In conversation with Barry Koeman - Product Owner & Startup Inspirator

How to survive Corona as a Freelancer?

To be able to learn more about the freelance life of a Product Owner in these hard times and to get inspired by the startup / mentoring passion, I had a chat with Barry Koeman, (Freelance) Product Owner & Startup Inspirator. 

Barry is a fully self-taught and certified product owner, specialized in Product Strategy and Web- & Mobile applications. Currently, he is working at Talpa Network with two teams where he is developing a solution that requests cookie consent from consumers that visit websites and apps from all Talpa Network brands. A certain solution is generally known as a cookie wall.

He is mainly interested in freelance PO or Head of product positions with strong strategic and operational characters. Due to the measures taken regarding COVID-2019 Barry has decided to broaden his perspective and has therefore also started looking at permanent positions. His experience with working remotely, his solution-oriented mentality and his aim to try new solutions quickly and effectively are indispensable qualities during this unsettled time.

Barry is one of the most active freelancers I know and always gives a full 100% when networking, executing his projects and coaching other freelancers and/or startups. His enthusiasm and motivation has also been noticed by us and has contributed to us at YouLynq.me. Thank you, Barry!

1. Barry, how did you become a Product Owner?

During my time working as a payroll administrator I was working on a project which was responsible for the set up of calculation rules for an application for payroll administration (SAAS). This, therefore, was my first step into software development.

Due to this newly obtained expertise, I was asked by NMBRS (software supplier) to become a product specialist and I became familiar with the development of functionalities instead of just the calculation. After a few years of working here, the company promoted me to the Product Owner to develop a new HR software product. 

2. Which achievement are you most proud of in a product owner role?

There are two assignments which I would like to share to answer this question. 

At Rodeo, I was responsible for rebuilding the entire web application with a new development supplier and team located in India. This was a great challenge both technically and communication-wise. I learned a lot about the force of team performance and how to make people excel to their best ability. It’s amazing to see how positive energy arises when people become aware of what they are capable of with their team. 

The CEO of Rodeo and I worked together to hire a business development manager in New York to reach a new market in the US. This market came with its own culture, different from what I was used to, which was another great learning opportunity for me. 

My current assignment is probably one that I am most proud of in terms of the extend. At the moment I am helping Talpa Network as a product owner of 2 teams. I am responsible for the delivery of the solution to request cookie consent from consumers for web and app. This consent portal provides Talpa Network websites and mobile applications an interface to request and renew cookie consent from consumers. A unique aspect of this assignment was the fact that it involved such a high number of stakeholders. Other unique aspects are the development for iOS and Android, the delivery of an SDK, and the special SDK test setup. Besides that, there’s the fact that the amount of users of the applications is also an exceptionally high number I haven’t worked with before. Finally, it has been a new experience for me to work at a media/tech company. All these aspects together made this assignment to be a very unique and very valuable experience for me as a freelance product owner. I had to report to 50 internal stakeholders and I worked with 2 scrum teams which consisted of 15 team members altogether. The products we delivered will be used on: - 80 websites and 40 mobile applications - the web solution serves 10.000.000 users on a monthly basis - the SDK serves an expected amount of 2.500.000 monthly users.

3. Please tell us more about your passion to help young entrepreneurs and startups? 

I find working with teams to help them and find ways to take steps back and reflect on realised work very satisfying. It is interesting to see that people often start working on a solution for a problem which has been assumed but never defined as an actual problem. My task is then to guide them through it and “open their eyes” for what is really going on within the business.

Besides my day-to-day job I have also recently signed up to “The Product Lab”. This is an initiative that enables experienced product managers like me to mentor those who need a hand within their workfield. Currently, I am mentoring Daniel, a product manager that has requested mentorship regarding roadmapping and stakeholder management. The mentoring sessions take place every other week. I find it very refreshing and enjoyable to be able to use my expertise to help others that come across challenges which I have had to deal with and have solved in the past.

4. You have quite an impressive track record, what’s your hidden secret as a Product Owner that everyone should know? 

Firstly, it is very important that the people you are working with - the stakeholders-  are fully aware of what the problem is that they are facing. That is why I start by using the ‘5 times why method’. It is a simple method: when a problem occurs, you drill down to its root cause by asking "Why?" five times. So I make sure that the stakeholders discover the problem on their own and this will automatically give them a sense of responsibility for it. After which I facilitate the development of the product and work together with stakeholders to clarify further and specify what has to be done and what should be prioritised. 

Secondly, I work with the ‘Riskiest Assumption Test Works’. In short, this allows teams to test their assumption and validate whether the solution will actually solve the problems, whether it's a big enough problem to solve, and to which extent it is of added value.

Thirdly I strongly recommend working with tools like ProductBoard. This tool allows stakeholders to have insight into the backlog and roadmap. The tool also allows them to maintain their own roadmap or list of priorities. A perfect tool to align the different priorities for stakeholders with different interests.  

Lastly, I recommend working with Miro. Miro enables you and your team to visualise the user journey. It allows teams to work together effectively, from brainstorming with digital sticky notes to planning and managing agile workflows.

5. How do you survive Corona and what tips would you give other freelancers / product owners / young entrepreneurs?

At work: Just like many of us, I am currently working from home. To be honest, working remotely has offered me a lot so far. I am even more concentrated and I feel like my colleagues and I are getting on very productively.

To make sure we take moments to “breathe” and also keep investing in team building we make sure that besides the usual meetings and the necessary video conferences there is also room for social coffee breaks and we even wrap up the week with some games and a drink (via video call). Keep up the work but make sure you also take moments to bond.

Working with you guys at YouLynq.me has always been one of the greatest assets to the building of my network. Now especially, during these uncertain times, it is very important to plant seeds for future collaborations. Therefore I am very thankful to have you guys as you are continuously working on the expansion and maintenance of my network.  Thank you for helping me with my LinkedIn content strategy, planning my meetings and finding the right people. To be able to focus on my meetings without having to worry about cold calls or having to keep track of my follow-ups is a luxury position that could have never obtained on my own. 

Due to the effects that COVID-2019 has been having I have also decided that if necessary I am willing to step out of my freelance comfort zone and look into permanent Product Owner position.

Thank you very much, Barry, for the inspiring conversation and stay safe!

Have a question for Barry? Send him a message directly: Barry Koeman - Freelance ┃ Product Owner - Talpa Network 

Want to know more about how we can help you with digitizing your business in these times?

Please contact us via [email protected] / YouLynq.me