Jayson Ambrose
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Toronto, ON, Canada
Toptal member since November 11, 2020
Jayson offers executive consulting services specializing in software product development. He helps companies improve their processes and manage the entire product lifecycle. With experience in digital advertising, streaming media, warehouse logistics, and financial services, Jayson brings a practical approach to solving complex technology challenges. He excels at guiding teams through user-centered design, efficient development, and successful product launches.
Project Highlights
Expertise
Work Experience
Fractional CPO
ShuffleSpace
- Collaborated with the senior leadership team to refine the product and engineering roadmap.
- Hired and led the product management and engineering functions.
- Implemented product development frameworks and engineering processes, including Scrum and DevOps.
- Oversaw the development of the core platform and automated invoicing systems.
Fractional CPO
Talking Sports NY LLC
- Worked directly with the founder to define, design, develop, and deploy a 24/7 Live Sports Talk Radio network.
- Deployed cloud-based media management and centralized live stream controls.
- Deployed the main website with a live audio feed behind a subscription paywall.
- Created a bespoke mobile app with streaming audio and in-app purchases.
Product Manager
Sports.Tv LLC - Main
- Conducted an in-depth competitive analysis of over a dozen industry leaders, including features, subscription pricing plans, and estimated audience.
- Worked with the design team to create wireframes and user-experience prototypes for a new over-the-top (OTT) sports streaming platform.
- Performed a comprehensive review of the development partner proposal, including the technical approach and timelines.
- Worked with the analytics team to define and enhance data collection tooling.
- Implemented AWS Elemental Media Services to support ingest and CDN redistribution of partner streams. This included support for catch-up experience, ad insertion, and analytics.
VP, Product Management and Development
Xtiva Financial Systems
- Revitalized the development of cloud-based strategic initiatives, resulting in product delivery to first enterprise customers in less than one year.
- Created and led strategy and roadmap that included buy-vs-build recommendations to optimize resource allocation and support revenue objectives.
- Managed and grew remote product development teams in Canada, the US, and Colombia.
- Launched the company’s first mobile experience for financial advisors.
Director, Product Management
Audience Partners (Acquired by Altice USA)
- Launched the company’s first B2C product from prototype to revenue in seven months. It was a self-serve ad-buying application that drove $1.5 million in revenue in its first year.
- Delivered multiple products to the enterprise market, including Time Warner and Charter Communications.
- Designed and implemented custom user analytics with Segment, AWS, and Confluence.
Senior Product Manager
500px (Acquired by Visual China Group)
- Led the core application development team through UX research, design, development, and deployment of new features and improvements.
- Led a growth team that increased visitor to sign-up conversion rate by 20%, sign-up to upgrade conversion rate by 30%, and revenue by 66% in Q2 2014.
- Improved agile processes and communication which led to manageable and predictable sprints.
Product Manager
Filemobile (Acquired by Newzulu)
- Launched 15 cross-platform products, including web, mobile, hyper-local, and flagship CMS.
- Managed products that established market leadership and delivered consistent revenue growth, including 50% in FY 2013.
- Improved project capacity over 100+ campaigns, reducing the average project time by up to 75%.
- Deployed projects for major broadcasters and media brands, including CBC, CTV, and FOX.
Project History
Platform for Warehouse Logistics Management
http://www.shufflespace.comLed all software design, development, and DevOps as a fractional CPO/CTO and lead programmer.
CUSTOMER INTERFACE
• "Virtual warehouse" with detailed inventory management
• Intuitive order creation for retrievals and returns
• Real-time tracking of order status and item locations
INTERNAL OPERATIONS
• Sophisticated data model for diverse item types
• Hierarchical location management for optimal space use
• Comprehensive task management module
• User-friendly interface for warehouse staff
• Comprehensive audit trail system
• Advanced reporting and analytics with custom dashboards
The core platform streamlines operations, enhances inventory accuracy, and improves efficiency. It addresses complex full-service storage needs with granular asset management and location tracking. The system focuses on user experience, data integrity, and operational transparency, enabling effective item management for both customers and staff. By integrating sophisticated inventory management with intuitive interfaces, the platform aims to set new standards in warehouse technology for the full-service storage industry.
