Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Corbin.
Hi Dan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Honestly, the first half of my career was fairly lackluster. I was a middling programmer who liked the work but coding was never my passion. I loved collaborating with others to build things but being a programmer wasn’t the right fit for me. Eventually, I discovered product management and I finally knew what I was best equipped to do. Since that realization, I’ve been building my product management skills while helping others do the same. I love teaching, coaching, mentoring, and building community, inspired by the many incredible people who helped me at various stages of my career.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Soon after I moved to Austin in 2008, the Great Recession hit and I was out of work in a city where I didn’t really know anyone. My wife and I had a newborn baby and a new mortgage but no jobs. It was scary and very stressful but luckily, I landed another job after about four months. However, that experience never left me.
Another challenge was transitioning from programming into product management. Finding a Product job felt like being blindfolded in a giant maze that I had to navigate all alone. Eventually, I landed a Product Manager position but it took months of hard work. Afterward, I decided to share what I learned because I knew others trying to make the same transition. I could remove the blindfold and give them a map of the maze to guide their journey. We’re still helping people through that maze and I love celebrating with each person that emerges with a new job.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Principal Product Manager at H-E-B, where I work directly with engineering teams, pair with other Product Managers, do some mentoring, and aid leadership with the broader Product organization. H-E-B is an amazing company with wonderful people doing great work for people all across Texas. I’ve also been a Product Management Instructor at General Assembly since 2015 and recently started working as a Product Coach at ProductHired.
One skill I’m proud of the ability to pair with others to build communities. With the help of other Product professionals like Reza Shirazi, Caroling Lee, Brittany Davis, Mike Trujillo, and Mark Stephan we’ve created incredibly supportive groups like the Product Job Club.
Being unemployed and looking for a job is the worst. Knowing this all too well, Caroling and I founded Product Job Club in 2018. Over the past three years, the job club has helped over 100 people build new skills, land promotions, and get new jobs. For most group members, it’s the first job they’ve landed in product management, which is a difficult field to break into. Those members have gone on to help new members. It’s a virtuous cycle and it’s inspiring to see how it has grown.
The Product League is another group I founded in 2016 with the help of Reza Shirazi. There are now almost 2,000 members in the group. We meet monthly to share Product ideas, hear from guest experts, and learn from each other. It’s an energizing community that has taught me so much about product management.
What matters most to you? Why?
As I think ahead to the next ten years and what I hope to accomplish, I think about my Dad, the legacy he left, and the examples he set. He was a dedicated math teacher and basketball coach in my hometown. Growing up, I saw the impact he had on so many lives. For many years after he passed, random people would tell me stories of how he helped them when they struggled. That’s the life I want to live and the example I want to model for my daughter. When you help others, you actually end up benefiting the most, so it’s a bit of a selfish endeavor but paying things forward is what helps build the many incredible communities we have here in Austin.
Pricing:
Image Credits
Trisha Gottsman – http://www.triciagottsman.com/
