Rob Calvert, Product Manager in London, United Kingdom
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Rob Calvert

Verified Expert  in Product Management

Product Manager

Location
London, United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since
October 2, 2019

Rob validates, launches, and grows digital products for startups and global organizations. He hits the ground running, bringing hands-on experience in engineering, design, and multiple business contexts. Rob makes the complex simple, drives business decisions through customer insights and data, and leads teams to deliver exceptional results in tight timeframes. He also holds an MA from the University of Cambridge.

Project Highlights

MVP Delivery for a Fintech
Led the successful delivery of a complex mobile MVP after three failed attempts by the organization.
MVP Delivery and Growth for an eCommerce Startup
Delivered a significant evolution of an eCommerce startup, launching in ten weeks and leading to a 10x growth in year one.
Evolution of a Big Data Product
Defined and delivered significant improvements to a big data product, securing the initial sales in the public sector.

Expertise

Work Experience

Product Advisor

2019 - PRESENT
UserReplay
  • Set foundations for a best-practice product function.
  • Hired, onboarded, and coached the product team.
  • Provided ongoing strategic advice during a pivotal period for the business.

Head of Product (Interim)

2019 - 2020
Saberr
  • Overhauled the prioritization process and overall product methodology.
  • Conducted 30+ customer discovery interviews to successfully pivot product and commercial strategy.
  • Led multiple design sprints to rapidly identify and test product improvements.
  • Conducted solution interviews to validate B2B propositions.

Lead Product Manager

2018 - 2019
Idean
  • Seconded as the interim head of product to a fintech funded by a leading global bank.
  • Spearheaded the first launch of the mobile product by leading a product development team of 30+.
  • Served as a product and delivery manager for a big-data product targeting the public sector and B2B, spearheading initial launch.
  • Developed a proposition for a household UK company to inform their go-to-market strategy in the US.
  • Overhauled the product management recruitment processes, increasing the quality of candidates hired.
  • Provided mentorship, talks, and training to promote product management within the agency.

Managing Director | Lead Product Manager

2009 - 2018
Mighty Sharp
  • Led 50+ digital projects, spanning eCommerce, marketplaces, mobile, third sector, and novel web applications.
  • Took projects from an initial idea to fully realized products—writing the requirements, overseeing the build, release, and subsequent growth.
  • Worked with a variety of clients included YouGov, BAFTA, JP Morgan, and the United Nations.
  • Partnered in the latter years with five early-stage startups to deliver MVPs and support future growth.
  • Delivered 10x growth for an early-stage eCommerce startup.
  • Built marketing website in six weeks that delivered 1,000,000 product impressions in one week with a marketing budget of zero.
  • Led the commercial strategy and company from inception, growing from a bedroom project to a £1 million run rate at the time of closing.

MVP Delivery for a Fintech

Led the successful delivery of a complex mobile MVP after three failed attempts by the organization.

My client was a fintech, offering a unique B2B product. It was a spin-out from a global bank, backed by an 8-figure investment.

The organization was a mix of internal and external staff, and at my time of appointment had missed three internal launch deadlines spanning 12 months. The technical infrastructure included an ML-driven decision engine, an API platform designed to support multiple ventures, and a data lake.

My role was to lead the product development team (comprised of 30 product managers, designers, and engineers), and—alongside the incoming CTO—ensure the next high-profile launch deadline was met.

With only one day to prepare, I steered the product development team through a period of significant turmoil—increasing delivery cadence, vastly improving the process, and rebuilding faith between product and the rest of the organization.

We successfully launched the product on time, and immediately begin work on improvements steered by customer feedback.

Beyond delivery, I onboarded four new product managers (supporting directly when needed), defined a first data strategy, and coached internal stakeholders on the key principles of building a product-led startup.

MVP Delivery and Growth for an eCommerce Startup

Delivered a significant evolution of an eCommerce startup, launching in ten weeks and leading to a 10x growth in year one.

The eCommerce startup Market Porter offered high-quality food through subscriptions and traditional eCommerce.

Following a successful proof of concept, the founders raised a 7-figure investment and approached me to overhaul to the existing brand and website and provide a platform for future growth.

Leading a blended team of six, I delivered a rebrand and from the ground-up website build (based on Ruby on Rails) in ten weeks, including significant customization and subscription capability.

The initial launch saw a 160% increase in base conversion rate and supported a 10x increase in run-rate within three months. The site was nominated for the website of the year by The Drum, alongside Pottermore and Rolls-Royce.

Subsequent phases of work delivered an estimated 4x return on investment, including multiple rounds of split testing to further increase conversion rates and optimizations to improve internal operational efficiency.

Evolution of a Big Data Product

Defined and delivered significant improvements to a big data product, securing the initial sales in the public sector.

A leading global professional services firm had built a big data product, which provided market insights to the public sector and B2B customers.

Based on an Azure, Node.js, and React stack, the product ingested and parsed more than 12 million rows of Excel data, and allowed users to interrogate it through an intuitive user interface.

However, initial feedback from potential buyers had been negative, and the company had failed to secure any initial sales.

My role was to lead a small team of three (one designer and two engineers) and define and deliver product improvements to secure initial sales.

I successfully delivered within a tight timeline, working in tandem on the discovery and delivery phases. I played multiple roles to support the team, including hands-on user experience design, front-end development, Scrum Master, and stakeholder management.

The improvements lead to the product's first sales in the public sector.

From Seed to Series A for a Supply Chain Disruptor

Delivered the MVP and for a startup disrupting supply chains and provided critical support through to Series A funding.

Supply Compass set out with the vision to disrupt how today's products are built.

After securing initial funding, I was approached to define and lead the delivery of their MVP and support the growth afterward.

Following customer discovery and expert interviews, I led a blended team of five engineers and designers to define and deliver the first version of the Supply Compass platform in 12 weeks.

Subsequent work continued to evolve the platform, and I continued to oversee the hiring of an in-house product team.

The company has grown into a platform where brands get matched with vetted, world-class manufacturers, design collections, and manage the entire production process from design-to-delivery.
2006 - 2009

Master of Arts (Cantab) Degree in Natural Sciences

University of Cambridge - Cambridge, UK

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