EXPLORING NEW WATERS

There I was, staring at my PC as usual, battling with another client’s creative project when I received a notification on my WhatsApp. The message read about one fellowship called Novustack. I visited the link and browse through the entire landing page and found nothing related to what I love doing, so I passed.

I decided to give it a second look, this time with more concentration after the sender spoke highly about it. Then I found something related to what I would love to do; Product Management (PM). I thought to myself, “sounds like product design”, so I applied. I never knew I was charting entirely different water, far wide and deep than the one I was familiar with.

The truth is the idea of getting a job placement was what excited me the most. That, as the program drew nearer, will later come to be the least. I experienced a type of recruitment process that I felt was out of this world. There and then, I knew I could not afford not to be part of the entire experience. That was my first-time e-meeting Feyipitan Sadiku and Chukwuma Ukaha, another story for another time.

Then began the fellowship to start the new year. It was like I was back in the school system, but with a different touch that made me look forward to every class session. Through a student-centered approach, the facilitators, Meighan Hooper and Margaret Wang guided us on Design Thinking sessions which were made more practical than I have experienced. As we were fed the theory, we were thrown real-life situations to digest it. We collaborated on different teams to empathize and define problems. We ideate solutions and came up with prototypes. And like a whole bunch of gladiators in the arena, we were picked apart and pieced back together at every evaluation session including the hackathon.

It got even better. I explored the world of a Product Manager with the help of a coach, Joseph Paul-Eneroh, and a mentor, Ayomide Bajomo. For so long, I saw my boss at work like a villain bearing down on my neck. And now, I was thought why the villain has to be. Unlike me who only has to worry about the looks, the PM had to worry about much more. Would it function well? Will it be solving a real problem? How do we make it acceptable? What about generating revenue? The questions keep reiterating the need for people like my boss; PMs. And now here I am, in his shoes, trying to figure out the entire life of a client’s project from the eyes of a PM. I wouldn’t say I succeeded, but I know I learned a lot and appreciated my boss the more.

Then, the icing on the cake. I mean, what is the essence of something if the world cannot resonate with it’s essence. We were guided on how to brand ourselves. We needed to be able to position properly if we ever want to attract anything positive. And so we revamped our resumes, learned to design web portfolios, and how to be prepped for an interview. Coupled with sessions with Alumni of the Novustack fellowship, I no longer fear the competition. I am my competition. The water now looks familiar for I have been thought how to sail. This journey is a story in progress.