Daniel Harman
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Toptal member since September 4, 2019
Daniel is an experienced entrepreneur and product manager with an international career that included seven years as VP of product for both large corporations and startups. He led a startup to a successful acquisition and founded the product development consultancy, Digital Product Labs. Daniel's extensive product career experience has given him a deep understanding of product management, leadership, strategy, startups, and eCommerce businesses.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Agile Leadership
- Branding
- Business to Consumer (B2C)
- Pets
- Product-market Fit
- Responsive Web Design (RWD)
- Strategy
- Web Design
Work Experience
Founder | Principal
Growth Friday
- Founded Growth Friday, a Los Angeles and Miami-based digital marketing agency focused on delivering affordable and effective digital marketing services for small to medium-sized businesses.
- Self-funded a business and grew revenue from $0 to $6,000 monthly recurring within the first two months of operation. Current revenue: $74,000 MRR. Managed a team of two FTEs and five freelancers, focused on scaling business and servicing our clients.
- Productized digital marketing onboarding and strategy implementation via extensive use of AI, allowing the team to scale the business without my direct involvement.
Founder | Principal
Digital Product Labs
- Provided product leadership to a variety of startups, fast-growing businesses, and larger corporate clients across banking, finance, insurance, retail, and wagering verticals.
- Was responsible for the development and execution of product strategy and product roadmaps for various B2B and B2C clients.
- Led the product design, requirements, and development of various B2C and B2B products, for both SaaS and desktop applications.
- Ran remote agile teams in the development of SaaS products, including skillset identification, hiring, and provision of self-sufficient product development teams.
- Assisted startups to successfully achieve funding through the production of internal business cases and external pitch decks.
- Advised founders and other executives on product direction as a member of the leadership team for various projects.
- Led GTM product strategy and execution for B2C and B2B SaaS businesses within the fintech, banking, and finance space.
- Evaluated and restructured project and product teams to improve product development velocity and roadmap execution within larger/corporate businesses.
Product Development Expert
Ricoh Corporation - Intelligent Business Platform
- Led the product strategy on-site workshop with the Ricoh executives for SaaS modernization.
- Reviewed existing product strategy and made recommendations.
- Presented to senior Ricoh executives in relationship to recommended approach to modernize their platform.
User Research Product Manager | Freelance
Teach Starter
- Led the research and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative research conducted by Teach Starter (prior to engagement).
- Elicited insights and observations from qualitative and quantitative research data; evaluated and made recommendations in regard to the Teach Starter product, market fit, and growth opportunities.
- Presented observations and recommendations to the Teach Starter executive team, and then the entire product and design team (including a workshop to dive deeper into findings).
User Research Product Manager | Freelance
Teach Starter
- Led the research and analysis of both qualitative and quantitative research conducted by Teach Starter (prior to engagement).
- Elicited insights and observations from qualitative and quantitative research data; evaluated and made recommendations in regard to the Teach Starter product, market fit, and growth opportunities.
- Presented observations and recommendations to the Teach Starter executive team, and then the entire product and design team (including a workshop to dive deeper into findings).
Product Advisor | Freelance
My Xplor Pty Ltd
- Led the product evaluation of Xplor's suite of edtech products, against the products of their largest competitors. Product evaluation included web and mobile product breakdowns, UX review, and product-market fit.
- Designed, developed, and ran customer development across four educational groups including customer interviews of around 40 educators and users of Xplor's products. Findings aggregated, recommendations made.
- Mentored and coached Xplor's product team including the VP of product. Restructured how Xplor evaluates product opportunities and implemented a more efficient product development lifecycle.
- Presented findings and recommendations to the Xplor leadership team and board; successfully gained approval for further product development of their newest product - Xplor Playground.
Head of Product | Freelance
Tyro
- Owned the product vision, strategy, and roadmap of Tyro’s POS API platform and marketplace known as Tyro Connect (https://www.tyro.com/products/tyro-connect/).
- Delivered Tyro Connect’s first product within three months of leadership (within a project that, to that date, hadn't delivered a product for over four years).
- Restructured the development team to allow a more aggressive product development timeline—without sacrificing quality.
- Led the successful partnership agreements with Uber Eats, Deliver, DoorDash, and OpenTable for Tyro Connect.
- Presented at Tyro Board meetings and achieved continued support for Tyro Connect.
- Assisted with the recruitment, hiring, and mentoring of full-time roles as the head of product at Tyro Connect.
VP of Product
Whistle
- Owned Whistle’s product strategy and roadmap, reporting to the co-founder and COO.
- Led product to Whistle's acquisition by Mars, Inc. in 2017.