Data Integration (iPaaS) for Financial Services Platform
Led the analysis of data integration needs, vendor selection, and implementation of an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) for cloud-based financial services products as the VP of product management and development.
After assessing our current and future data needs, the pace of change in standards, and the opportunity cost of developing and maintaining ETL in code, we decided to integrate a full-featured service with our core platform. This would allow us to focus on leveraging our differentiated skills to take advantage of valuable opportunities.
With a robust integration sub-system in place, we used our deep knowledge of industry data to add dozens of new sources to support new customers while committing the bulk of our engineering team to work on our core technology.
24/7 Live Sports Talk Streaming Radio Network
Worked as a fractional CPO/CTO and designed and implemented a comprehensive automation system for a live sports talk radio network, integrating remote production, live streaming, and content management.
The back-end infrastructure utilized Firebase for web server functions, including a React admin portal for content management. The core of the system was a master automation server on Google Cloud, handling live streaming, archive scheduling, and complex automation tasks. This server connected remote virtual studios and mixed streams and managed encoding and distribution. A disaster recovery plan with deployable server images ensured system resilience.
The project included a virtual studio setup, enabling remote production with professional-grade tools. It included IP voice switching for call-ins and a web-based mixer.
Overall, the project delivered a comprehensive solution integrating user-facing platforms, robust back-end systems, and sophisticated automation to create a seamless experience for both producers and listeners of the sports talk network.
Automated Customer Invoicing for Warehouse Logistics Services
http://www.shufflespace.comLed all software design, development, and DevOps as a fractional CPO/CTO and lead programmer.
KEY FEATURES
• Customized pricing for each customer, handling various models like tiered storage, variable rates, and time-based pricing.
• Interfaces with the core platform for real-time location data, capturing storage usage and additional services.
• Manages multi-tiered account hierarchies with flexible invoicing options (consolidated, separate, or hybrid).
• Allows input of additional line items, customer-specific discounts, and automatic rush order cost calculation.
• Web interface with comprehensive search, dynamic summaries, drill-down views, and automated flagging of unusual charges.
• Enables editing of generated charges while maintaining an auditable history.
• Xero integration: One-click transfer of approved invoices to Xero, with two-way synchronization for payment status updates.
• Extensive reporting: Generates customizable reports on storage utilization, account onboarding, audits, and profitability analysis.
The platform streamlines financial operations by automating complex invoicing processes, supporting flexible pricing structures, and offering tools for financial analysis.
Audience Segmentation Tool for Digital Ad Targeting
Led the design and development of an audience segmentation and media planning platform that led to an acquisition.
Our initial focus was on political campaign managers—a savvy group of operators, but not technical power users.
We conducted interviews that quickly produced a prioritized list of valuable, measurable outcomes that we believed could significantly improve our product.
Next, we mapped specific product metrics to those outcomes and partnered with engineering to iterate on designs quickly. We created low-fidelity prototypes to validate key assumptions and refined the experience through interactive usability tests. Through this process, we discovered a significant unmet need in the market that we were uniquely positioned to solve.
Focusing on specific high-value outcomes, taking a disciplined approach to design, and working closely with engineering resulted in a clearly differentiated product that was immediately successful in the marketplace and ultimately led to an acquisition.
OTT Sports Video App - Omniplatform
https://sports.tvLed the design and development of sports streaming app for web, iOS, Android, AppleTV, GoogleTV, Amazon FireTV, and Roku.
User and Revenue Growth for Photography Marketplace
https://500px.comLed a growth team at a VC-backed startup resulting in significant increases to sign-up and subscription conversion rates.
As a senior product manager, I led a small team with the mandate of increasing user sign-ups and upgrades to paid memberships. Experiments included CTA position and copy to increase CTRs, improved onboarding process to increase engagement, and targeted emails to resurrect churned users.
Our process included:
• Analytics tooling in core application
• Configuration of Google Analytics and Mixpanel for funnel and cohort analysis
• Baseline reporting and analysis to produce hypotheses
• Experiment design and prioritization
• Implementation of Optimizely to conduct A/B testing
The result was a significant increase in our target metrics, including the new MRR.
