectively without the need for human resources.
- Implemented custom trading algorithms and performed regular investment research.
- Maintained a three times weekly newsletter writing and publishing.
Freelance Product Manager
2019 - PRESENT
Toptal Clients
- Led the creation of an online reputation management system prototype based on NLP and sentiment analysis combined with web scraping. This allowed the client to seek funding for further service development.
- Led the integration of non-standard technologies and operations automation on top of a Shopify eCommerce solution. Hired and managed needed talent and coordinated the transition to automation with third-party providers.
- Defined and implemented the roadmap for a fashion rental startup, allowing the launch of their MVP and subsequent independent product management. Hired and managed developer talent. Created SOPs for the complex operations and set up analytics.
- Productivized a B2B influencer marketing analytics platform based on AI/ML, revamping the client-facing product and leading integrations with partner influencer marketing platforms.
- Led the creation of an MVP for a DIY fashion marketplace focused on sustainability integrating Shopify and Sharetribe and hiring custom development resources.
Owner
2003 - PRESENT
Chris Hjorth Creations | Freelance
- Defined multiple products and product enhancement requirements through client and end-user research and interviews.
- Designed multiple products and user experiences getting all parties in agreement through user stories and wireframes.
- Developed and launched multiple products singlehandedly, joining clients' teams and managing outsourced resources.
- Launched personal micro businesses as technology and product experiments as a lifelong learning tool.
- Contributed to client projects, including customized and faster accountancy software, real-time solar energy dashboard plugins for the web, communication platform that combines messaging and email while separating private life and work life.
- Contributed to client projects, including web-based video editing tool, web-based document review tool, educational biotech game, robot walking algorithm implementations, and multiple smartphones and tablet consumer apps.
Co-founder | CTO | Head of Product
2022 - 2022
Demoverse
- Pivoted from NFT audio streaming to custom utility NFTs to a novel promote to earn concept based on audience feedback.
- Ran multiple audience outreach and marketing experiments to guide startup direction over founder brainstorming.
- Hired UX and UI designers, blockchain developers, full stack developers, and copywriters running a lean team of contractors maximizing efficiency and speed.
- Designed multiple tokenomics models and wrote white paper drafts.
Fractional CTO
2021 - 2022
Tensho LLC
- Roadmapped and executed a founder vision for a DIY fashion marketplace aiming to leverage and support TikTok and Instagram trends.
- Led the integration of Shopify and Sharetribe for a complex product and shared marketplace MVP.
- Hired and managed developer resources to build and launch the MVP.
Product Manager
2021 - 2022
Injazat Data Systems
- Hired to take responsibility of a large scale government healthcare app behind schedule. Adapted the roadmap and followed up to achieve launch within the demanded timeline.
- Networked within and outside the company to acquire the resources needed for faster progress in a highly bureaucratic and regulated environment.
- Managed the relationships with third-party development agencies and internal departments to ensure alignment and timeline efficiency.
- Held a workshop on iterative human-centered design-based development to allow the team to proceed independently in evolving the product, maximizing product market fit in a mandated environment.
Product Manager – Digital Influencer Analysis Software
2021 - 2021
Digital Influence Inc.
- Created the B2B experience on top of a data analytics and learning tool designing and executing the roadmap.
- Participated in sales and partnership meetings as part of a go-to-market strategy.
- Designed and led an API MVP implementation, allowing partners to adopt the analytics tool.
- Hired and managed remote developer agency resources, integrating seamlessly with the existing team.
Product Manager
2020 - 2020
World of Naz
- Managed the creation of a fashion rental MVP based on Shopify.
- Defined SOPs (standard operating procedures) to streamline manual operations before proceeding to automation.
- Hired and managed developer talent in respect of client resources.
Technical Product Owner
2020 - 2020
Galton Voysey
- Automated manual operations allowing a Shopify business delivering custom printed certificates to be fully hands-off.
- Hired and managed developer talent and managed and guided existing design talent in a fully remote, global, and asynchronous team.
- Interacted with third parties to find solutions and agree on operations so that the client's business could be automated.
Technical Product Manager
2019 - 2020
B2G Global Strategies
- Discovered a much more efficient internal product solution than initially envisioned by the client, allowing the launch of a functional prototype much faster and at a much lower cost than thought.
- Created and delivered a prototype integrating existing free or low-cost tools, avoiding spending resources on software design and development.
- Delivered a prototype for non-tech-savvy business users, allowing reporting based on sentiment analysis of web articles with a roadmap and estimates on how to turn into a SaaS if wished.
New Ventures Technology Consultant at Innovation Accelerator
2017 - 2019
United Nations World Food Programme
- Designed and implemented a solution to digitalize malnutrition monitoring for children in remote developing locations with little network and electricity infrastructure.
- Traveled to remote locations, including a war zone, to gather information from users and stakeholders to ensure product success.
- Trained non-tech-savvy users in the usage of a new product.
- Managed multiple outsourced resources to ensure meeting of tight deadlines and budgets through a combination of Jira, Trello, SourceTree, and custom workflows.