- Launched B2C Whistle GPS (http://www.whistle.com) hardware and software products to the $60 billion US pet market.
- Owned customer acquisition and retention of Whistle circa 60,000 subscription business (over $6 million ARR).
- Led all product development and execution efforts for a soon-to-be-launched third-generation Whistle GPS.
- Owned the UX/UI and product design of Whistle's mobile apps.
- Owned Whistle’s product software and hardware beta program.
- Built, led, and mentored a team of five product professionals.
- Spearheaded the team's P&L, budget, and forecasting.
- Participated as a member of the leadership team, regularly presenting to the company, board, investors, and partners.
Director of Product
Nitro Software, Inc
- Led a team of five product professionals responsible for Nitro Pro’s product strategy, roadmap, and implementation.
- Was responsible for the product roadmap of Nitro’s most profitable product, Nitro Pro (gonitro.com/pro).
- Launched Nitro Pro as a SaaS (gonitro.com/cloud) offering.
- Mentored and led a team of five product professionals.
- Presented to company, board, and investors on a regular basis.
Head of Product (VP)
Tabcorp
- Was responsible for the strategy, development, and execution of Tatt’s digital sports products. Reported directly to the Group CEO.
- Led vendor due diligence, selection, and implementation of Tatts Group’s (now Tabcorp) sport wagering platform for circa $100 million ARR.
- Was responsible for the development and execution of uBet’s product strategy across both digital and physical retail environments.
- Spearheaded the business case development, ROI analysis, budgeting, approval, and execution of key projects that supported the digital strategy.
- Led, coached, and mentored Tatts Group’s product teams of circa 15 cross-functional product professionals.
Product Strategy Director
iSelect
- Was responsible for iSelect’s innovation and product strategy across all online digital assets (web, mobile, enterprise), reporting to the CIO.
- Led the delivery of product roadmaps of $35 million comparison service.
- Delivered a supplier connection service with service providers.
- Oversaw the emerging technology analysis, evaluation, and implementation.
- Drove a culture of innovation and experimentation, including the establishment of a dedicated innovation and strategy team.
Project History
Xplor EdTech Customer Development / Research
Designed, developed and led the most in-depth customer research project that Xplor have completed to date.
Xplor is Australia’s leading EdTech business specializing in early-childhood center software for both Educators and families. I was hired to evaluate the current product suite, review and analyze their main competitor products, and then develop and run a customer development research piece of work with around 40 existing customers.
Tyro Connect Payments App Platform
Restructured the team, re-aligned product roadmap, and led the product delivery of Tyro's app platform, "Tyro Connect."
Tyro Connect is a new enterprise middleware platform developed by Tyro Payments, Ltd. It was designed to help their hospitality/retail payment merchants easily integrate their point-of-sale business systems into popular consumer apps such as Uber Eats, Google Food, Deliveroo, and DoorDash.
After three years of product delivery challenges, I joined the Tyro team (onsite in Sydney, Australia) and determined where the problems lay, restructured the team, defined/re-aligned the product roadmap, and delivered the technology.
Whistle 3 GPS Pet Tracker
Led the product design and development of Whistle's newest GPS pet tracking device and America's number one GPS pet tracker.
While I was vice president of product for Whistle in San Francisco, I was responsible for the product strategy, design, and development of the newest Whistle device, Whistle 3. Designed to be more reliable, smaller in physical design, and with much-improved battery life, Whistle 3 was successfully released in early 2017, achieving a PCMag’s Editors Choice award.
Saas Web Solution for Auto Shops
Founded, bootstrapped, designed, and developed Auto Shop Digital, a SaaS web solution for auto repair shops.
My frustration with the poor quality of the vast majority of auto repair shop’s digital web presence brought to life this on-going side project. Auto Shop Digital is a SaaS solution for auto shops, allowing shops to have a modern, professionally designed website for their business, coupled with a personalized marketing plan, at a fraction of the cost to have a custom-designed website produced by an agency.
eCommerce Shop for Jeansly Motorcycle Apparel
Founded an online motorcycle clothing business that achieved a $10,000 monthly recurring revenue within the first six months.
Jeansly was a side project that was driven by my passion for motorcycles and eCommerce. I founded the business, designed the motorcycle clothing line, and built the eCommerce solution. Post-launch, I was solely responsible for the product marketing and customer acquisition channels.
Motorcycle Rides Application
Founded, built, and later sold Australia's number one GPS motorcycle riding app on iOS and Android.
A side project aimed at making motorcycle riding more social—Motorcycle Rides was a website and iOS and Android application that had Australia’s most extensive documented collection of great roads to enjoy riding, alone, or with a group.
