Not Every Founder Is Made for Founder Mode
Moved by, many say, the iconic speech from Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky, one of YC […]
Today at The Recursive podcast, we welcome one of the most experienced product managers in the Bulgarian tech scene.
Her name is Mariya Rashkovska and she is the head of product management of the Bulgarian Adtech company PubGalaxy. Last year, PubGalaxy was acquired by the Dutch scaleup Azerion.
Prior to joining PubGalaxy, Mariya held management positions at companies such as Telerik and Financial Times.
She is also the co-founder of ProductTank Sofia and a consultant who helps IT companies build successful products.
Mariya reflects on her journey as a product manager, the right skill set for the job and the leadership qualities she developed running product teams. “I never manage around peoples’ weaknesses. I try to work with their strong sides”, she shares.
Mariya describes her leadership style as coaching rather than instructing – trying to encourage people to propose their own solutions and challenge their thinking.
In her conversation with Georgi Nenov, Mariya shares why asking the right questions and the ability to conduct quality interviews is key to customer satisfaction, but also why do product managers often experience impostor syndrome.
“You need to have a very diverse skill set”, she explains. “You have to understand technology, to have business knowledge and strategy. You have to balance between the different stakeholders, between strategic and tactical tasks”, Mariya adds.
She also shares her hacks on how to stay focused and productive. Hint: don’t multitask and ruthlessly prioritize.
Watch the previous episode when Raycho Raychev, the co-founder of space tech company EnduroSat takes us throughout his entrepreneurial journey, sharing his learnings from fundraising, managing people, and building a self-sustainable business.