Certifications
Scrum Product Owner Certified (SPOC)
Scrum Alliance
Practical Product Management
Pragmatic Marketing
New Product Development Certificate
Schulich Executive Education Centre
Marketing Management Certificate
Schulich Executive Education Centre
Skills
Tools
Jira, Jira, Google Analytics, Optimizely, ETL, Stripe Development, MongoDB, Xero Development
Paradigms
Usability Testing, Agile Product Management, Agile Product Management, Agile Product Management, Scrum Master Consulting, Agile Product Management, Rapid Prototyping, Requirements Analysis, B2B2C, Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C), Design Thinking, B2C, Gamification Design, Key Performance Metrics, CRO, DevOps
Industry Expertise
High-tech Startups, Professional Services, Music, iPaaS, Financial Services, Premium Content Subscriptions
Platforms
Mixpanel, Apple TV, Android TV, Firebase, Linux
Other
Product Strategy, Process Improvement, Agile Product Delivery, Jobs to be Done (JTBD), Outcome-driven Innovation (ODI), Product Analytics, Team Leadership, Product Roadmaps, Product Development, UX Development, B2B Product Management, SaaS Product Management, Product Management, Software Implementation Consulting, Documentation, Product Owners, Analytics Development, Agile Team Leadership, Client Management, Communication Coaching, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Roadmaps, Technical Support, Technical Product Management, Product Launch Strategy, Business to Business (B2B), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Product Requirements Documentation (PRD), Team Management, Minimum Viable Product (MVP), UX Development, Wireframe to Product, Wireframing, Social Networks, Social Media Marketing, Product Ownership, Cost Estimation, Digital Product Management, Project Budget Management, Project Planning, Remote Team Leadership, Resource Allocation, Virtual Product Management, Hiring, Multimedia, Web Platforms, Prototyping, Scope, Scope of Work (SOW), Software Consulting, B2B Product Management, SaaS Product Management, App Product Management, Business Process Re-engineering, UX Development, Media, UX Development, Requirements & Specifications, User Stories, Videos, Feature Roadmaps, SaaS Product Management, Technical Product Management, Estimation & Planning, Estimations, Project Estimation, Feature Planning, User Flow Design, App UX, Customer-centered Product Development, Product Discovery, Design Strategy, Product Operations, SWOT Analysis, User Feedback, Business Transformation, Business Consultant, Structure & Organizational Design, Organizational Development, Dashboard, Data Analysis, Client Relations, Customer Journeys, Process Mapping, Workflow, Leadership, Business Operations, Enterprise Development, Senior Executive Management, Fractional CTO, Google Cloud Development, Tech Stacks, Design Consulting, Web Product Management, API Integration, Mentorship & Coaching, Product Leadership, Risk Analysis, Use Case Analysis, Vendor Selection, Segment.io, Product Development, Growth Product Management, APIs, Integration, Vendor Management, Business Analysis Consulting, IT Business Analysis, Product Design, UX Development, REST API, Technical Direction, Technical Leadership, Technical Product Management, Technical Requirements, Process Analysis, UX Development, Business Process Consulting, Process Design, Business Modeling, Business Process Modeling, Systems Analysis, Business Systems Analysis, New Business Development, Startup Development, Early-stage Startups, Startup Consulting, Lean Startups, Discovery Workshops, Market Research Analyst, Market Strategy and Research Product Manager, Mobile Apps, Mobile App Design, Technical Hiring, Technical Architecture, Two-sided Marketplaces, SEO Tools, SEO, Video Streaming, Advertising Management, Business Intelligence Development, Data Science Product Management, Engineering Management, Business to Consumer (B2C), Interim CPOs, Management Consultants, Operational Efficiency Improvement, Operations Management, Operations Research, DataViz, Data Visualization, Online Payments, Software Design, SQL, Cohort Analysis, Multivariate Testing, User Onboarding, Onboarding UX Design, Lean Experiments, Data Science Product Management, UX Development, Funnel Analysis, Database, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Business Process Automation, Business Modeling, Data Integration, Cloud Platforms, Fintech Development, iOS, Google TV, Roku, Android, Cryptocurrency, Dashboard Development, Subscriptions, Audio Streaming, Database Modeling, Web Product Management, Mobile App Design, Conceptualization, Stripe Development, Ionic 4, Partner Management, Next.js, Google Cloud Functions, Google Storage Development, Google Cloud Compute, In-app Purchases, Data Architecture, Node.js, React.js, AI Product Management, Wealth Management
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