Valentin Staykov, Product Manager in Toronto, ON, Canada
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Valentin Staykov

Verified Expert  in Product Management

Product Manager

Location
Toronto, ON, Canada
Toptal Member Since
October 24, 2018

Valentin is a digital project manager and product manager with over four years of experience building software. He has co-founded two SaaS startups, one in real estate and another in the productivity space. Valentin has worked with multifaceted, distributed teams and has experience in executing complex projects on a fixed budget.

Project Highlights

Pastel
Co-founded Pastel and grew the company from an idea to over 65 paying customers and 80,000 monthly page views.
LoftShare
I co-founded LoftShare, a marketing tool for real estate agents, and grew the company to over 100 paying users.

Expertise

Work Experience

Co-founder

2017 - PRESENT
Pastel (usepastel.com)
  • Co-founded Pastel, a client feedback tool for websites.
  • Worked with customers on a daily basis to gather insights and provide support.
  • Collaborated with a product team to integrate customer feedback into the product.
  • Created product roadmap and plan sprints.
  • Tested software to ensure it matched requirements.

Project Manager

2017 - 2017
Online Freelance Agency
  • Identified projects in need of additional resources.
  • Helped drive these projects to completion.
  • Coordinated with clients, developers, and other project managers to staff gigs and provide additional resources.
  • Reviewed and updated scope on projects.
  • Managed projects with a limited budget.

Network Growth Team Lead

2016 - 2017
An Online Freelance Agency
  • Oversaw the application and interview process for hiring freelancers.
  • Screened over 50 resumes on a weekly basis.
  • On-boarded over 100 developer and project manager freelancers.
  • Coordinated with interviewers to manage availability.
  • Managed scheduling and schedule disputes for over 300 interviews.

Co-founder

2016 - 2017
Flowcast
  • Co-founded Flowcast, a tool for developers to get feedback on their web projects.
  • Performed user interviews to understand the market need and validate the product.
  • Continuously listened to user feedback and used the insights gathered to drive product decisions.
  • Performed user tests both in person and remotely.
  • Managed product roadmap and planned sprints.

Co-founder

2014 - 2016
LoftShare (loftshare.co)
  • Co-founded LoftShare, a SaaS company providing marketing tools for real estate agents.
  • Planned and executed multiple sales and marketing campaigns using a variety of channels.
  • Designed and built multiple web pages using HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, and JavaScript.
  • Learned about the responsibilities and workflow of real estate agents through user interviews and by pursuing a real estate agent certification.
  • Managed product roadmap and planned sprints.

Financial Analyst

2012 - 2013
IBM
  • Performed analysis of financial data and developed forecasts and financial reports for a contract with $110 million budget and 700 employees in eight countries.
  • Worked with project executives, vendors and an international team to acquire financial information and incorporate it into a forecast on a monthly basis.
  • Prepared multiple reports on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
  • Prepared an annual forecast and tracked performance and variances on a monthly basis.
  • Presented financial results to executives.

Pastel

https://usepastel.com/

Co-founded Pastel and grew the company from an idea to over 65 paying customers and 80,000 monthly page views.

I co-founded Pastel, a client feedback tool for websites.

Pastel allows digital agencies to collect feedback from their clients on the websites they're building. Feedback is as simple as clicking and typing and works with any website, without the need to install anything. Feedback is tied to specific elements on the page and each comment comes with metadata and an automatic screenshot. This feedback is actionable and can be easily exported to various project management tools.

For this project, I worked with customers on a daily basis to gather insights and provide support. I then collaborated with a product team of designers and developers to integrate customer feedback into the product on an ongoing basis.

LoftShare

I co-founded LoftShare, a marketing tool for real estate agents, and grew the company to over 100 paying users.

I co-founded LoftShare, a SaaS company providing marketing tools for real estate agents.

LoftShare allows real estate agents to create a listing and easily share them to a variety of classified ads platforms and social media. It automates away a significant portion of manual work done by agents and saves them time on a daily basis.

For this project, I performed user interviews on a regular basis to learn about their needs and workflows. I then worked with my team to put together a product roadmap and execute it. I was involved in every part of the process, from planning to development and testing.
2009 - 2014

Bachelor's Degree in Finance

University of Toronto - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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