The Stable - Classic Car Rental
Ideated, developed, designed, and launched The Stable, a classic car rental and travel business based in Los Angeles, CA.
We are a small, eclectic team of passionate creatives and car enthusiasts. Cars, motorcycles, design, food, and travel are the common threads that brought us together to create The Stable. This intersection of passions is what fuels The Stable, the philosophy that an immersive experience designed around a classic car of timeless design is an event that all should enjoy at least once in their lives.
Education
Postgraduate Degree in Software Development
RMIT University - Melbourne, Australia
Honor's Degree in Finance
Oxford Brookes University - Oxford, UK
Bachelor's Degree in Finance
Oxford Brookes University - Oxford, UK
Skills
Tools
Microsoft Project, Atlassian, Trello, Confluence, Jira
Paradigms
Agile Product Management, Desktop Web Design, Quantitative Research, Agile, Scrum, Agile Project Management, Marketplace Platforms, Requirements Analysis, B2C, Kanban, User Testing
Industry Expertise
Financial Services, Pets, Automotive, Education Technology (Edtech), Consumer Finance, Healthcare, Insurance, Hospitality, Insurance Technology (Insurtech), Sports, Entertainment & Leisure
Other
SaaS, Enterprise SaaS, Technical Product Management, eCommerce, Agile Product Delivery, eCommerce UI, Mobile UX, Mobile eCommerce, Product Management, Digital Product Management, Digital Project Management, User Experience (UX), Lean Product Manager, B2B Product Management, User Interviews, Market Research, Product-market Fit, Wireframe to Product, Product Leadership, User Research, Customer Analysis, Feature Planning, Pricing, Fintech, Remote Team Leadership, Remote Work, Go-to-market Plans, Software, Consulting, Product Development, Product Ownership, Startups, Web Applications, Prototyping, Content Management Systems (CMS), Mobile, Jobs to be Done (JTBD), Qualitative Research, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), Finance, Entrepreneurship, Lean Product Development, Validation, Product Strategy, Product Roadmaps, Product Vision, New Product Development, App Product Management, Strategy, SEO Tools, Google SEO, Local SEO, Product Strategy Consultant, Web Design, Software as a Service (SaaS), Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), Customer Discovery, Competition Research, Project Management, Objectives & Key Results (OKRs), Process Flows, Conversion, Feature Prioritization, Customer Success, Customer Service, Customer Experience, Stakeholder Management, Business to Consumer (B2C), Cost Estimation, Requirements & Specifications, Technology, Discovery, Scope of Work (SOW), Product Owner, Cross-functional Team Leadership, Websites, Product Positioning, Software Consulting, Web Development, Cars, Startup Consulting, Wireframing, Product Design, Roadmaps, Feature Backlog Prioritization, Project Timelines, Project Scoping, Web, Product Delivery, Product Coach, User Requirements, Product Planning, Web UX, Product Consultant, MVP Design, Feature Roadmaps, Project Budget Management, Monetization Models, Scope, Go-to-market (GTM) Strategy, Business Analysis, User Stories, Reporting, Business Strategy, Educational Platform Design, Business Transformation, Digital Transformation, Business Planning, Pitch Decks, Business Models, Fintech Consultant, Portfolio Management, Senior Executive Management, Agile Leadership, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Redesign, UX Wireframes, Competitor Analysis & Profiling, Vendor Selection, Product Launch, Web Platforms, Go-to-market Optimization, User Journeys, Conceptualization, Ideation, Mockups, Market Assessment, Product Marketing, Launch Strategy, Startup Funding, iOS, Android, Web App Development, Mobile Applications, Mobile Apps, Marketing, Airtable, Learning Management Systems (LMS), Branding, Responsive Web Design (RWD), UX Design, Transformational Leadership, Solution Architecture, Know Your Customer (KYC), Financials, Online Banking, Data Privacy, System Integration, International Finance, Service Design, Operational Workflow, Budgeting, Feasibility Studies, Gambling, Gaming, Travel & Leisure, APIs, Web Portals, API Integration, App Integration, GPS, Apps, Market Research & Analysis, Analytics, Web Analytics, Google My Business, Small Business, Small Business Management, Software Development, Dating Apps, Discovery Workshops, Architecture, Workshop Facilitation, Cloud Architecture, SaaS Design, Printing
How to Work with Toptal
Toptal matches you directly with global industry experts from our network in hours—not weeks or months.
Share your needs
Choose your talent
Start your risk-free talent trial
Top talent is in high demand.
Start hiring