Jessica is available for hire
Hire JessicaJessica Mean
Verified Expert in Project Management
Project Manager
Chicago, IL, United States
Toptal member since February 21, 2020
Bio
Jessica is a former Googler with a master's degree in product management from Northwestern University. Throughout her career, she has helped Fortune 500 companies reinvent their innovation strategy and startups secure millions in funding. Over the last three years, she has launched 14 products across a variety of industries including tech, healthcare, eCommerce, IoT, education, CPG, and finance.
Project Highlights
MVP That Secured $4.4 Million in Funding
Launched LandscapeHub, an eCommerce platform for landscapers and growers.
Expertise
- Jira
- Product Management
- Project Management
Work Experience
Founder | Product Leader
2018 - PRESENT
Upfront Work
- Led client projects and teams to develop web and mobile products using Agile methodologies.
- Implemented product management processes and frameworks for clients.
- Led design thinking workshops and trained client product teams.
- Conducted market and user research to identify unmet needs and product priorities.
- Spoke at Women In Product and Tandem Executive Network.
Product Strategist
2017 - 2018
Table XI
- Partnered with clients to build and launch complex, custom-built web and mobile products with budgets ranging from $50,000 to $850,000.
- Managed cross-functional, distributed agile teams comprised of designers, developers, and researchers.
- Led lean user research sprints to uncover unmet user needs and product feedback.
- Facilitated design sprints and other discovery workshops for clients to build and test prototypes before making project investments.
- Facilitated business canvas modeling workshops for clients to determine product-market fit and business opportunities.
Product Manager
2015 - 2017
AffinityX
- Launched a national sales portal product to support sales executives with branded resources.
- Managed a backlog of customer feedback and prioritized user stories for implementation.
- Led a team of designers to create marketing content (infographics, whitepapers) for product support.
- Developed advertising assets (HTML5 ads, landing pages, websites, videos) for sales portal and teams.
- Worked with a globally distributed team in North America and Asia.
Program Manager
2013 - 2015
- Launched and managed Local Guides, a Google Maps product that gamifies users to share reviews, ratings, photos, and other insights.
- Increased active Local Guides users by 10x in target cities through new feature adoption.
- Produced Local Guides product videos in eight languages resulting in 4+ million views.
- Led UX research and trusted tester programs to improve Google Maps and Google+ features.
- Launched an official Local Guides help center, and developed, localized, and managed content in 40 languages.
Digital Marketing Manager
2010 - 2013
Association Forum of Chicagoland
- Managed the organization's digital presence including the website, mobile apps and email marketing.
- Relaunched website (+190% visits, +330% page views) and received the 2011 EXCEL Award - Gold, Web Publishing: Redesign.
- Launched the company's first mobile app and two event apps, and managed content development.
- Designed comprehensive marketing campaigns to boost event sales revenue and generate brand awareness. Received 2011 EXCEL Award - Bronze, Media Innovation: Integrated Mixed Media Campaign.
- Managed digital content for in-house digital magazine.
Product Marketing Manager
2008 - 2010
Firm58
- Led marketing initiatives for the new product development team.
- Interviewed customers to generate product development insights.
- Assisted with VC fundraising presentations resulting in $8.5 million Series B capital growth funds.
- Managed top-funnel lead generation and built product awareness through marketing campaigns and tradeshow strategy.
- Administered $100,000 annual budget and managed one lead generation specialist.
Project History
MVP That Secured $4.4 Million in Funding
https://www.landscapehub.com/Launched LandscapeHub, an eCommerce platform for landscapers and growers.
Led a product design and development team to build and launch LandscapeHub, a two-sided marketplace web app. The CEO was a first-time entrepreneur and landscaping subject matter expert who had never built a digital product. Over the nine-month project, I led a team of seven designers and developers to launch an MVP within five months then managed four months of iteration. Additionally, I worked closely with the CEO and other executives to define project scope and to manage budget and staff resources. The MVP resulted in a $4.4 million seed round.
Education
2015 - 2016
Master's Degree in Product Design and Development Management
Northwestern University - Illinois
2003 - 2007
Bachelor's Degree in Communications
Vanguard University of Southern California - California
Skills
Tools
Jira
Paradigms
User Testing, Agile Workflow, Agile Product Management
Platforms
Windows
Industry Expertise
Healthcare
Other
Product Management, Project Management, User Requirements, Consumer Insights
Collaboration That Works
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