Christopher Pruijsen, Product Manager in Lisbon, Portugal
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Christopher Pruijsen

Verified Expert  in Product Management

Product Manager

Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Toptal Member Since
December 17, 2018

Christopher is a senior product manager with eight years of experience and a business and technical background. He has managed more than 100 software products for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 100 enterprises, primarily based in the US. Previously he co-founded an edtech startup, a nonprofit which organized hackathons in 15 African nations, a B-corp software agency with 25 staff, and a platform that enabled teachers in Mexico to crowdfund projects for more than 8,000 students.

Project Highlights

E-learning Digital Transformation at Prudential Corporation Asia
Led a ±20-person team in creating e-learning experiences and digital training materials for over 600,000 insurance agents, staff, and trainers across eight countries, as part of a successful COVID-19-accelerated digital transformation effort.
Custom E-learning Portal and IoT Microcontroller for Code Education
Led product design and development of a microcontroller for K-12 code education, partnered with the world's largest media broadcaster.
Behavior Change Health App
Redesigned the core UX for a leading Series-A UK-based health app and scaled 600,000+ users with the NHS as a customer.

Expertise

Work Experience

Co-founder | Head of Product

2018 - 2019
Da-Mas.org
  • Created scalable processes for our partner charity, Teach for Mexico, to follow the implementation of Da-Mas.org technology in their country.
  • Managed the full cycle of product discovery, roadmap (development and prioritization), design, and implementation (with one of my co-founders handling development and the other handling corporate fundraising).
  • Co-founded an organization that funded 130+ projects worth more than US$100,000 for schools in Mexico.
  • Advised the team in Mexico on the day-to-day platform implementation including process design, Agile coaching, and training.
  • Managed the project handover to the partner charity in late 2019 (partner decided to sunset the technology).

Software Architect | Product Manager

2017 - 2018
An Online Freelance Agency
  • Managed enterprise software development projects with globally distributed teams (designers and developers) for several US-based clients (including Fortune 500).
  • Oversaw and was responsible for software architecture and product and project management.
  • Acted as an agile coach for the design/engineering team and client stakeholders.
  • Managed the product requirement documents (PRDs) and interviewed stakeholders to ensure requirements alignment.
  • Ensured compliance of process and product for enterprise customers with strict/complex requirements.

Co-founder | CEO | Product Manager

2017 - 2018
Homies.io
  • Co-founded a software agency as a public benefit corporation, where we spent 50% of our time pro-bono or heavily discounted working on impact projects.
  • Grew the agency to 25 consultants at its peak, in a hybrid on-site (Austin, TX) and remote format.
  • Worked with notable clients including Handup.org, King.com, Outdoorsy, Orthly, Noson.io, and Netramark.

Technical Project Manager

2016 - 2017
Udacity
  • Worked remotely as part of the founding team for Udacity Blitz, a small division that created a software agency model on top of the core $2+ billion Udacity educational business.
  • Created internal products fully from the product ideation, design, development, to the final launch.
  • Managed client projects across IoT, fintech, health tech, VR, and more.
  • Researched the market and competition, interviewed customers to generate compelling user stories.
  • Provided strategic input to the company, from prior market experience and new research, in the design of the agency business unit.

Product Manager

2015 - 2016
An Online Freelance Agency
  • Managed projects worth more than US$2.5 million for the agency, with 50+ designers and developers under management at any given time.
  • Rated in the top 1% amongst 600+ contractors on the platform based on client satisfaction and team reviews.
  • Oversaw and was responsible for both product and project management on client projects.
  • Gained experience across industries (fintech, edtech, healthcare, marketplaces, social, IoT, and so on), company stages (bootstrapped startups through Fortune 500), and platforms (web, mobile, hardware).
  • Worked remotely with a globally distributed team spanning California/PST through to Australian timezones, and everything in between.

Co-founder | Partner

2013 - 2015
StartupBus Africa
  • Co-founded a nonprofit that organized hackathons on buses across sub-Saharan Africa. The nonprofit ended-up scaling to 16 countries under the name Ampion.org. My previous startup, Sterio.me, started on the first edition of StartupBus Africa.
  • Oversaw and was responsible for partnerships with co-working spaces, startup/founder networks, and conferences across the continent.
  • Created a mentor network so that participants could receive guidance on their ideas during (and after) the five-day event.

Co-founder | CEO

2013 - 2015
Sterio.me
  • Oversaw and was responsible for fundraising, hiring, the product, and more as the CEO of a small startup (ten people at our peak).
  • Was featured on the BBC, Guardian, WIRED, El Mercurio, and more.
  • Won various awards, was part of Start-Up Chile, WISE Accelerator, and was accepted to the Unreasonable Institute Global.
  • Created technology that enabled teachers to send homework to students' mobile phones using SMS and IVR technology so that students in our market of Lesotho could access content using feature phones (and no internet).
  • Gained experience in education technology, mobile, and web applications as well as startups in the Latin American and African markets.

E-learning Digital Transformation at Prudential Corporation Asia

https://www.prudentialcorporation-asia.com/corp/prudential-pca/en/

Led a ±20-person team in creating e-learning experiences and digital training materials for over 600,000 insurance agents, staff, and trainers across eight countries, as part of a successful COVID-19-accelerated digital transformation effort.

As the interim team lead and PM for PruExpert Labs at Prudential Corporation Asia, I led the unit to create e-learning experiences and digital training materials for more than 600,000 insurance agents, staff, and trainers across eight countries, as part of a successful COVID-19-accelerated digital transformation effort. This involved coordinating with 50+ stakeholders, managing and coordinating an extended team of ±20, and touching the realms of people, project, product, and program management. This was a nine-month full-time remote Toptal engagement.

