Beyond the Badge Episode 3 ft. Ankita Arora

Another week and another Beyond the Badge post! My name is Sawan, Content Strategist @ fielddrive, and this week, I had the good fortune to get some one-on-one time with Ankita Arora, Lead Product Manager @ fielddrive, and learn about her journey, her role as a lead product manager, and so much more!

So please sit back and enjoy the following interview as I try to investigate what makes Ankita Arora tick!

From Developer to Product Manager: Ankita's Journey

Sawan: Thanks, Ankita, for doing this!

Ankita: No, no, happy to do it!

Sawan: Awesome! Ankita, let's start with the basics: what can you tell us a little about yourself?

Ankita: So, my name is Ankita Arora. And I'm a Lead Product Manager at fielddrive. I've been here for more than a year and a half now, leading product initiatives, etc. Being from a technical background, I have switched a couple of roles over the course of my career. I was a developer once, had a small stint as a founder of my own company, and then moved into Product Management. This variety of experience from tech and business perspectives has given me a wealth of experience, which I cherish in my job right now. I enjoy working with tech people, being a founder, and dealing with all aspects of the business.

Sawan: That's amazing! You've sort of covered the entire breadth of things, right? Starting from developer and now Product Management.

Ankita: Yeah! Learning about how marketing works, how sales work, and then positioning myself into the product role. It's been quite a journey!

The Heart of Product Management

Sawan: It sure looks that way! Now, as a product manager, what exactly do you do? What does a typical day in the life of a product manager look like?

Ankita: A typical product manager's day involves, first and foremost, catering to customers' needs. We have to make sure that our product is satisfying our customers' requirements. It's not just about building the product; we focus on delivering it end-to-end. My day-to-day role involves syncing up with various teams, including the tech team, to check the status of the product and features in development, helping them with queries, and syncing regularly with sales, marketing, and support teams. It's about collaborating with all the teams and enabling everybody to achieve our collective goals: superior products and excellent customer experiences.

Sawan: I see. And what's your favorite part of the job?

Ankita: The satisfaction I get from solving customers' problems is my favorite part. Identifying typical pain points that our customers or prospects might have and figuring out how to solve them, seeing the solution being leveraged and making our customers' lives easier is very rewarding. For example, ensuring our customers' events go smoothly, whether they want their badges to look beautiful or need the check-ins to go faster. Seeing our solutions materialize and being used in actual customer scenarios is what gives me the most satisfaction.

Beyond Work: Hobbies and Passions

Sawan: Do you have a favorite fielddrive memory?

Ankita: It's hard to pick one as the most memorable or favorite memory, but a good memory is when we were all working together on our website. It was an interesting problem to solve, bringing a bunch of people together on a project that had been taking a long time for various reasons and finally pushing it through to completion. Seeing the website go live was a good memory for me.

Sawan: I'm right there with you on that one! It was an achievement, especially in the short timeframe!

Ankita: Exactly!

Sawan: Now, so far, we've talked about your work life. But now I want to switch gears and talk to you a little more about your life beyond fielddrive, beyond work. So, tell me, what do you enjoy doing when you're not working?

Ankita: I'd say traveling, mostly. But that's not always possible. So, I like to cook. I like to paint. I like to make crafts. For the last couple of years, every empty bottle that I see in my house, I paint it with some colors. So that gives me a little bit of change from the regular work. So yeah, working day in and out, I like doing creative stuff in my free time when I'm not traveling.

Sawan: And what's your favorite place you've ever been?

Ankita: This one is not related to fielddrive, but a favorite memory of mine is when my partner and I went to Bali. We stayed there for two months, getting up to a new experience every day, being excited to explore the place. We didn't rest for those two months. We switched places every week, packed our bags, and moved to a new city or town within Bali, exploring the surroundings during the weekdays while still working remotely. So that was my favorite travel memory from recent times.

Sawan: That sounds really fun! I've never been to Bali!

Ankita: Oh, you should! It's so cool!

Sawan: I'll put it on my bucket list! Now, for this next part of the interview, we're going to be doing a little bit of a rapid-fire round. Are you ready?

Ankita: Absolutely! Hit me!

Sawan: Marvel or DC?

Ankita: Neither!

Sawan: Not a superhero person, I get it. So which one of these two annoys you the most then?

Ankita: Marvel.

Sawan: Got it. Movies or books?

Ankita: Books.

Sawan: And what's your favorite book?

Ankita: I mostly read non-fiction, but my favorite fiction book is "One Summer" by David Baldacci. It transported me to a different place and remains a favorite.

Sawan: Got it. And what's your guilty pleasure movie?

Ankita: I'd say "Hum Saath-Saath Hain." It was always on TV during my childhood, so it holds a special in my heart; there's a lot of nostalgia there.

Sawan: I get that. Are you a dog person or a cat person?

Ankita: Dog person. Cats are too complicated for me!

Sawan: I agree!

Ankita's Message to the World

Sawan: Alright, Ankita, we're almost done here. I have just one more question for you, and it's a biggie! You ready?

Ankita: Absolutely!

Sawan: If you could put one message out to the world, just one, what would it be?

Ankita: We need more women in leadership roles. This isn't just a current need but has been a long-standing issue. Women represent a very small ratio at the workplace, and many drop out of their careers. We need to take joint responsibility for supporting more women and reducing subconscious biases. Women often don't have many leaders to look up to, especially in smaller companies. Men often bond over casual activities like drinking or smoking, which can exclude women and deprive them of learning and networking opportunities. Everyone should be mindful of this bias and strive to treat women equally in the workforce.

Sawan: Very wise words! Alright, Ankita, we're done! Thank you so much for sitting down with me and doing this interview. I know how busy you are.

Ankita: Don't mention it. It was fun!