Wed Jun 14 2023
Tobi as a Trainee to becoming a Trainer at Utiva
By Nathanie Ike
Please can you tell us what you currently do for a living?
I am a Product Manager that is passionate about building products that solve customers' actual problems and also have an interest in building and managing tech communities likewise impacting young product managers, guiding them, and providing the necessary support system they need to also thrive in the product management space.
How did you get here as a trainer for the product management training school at Utiva and What has your product management journey been like?
Looking at my educational background initially, I studied microbiology in school. But I wanted to help improve the quality of products that customers use or engage with.
It was in the course of working with an FMCG during the Covid that I realized that I have to look beyond managing physical products, that was when I went online and searched about things related to what I was doing then and how I could leverage it.
After doing my research on several institutions offering the product management course, I stumbled upon the Utiva Product School and then I decided to give it a shot.
To be honest, it wasn’t an easy journey for me because as a microbiologist, a quality control lead with an FMCG I was working almost all through the day.
I didn’t have much time to practicalize what was being taught during weekends, some Saturday I will be at work and be watching and listening to the recorded teachings of the training that was made available after each lesson.
After the program, a virtual internship was done by Utiva, problems that were provided during the cause of the internship gave me insight into what was taught theoretically. That was how I ventured into product management, I took a course with Utiva and did a virtual internship with Utiva.
I wanted a live experience on how to manage a product.
When I left FMCG in 2020 that was when I got the opportunity to act as an associate product manager on a live product, it was at this point that I was able to practicalize what I learned at Utiva, from an associate manager, I became the product manager of that product.
Seeing my performance the project manager brought me into another side product he was building and from there it has been from one product to another till now that I currently work as a product manager in an IT solutions company. That has been my journey right from my initial background in school to doing the course with Utiva and landing a product manager role.
Recently I saw the need for a product management trainer at Utiva, I was convinced that I could train professionals because of my experience in the field, and that’s how I became a trainer at Utiva.
What were your biggest challenges when you were learning and transitioning into product management?
At the point of learning, and seeing the scope of product management, I was like this involves a lot of product thinking and being able to decide rightly for the product and it was something I had to overtime learn, overtime read about, overtime converse with people that are already in the space about, that was were the place of having a mentor help me, while I was looking for a live experience on the live product I was fortunate to meet a senior product manager that guided me to handling the live product.
Having a dedicated mentor and trainer or group helped. It is not just about learning it alone but having someone or a group of people or a school guide you into rightly using the knowledge you gained, that was what helped me over time.
That was interesting, I would say your story and journey are inspiring. What would you say largely motivated and inspired you while you were climbing this ladder?
The first thing that motivated me, which kept me going even right from the point of transitioning was my passion for quality products. While being a quality control lead to a process flow lead, all my energy and effort was ensuring that whatever product that was going there to be consumed had to be of the best quality, that kept pushing me even until the point I transitioned into product management.
Also as much as I started the journey I had to finish it. When I start a thing I don’t back out until the best of it is achieved. I saw the process as a way of improving myself.
Having in mind that you have people looking up to you, you can’t afford to be less of who you will be telling them to be, me being a product couch I have to maintain a high standard so that those coming up in the product space will always look up to me and desire to even surpass me, all these are always a motivating factor to me.
That was an enlightening perspective, you have really come a long way, but what are your plans for the future?
My future plan is to be the director of products, I would have given shape to products that are solving actual human products, and also guide product managers. I have always had a passion for teaching or lecturing people and I have always been looking at ways in which that will come into place and also imparting communities around me.
It’s a three-way thing for me, directing products that shape the lives of users, guiding product managers, and also imparting tech communities around me, these are the things I look forward to doing.
This is really an impactful Interview session . Thank you so much for honouring our invitation and We are sure that your journey and story in the product management field will inspire many.
But, what are your final words?
Be intentional about yourself.