Synopsis : Nuggets of building a product first approach for an enterpreneur

Sharing a summary of my conversation with Neha Bagaria, founder of HerKey(formerly JobsForHer) in my podcast – Level Up Prodcast

Unlocking Opportunities for Women: The Genesis of HerKey

HerKey, originally JobsforHer, started as a mission to bridge the gender gap in India’s workforce. Some stark numbers are that in India less than 20% women are in workforce compared to 50% in North America and 60% in China.

A Product-First Approach to Social Change

Central to Neha’s strategy was a product-first approach. Recognizing the low female labor force participation rate in India, she leveraged technology to create a platform that not only facilitates job opportunities but also fosters learning and community engagement. This holistic approach aimed at not just getting women back to work but ensuring their growth and retention in their careers.

Navigating the Evolution from JobsforHer to HerKey

The transformation from JobsforHer to HerKey is a strategic pivot towards a community-led model, emphasizing not just recruitment but retention and career advancement. This shift, marked by rebranding and aligning the platform's offerings with its core mission, demonstrates the importance of evolving in response to changing needs and the power of community in driving career engagement.

The Role of Customer Empathy and User-Centric Design in Product Success

A recurring theme that came in our discussion is the importance of empathy and a deep understanding of the user's needs. The success of HerKey lies in its commitment to solving real-world problems through simple, effective solutions and the willingness to iterate based on user feedback.

Leadership Insights for Navigating the Product Development Journey

Neha’s leadership journey provides invaluable insights for product managers and entrepreneurs. She emphasizes the importance of balancing strategic vision with operational execution, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and ensuring that every decision and innovation is driven by user needs.

Some of my favorite quotes from this conversation

1.On Product-First Approach for Social Change:

???"At the heart of whatever we do, it has to be the product. Because without the product, we would not have been able to scale to become India's largest career engagement platform for women."

2.?On Empathy and User-Centric Design:

???"Be obsessed with your user, not obsessed with the act of doing and building cool technologies."

3.?On Continuous Learning and Adaptability:

??"Always constantly keep that vision in mind. You will constantly keep learning the how and the what as the journey evolves."

4.?On User-Centric Innovation:

?? "The simpler we keep it, the more success we'll be able to find and the quicker success we'll be able to find. Then be very okay with being proven completely wrong and starting off again from scratch."

5.??On Learning from Users:

???"First you do and then you build. We don’t jump into building something just because we feel that we need it; we actually first do it manually."

For more of these pearls, check out the complete conversation here

https://youtu.be/nyNMsgcyUp8?si=ZzooPpZKQkL_JiZT

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