Custom E-learning Portal and IoT Microcontroller for Code Education

http://hifiveinventor.com

Led product design and development of a microcontroller for K-12 code education, partnered with the world's largest media broadcaster.

I led a team of senior designers and engineers to create two products: an IoT microcontroller for K-12 code education and a custom e-learning platform built with scalability and compliance in mind on AWS.

The work was done full-time for a California-based Toptal client over nine months. At that point, both products saw a successful launch (a learning platform used internally by the business with its customers, and the microcontroller saw its first production run sold out at launch).

On the industrial design side (casing, packaging), I collaborated with the very talented Gen Suzuki, who, among others, designed the core Casper and PillPack product lines. In collaboration with Rolf Jensen, an award-winning art director, we created custom studio footage and animations with an international market angle, including market research to ensure our brand appealed to the intended core demographics.
The work was done in 2019.

Behavior Change Health App

http://changinghealth.com

Redesigned the core UX for a leading Series-A UK-based health app and scaled 600,000+ users with the NHS as a customer.

The application is a leading behavior change app targeted at prediabetics, helping them lose weight and adopt a healthier lifestyle through diet and exercise changes.

I joined the team post-Series A as a consultant to help them turn their proof of concept into a scalable product. This included reworking their customer experience, analytics setup, notifications, customer service flows, internationalization, and a comprehensive white labeling strategy.

Based on my contribution, the company implemented a number of changes that enabled it to win a national contract with the NHS (the UK, 600,000 users) and three private insurers (the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK). The work was done in 2019.

Project/Product Management for Early Childhood Education App

http://savvyreading.com

Helped the bootstrapped startup define, prioritize, refine, and execute the product roadmap, enabling scaling to over $2 million ARR. Implemented project management processes for a 10+ person organization, including a fully scalable Notion system.

Savvyreading is an early childhood education service offering remote reading skills coaching in individual and group formats. Savvy was started in late 2020 and has scaled to over $2m ARR by the time I left, without external funding.

Da-Mas.org

https://www.facebook.com/damas.org.mx

Led the product design and development for Da-mas.org which raised $100,000+ in funding for Mexican schools in 2018-19.

Da-Mas.org was a crowdfunding platform that enabled teachers to fund projects in their classrooms via donations from corporate and individual donors, launched in partnership with Teach for Mexico.

Sterio.me

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jan/02/homework-goes-mobile-for-secondary-school-pupils-in-lesotho

Led the product development and strategy for Sterio.me—an award-winning education startup that operated (2013-15) in Lesotho.

Sterio.me saves teachers time by automating the homework process from preparation, distribution, and marking to administration, and improves access to relevant out of classroom learning reinforcement materials for learners. Sterio.me is accessible via basic phone/SMS, no internet required, and we also have an Android/web product for contexts with more access to technology. Architected and build a custom LMS within the company, to support K-12 SMS, IVR and mobile app-based homework flows. The company grew to about ten staff members at its peak.

Awards and Funding:
• Finalist of SXSW Launch EDU 2015
• Nominee for Young Mobile Innovator of the Year—GSMA Global Mobile Awards 2015
• The winning project in "Education for All"​ at the UN World Summit Youth Award 2014
• Second place: World Summit Award: African Content + Education 2014
• Start-Up Chile (Gen X) and 1% Club Awardee
• World Innovation Summit in Education (WISE) Accelerator

Ampion.org | StartupBus Africa

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-25139586

Co-founded a nonprofit initiative that organized hackathons on buses across 16+ African countries between 2013-15.

I co-founded FounderBus UK and StartupBus Africa (which turned into Ampion.org). They held hackathons on buses through various cities, with a focus on regional impact.

I helped form and shape teams, defined strategy, enrolled mentors, speakers, partners, and sponsors, and assisted in recruitment and marketing efforts for all three organizations during their founding periods.

The Founderbus UK in December 2012, in collaboration with four European StartupBuses, was a big success, ending at the Le Web startup competition. FounderBus and StartupBus have since merged.

The first-ever StartupBus Africa 18-22 November 2013 (Africa.startupbus.com/) from Harare, Zimbabwe to Cape Town, South Africa (2,500KM, via Johannesburg) was a phenomenal success. See below for some of the press about the bus (BBC, CNN, Deutsche Welle, Berliner Zeitung, and more).

Later, established as a nonprofit in 2014, AMPION (Ampion.org) organized four venture buses across 14 countries with 160 participants in 2014, and in 2015, we ran five buses in 15 countries with 200 participants. The most promising ventures were incubated with help from mentors, partners, and investors.
2019 - 2021

Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Business Administration

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (OneMBA) - Rotterdam, Mexico City, Miami, Sao Paolo, Xiamen

2016 - 2016

Advanced Software Engineering Immersive in Software Engineering

Hack Reactor - San Francisco, CA, USA

2010 - 2012

Coursework Toward a Master of Arts Degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

University of Oxford - Oxford, United Kingdom

AUGUST 2020 - PRESENT

Amplitude Certified Implementation Expert

Amplitude

JUNE 2020 - PRESENT

Amplitude Certified Insights Expert

Amplitude

APRIL 2020 - APRIL 2022

Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)

Scrum Alliance

APRIL 2020 - APRIL 2022

Certified Scrum Master

Scrum Alliance

MARCH 2019 - MARCH 2020

Google Analytics Individual Qualification

Google

JANUARY 2019 - PRESENT

Segment Certified Partner

Segment.com

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