How It All Started: A Childhood Rooted in Product Thinking
Nicole: Welcome, Sahara. Let’s start with your journey into Product Management.
Sahara: “I feel like I’ve been in Product Management since I was a child! My parents owned a café, and as an entrepreneurial family, we kids all pitched in. My job was creating the menu—from the physical trifold to the display over our deli—and enabling their online presence. This was back when the internet was just emerging for small businesses. I saw firsthand how content and design choices could speak to consumers, entice behavior, and help grow the business.
In college, I majored in Media Studies, focusing on how to drive consumer behavior and purchasing power by segmenting and displaying items in strategic ways. After graduating, I became a consultant and business analyst, gathering user requirements, prototyping, and validating solutions to meet customers’ needs and drive business goals. My business acumen came from project management—managing resources, budgets, and aligning them to real revenue metrics.”
Making the Leap: From Project Management to Full-Fledged Product
Nicole: I love that you saw something intriguing and just went for it. After your consultant experience, how did you transition into an official Product role?
Sahara: “While working at Marriott, I was in the room with leads across Global Operations and Digital, dissecting each step of the traveler’s experience—from booking to pre-arrival to departure—and brainstorming how technology could ease their journey. It finally clicked: I’d accumulated consulting, business, and user-centric skills. I asked the director of Digital Mobile & Guest Services for a chance to move into Product. That leap led me to deliver industry-leading products at Marriott, Cvent, MLB, and now OfficeSpace.”
Loving the Role: Bridging User Needs and Business Outcomes
Nicole: Product Management blends creativity, business, and project management. What do you love most about it?
Sahara: “Being at the forefront of bridging user-centric concepts with business objectives. In PLG (product-led growth) organizations, we’re driving product functionality that delivers real business outcomes, making sure there’s sustainable growth. I thrive on collaborating across sales, marketing, and services to uncover challenges, propose solutions, and measure impact. PM doesn’t just grow you professionally—it builds your problem-solving mindset in every part of your life. (My vacation planners can attest to that!)”
Challenges in SaaS and B2B: Prioritization and Alignment
Nicole: What do you find most challenging in Product Management?
Sahara: “In a SaaS B2B environment, the volume of requests can be overwhelming. Everyone wants on the roadmap—senior leadership, clients, and internal stakeholders. Each group has its own objectives. Our job is to gather, validate, and prioritize those inputs objectively. We watch market trends by reading publications and scanning competitor moves. Tools like Gainsight or Pendo help track platform usage, churn risks, or expansion opportunities. We also rely heavily on insights from client-facing teams: sales, support, professional services.
Ultimately, you need KPIs and frameworks to weigh these opportunities. We do discovery with clients—validating use cases, reviewing prototypes—and bring it all back to internal teams. Transparency is huge. We share what we learned, how it shaped MVP scope, and the incremental value we expect. At OfficeSpace, we actually have a CRAFT meeting—Cross-Functional Roadmap Alignment and Feedback—where sales, marketing, client services, and enablement come together to refine solution options and prep go-to-market motions. Everyone sees how we arrived at certain priorities, fostering trust and clarity.”
Building a Product Team: Key Traits of a Great PM
Nicole: You’re Vice President with a whole team reporting to you. What qualities do you seek when hiring a Product Manager?
Sahara:
- Passion for Problem-Solving
“PMs need to get to the root of user challenges while keeping that end goal in mind. Each persona has tasks they must accomplish, and the PM must empathize with their frustrations and goals.” - Curiosity
“It’s easy to get siloed by focusing only on the product line or referencing a narrow set of apps. The best PMs research their space and broader trends, brainstorming innovative solutions. They’re never done learning.” - Growth Mindset
“Your product might flop—maybe it doesn’t solve the user’s actual problem. If you can learn from that, fail fast, then iterate, you’ll be successful.” - Collaboration
“We constantly interact with diverse stakeholders—sales, marketing, dev. A PM must inspire comfort and confidence, bridging multiple departments.” - Business Acumen
“PMs must speak eloquently about business results. We measure success and link it to revenue, retention, or strategic objectives, ensuring stakeholders see the bigger picture.”
Advice for Women in Product: Expand Your Network
Nicole: For women specifically, any advice for those wanting to break into or grow in Product Management?
Sahara: “I get asked this a lot. I tell women to grow their network—don’t stay siloed in your organization or immediate circle. You’ll gain new insights and broaden your leadership style by attending industry events, joining communities, and connecting with peers. Being in professional development groups or communities specifically for women is empowering—it gives you a safe space to test ideas, get constructive feedback, and build confidence.
And you’ll find it helps you step out of your comfort zone, forging a network that fosters learning and growth. There’s so much opportunity once you start looking beyond your day-to-day bubble.”
Final Thoughts: Document, Share, and Delight
Nicole: Any last thoughts for our Product Management audience?
Sahara: “Regardless of whether you’re in B2B or B2C, it’s crucial to index on your consumer. As Product Managers, we’re at the epicenter, learning the business challenges and user challenges. Document those insights and share them. It benefits pitch decks, QBRs, marketing collateral—everyone in the organization. Ultimately, you’re making sure each department can delight the customers. We want them to feel that we’re surprising them with next-level experiences. That’s the fun part!”
