Meet Simon, our Product Manager

This blog post is part of a series - that began with Loren - in which I will speak with each member of the company, in order to provide a greater insight into the role of every individual. This post looks at Simon, our Product Manager.

What do you do for Cuvva?

My title is Product Manager, which entails organizing and overseeing the development of the app itself. This includes all the backend elements that facilitate the functionality of the app. I combine both user experience and project management to ensure that the product is maintained and improved appropriately.

How did you get into this?

Originally I applied for Head of Customer Operations, however shortly after this I left to travel South America. Once I returned from my travels, I got back in contact with Cuvva, and it turned out that they had already found a great hire. Instead Cuvva had opened up the position of Product Manager - which Freddy and James felt my skills were best suited to - so I took the role, and here I am.

Can you tell us about what you're working on this week?

This week I am focusing on building a testing system, which will allow everyone at Cuvva to understand the app to a greater extent. This system will allow everyone to contribute QA data, such as finding bugs, so that we can address issues and resolve them efficiently.

Who do you work with most?

Most of the time I work alongside Blake - our lead designer - to oversee the development of the app interface. I also frequently work with James, our CTO, as he relays his aims for the app, which I then ensure are executed within a reasonable time frame. I also work with Hovik, our lead iOS developer.

What are you excited about working on in the next few months?

Definitely the arrival of our new Android developer. This will increase the capacity of our team, giving us more time to channel energy into improving various aspects of the product, based on customer feedback.

What have you learned during your time at Cuvva?

I've definitely learned a lot about how insurance works, which I'm sure most of the team will agree with. To be specific, I feel that I now understand the reasoning behind certain restrictions in the insurance industry. I've also learnt the ins and outs of KYC, and the importance of a user's documentation.

What do you do for fun?

I enjoy playing music with friends (I play drums!), and watching comedy (stand-up and improv). Sport-wise, I enjoy tennis, a bit of climbing, and I have been meaning to get back into Scuba diving and squash!

Tell us something unexpected about you.

Well, firstly I have a Masters degree in Engineering that I've never used, though I definitely thought I would! Perhaps more unexpected: I founded and ran a couple of food startups. The second, and far more interesting, was an on-demand, meal-kit delivery company called Shuttlecook. We delivered bags of ingredients for tasty home-cooked meals, all portioned out and ready to go, to offices in Shoreditch and the City. It worked reasonably well for a year or so, but ultimately went the way 90% of startups do, which led to me join Cuvva!