KENDALL NEWBY, A SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER AT PADDLE
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
Hi, I’m Kendall, a Senior Product Manager at Paddle. I have worked in start-ups for over 7 years, starting out in revenue and finance operations before finding my passion in product management. I love solving complicated problems and bringing the best out of people along the way.
HOW DID YOU LAND YOUR CURRENT ROLE? WAS IT PLANNED?
I have worked almost entirely in start-ups of various sizes and stages. Product was not a career path on my radar until I began collaborating with the product team in my first start-up role. Attracted to the combination of analytical and creative thinking, plus blue sky strategic planning coupled with gritty detail-oriented scoping, I was convinced it was the right pursuit for me and it simply became a matter of charting a course. Discover more about Pride and Leadership in Tech and Meet Women Behind Digital Catapult.
Initially starting out in sales and marketing operations, I leveled-up my analytics skills and owned internal tools. Meet Women Behind Digital Catapult who inspired my journey, I eventually moved into an FP&A role that gave me the finance knowledge and business strategy lens needed to ultimately translate my skill set into product management.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN RECRUITING NEW TEAM MEMBERS? TECH SKILLS? SOFT SKILLS? ANYTHING ELSE?
For product management roles specifically, it is valuable to have tech skills whether that be working with data or understanding the core concepts of a coding language or APIs. That being said, you can easily level up technical knowledge, while soft skills such as stakeholder management and collaborative problem-solving provide a much more immediate impact.
I am a strong believer in servant leadership, so when hiring I look for people with a humble sense of curiosity, team players who enjoy sharing knowledge and winning as a group.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON CURRENTLY?
Since joining Paddle, my main priority has been evolving our subscription billing product. This work has involved speaking with customers and researching competitors to define problems before working with engineers and product designers to develop solutions.
My background in finance has been useful in defining the financial flows across the platform for payments, refunds, credits, and disputes. There are 4 engineering teams working on this product so effectively aligning requirements and coordinating delivery has been critical to our success
I have also been improving product operations by designing new processes for managing customer feedback and triaging bugs so we can track our success as a product group in delivering value to our customers.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER WOMEN WANTING TO REACH THEIR CAREER GOALS IN TECHNOLOGY?
Developing your career is an iterative process that requires perseverance and patience. You will be surprised how previous experience can dovetail into future roles so remain open to unexpected opportunities, whether they be a lateral move into another field or a role within a new industry or different stage company. Use your goals as a directional guide rather than a narrower objective.
NATALIA CHMURAK, JUNIOR ENGINEER
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
I am originally from Poland but I always knew I wanted to study and live abroad as I love exploring new places! I decided to study in the UK where I graduated from Newcastle University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in 2021. Working at Paddle is my first job in the tech industry and I have been working here for around a year and a half now.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER, SO FAR?
My career has been rather short but I believe it is important to be especially proud and happy about the first steps! Therefore, I am proud I have managed to land such an amazing first job in tech as working for Paddle, and I can confidently say I am proud of the progress I have made since the moment I joined! I have learnt two new programming languages, and have contributed to exciting projects. It has been quite challenging but also the most rewarding experience, and it assured me that tech is where I belong and where I want to be in my professional life. I am looking forward to the rest of this journey!
WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE WORKDAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
My average workday consists of agile meetings like stand-ups, backlog refinement sessions, sprint retros, etc., but I spend most of my day tackling different coding tasks from current sprints. There is quite a lot of cooperation involved when working as a developer, so I often spend time discussing problems and solutions with my teammates, and continuously learning from them! Depending on the day, other responsibilities occur as well, such as monitoring various alerts or troubleshooting current issues.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS OUR COMMUNITY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK PADDLE?
Working at Paddle is everything I could ask for especially considering it is my first job in this industry, which can always be a little daunting. What I value the most is the support I get from the people I work with – it helps me grow faster and build confidence. The other thing would be the flexibility and freedom enabling me to maintain a healthy work-life balance (last year I worked from Bali for a whole month!).
HOW IS PADDLE SUPPORTING YOU IN YOUR CAREER TO ENSURE YOU REACH YOUR OWN GOALS?
Paddle offers generous Learning and Development allowance, which can be spent on courses and other educational materials, helping every individual grow professionally and achieve their own professional goals. Other than that, my progress and steps needed to progress further are continuously discussed, so I can be sure I am going in the right direction.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER WOMEN WANTING TO REACH THEIR CAREER GOALS IN TECHNOLOGY?
Never stop learning, and always look for new opportunities. Learn how to communicate effectively and with respect. Do not be afraid to ask for and receive feedback from others. Step out of your comfort zone, and great things will happen!
LAUREN DALEY, SENIOR PEOPLE PARTNER FOR PADDLE’S TECHNOLOGY TEAMS
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
I am currently working as a Senior People Partner for Paddle’s Technology teams (Product, Engineering, plus Risk & Legal) . I have worked in People teams since leaving university following a HR degree. Prior to joining Paddle I worked in multiple People roles in the FinTech industry.
HOW DID YOU LAND YOUR CURRENT ROLE? WAS IT PLANNED?
I definitely put a lot of thought into looking for a new role. After working for a UK based Fintech for 5 years, I took time to reflect on my career journey so far, where I wanted to be and what the gaps in my knowledge and experience were to get there. I was eager to work for a global company to develop my knowledge of working internationally and I wanted to continue to develop my strategic thinking.
I loved the fast pace, energy and autonomy you get at work working in a tech start up, so I knew I wanted to stay in the tech industry. As a Digital First company with employees globally, I was really excited to apply for role at Paddle when I saw the opportunity arise!
WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE WORKDAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
As a Senior People Partner my role is to work very closely with my business areas and their leaders to develop and execute people initiatives to support their people and future objectives. My role is to enable managers to create a high-performing & highly engaged team throughout the employee lifecycle, so an average day for me includes meeting with senior leaders & managers in my business areas to understand the business area performance and any challenges we can work through.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON CURRENTLY?
When I’m not working with my business areas I work with the People & Talent team on People Initiatives and Projects, we are currently working through our Performance Review Cycle & Paddle Listens Engagement Survey. We are also currently reviewing and developing our DE&I Roadmap for the next 12 months!
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER, SO FAR?
As part of my role at Paddle I have the opportunity to lead the DE&I working group. I’m so proud of what the working group has achieved in the last 12 months, which includes setting up an Employee Resource Group (ERG) Network within Paddle. We now have 4 ERG’s for our Paddlers and I believe this will continue to grow. I’m excited to see what we can achieve on our DE&I journey in the future.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER WOMEN WANTING TO REACH THEIR CAREER GOALS IN TECHNOLOGY?
Have confidence and recognise the value in your skills, knowledge and unique perspective.