- Won a GLOMO award for the digitalization of malnutrition in 2019 with the SCOPE CODA product.
- Mentored multiple startups going through the accelerator's boot camps on product strategy and development.
- Researched and advised on cutting-edge technology innovations such as blockchain and various artificial intelligence approaches and their feasibility in the scope of the innovation accelerator's operations in developing countries.
- Implemented and facilitated OKRs across the entire innovation accelerator departments teams that include different areas of work as well as locations.
Co-founder | VP of Engineering and Product
2015 - 2017
Woomio IVS
- Managed the product from inception towards product-market fit and profitability, continuously collaborating with the sales team.
- Pivoted from eCommerce omnichannel focus to influencer marketing in response to the market in the early days of the business.
- Defined the tools and methods in the company's working culture to keep operations fast and lean and improve internal communications.
- Implemented and facilitated OKRs to speed up operations.
- Hired developer and designer talent to match and fuel the company's growth.
- Launched product features as MVPs on top of core products, avoiding cannibalization and keeping existing users engaged.
- Raised funds from multiple high-profile Danish investors.
- Designed an Instagram analytics tool that spurred growth, attracting users to the Woomio platform.
Co-founder | CTO
2014 - 2016
Sharingear
- Acted as product manager researching the market and competition to identify needs and pains and eventually steering the startup towards potential product fit.
- Architected, developed, and launched a fully-featured two-sided online marketplace in three months.
- Hired developer talent and designed a developer experience and company culture that allowed junior developers to punch above their weight in a safe environment.
- Graduated from Startupbootcamp Mobile 2014 in Copenhagen.
- Received endorsement for the product from multiple known bands in the rock music scene.
Co-founder | Chief Design Officer
2011 - 2013
Snapp
- Helped clients define requested product features to be implemented to serve their best interest balancing context and available resources.
- Managed requested products and features, defining roadmaps, sprints, tests, and launches.
- Launched multiple apps and updates on existing products.
- Co-founded multiple startups as a service and part of our company offering.
- Produced user stories and wireframes, ensuring that all parties were in agreement on features to be developed.
- Worked with clients including Arla, Deloitte, and Kiloo.
Media Department Teaching Assistant
2010 - 2010
Aalborg University
- Taught students C and C++ programming languages focusing on immediate applicability.
- Introduced students to OpenCV computer vision programming.
- Adapted the programming course so that students would be equipped to create MVPs more than prototypes.
- Introduced students to OpenFrameworks graphical interface programming.
- Held a lecture on OpenCV and OpenFrameworks, allowing students to improve their projects and research work.
Project History
SCOPE CODA - Digital Malnutrition Management in Remote Locations
Led design and development of a solution that digitalizes children malnutrition management programs in developing countries.
SCOPE CODA digitalizes the children malnutrition management programs defined by WHO, UNICEF, and WFP. CODA stands for Conditional On-demand assistance. It is a data collection and assistance management platform that can operate in locations with poor network and electricity infrastructure. The project involved multiple stakeholders that needed access to data reports, from local doctors to regional and country-level government and organizations. It is designed to be used by users with little to no experience in operating technological systems. The solution was implemented as custom smartphone-like devices operated by local nurses, NFC cards that allowed mothers to transport the child's data, battery recharge and data synchronization operations, data dashboards and customizable malnutrition management program flows.
Woomio - Influencer Marketing Analytics
https://home.woomio.comPivoted the first iteration of the product to influencer marketing analytics resulting in market fit and profitability.
Woomio is an influencer marketing analytics and insights platform. It improves the relationship between brands and influencers empowering the operations of both parties. I managed the product and led the development team during the first years of the company. I led the startup to product-market fit via tight collaboration with the sales team, research, competition differentiation and multiple MVP launches of potential features of value.
Sharingear - P2P Gear Rental for the Music Industry
Took a two-sided platform from idea to market in three months with little to no resources.
Sharingear was a peer to peer musical instrument rental platform. With very limited resources I took the idea to market as a fully functional product within 3 months of the Startupbootcamp program. I managed the product, hired talent and managed development, besides architecting the system. I architected the system specifically to allow junior developers to punch above their weight and learn faster. For this, I designed a custom JavaScript framework that removed the need for deeper level knowledge and combined it with a rigorous deployment toolchain that ensured quality.
The fast product launch allowed us to gather interest from bigger players that fuelled the go-to-market strategy in the music industry via influence.
The fast product launch allowed us to gather interest from bigger players that fuelled the go-to-market strategy in the music industry via influence.
Education
2009 - 2011
Master's Degree in Media Technology, Design Specialization
Aalborg University - Aalborg, Denmark
2006 - 2009
Bachelor's Degree in Media Technology
Aalborg University - Aalborg, Denmark
2003 - 2006
Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology With Specialization in Systems and Networks
University of Turin - Turin, Italy
1998 - 2003
Perito Informatico (Information Technology Specialist) in Information Technology
ITIS C. Olivetti - Ivrea, Italy
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