Founding PM Circle (Aug)

🌟 Join the Founding PM Circle! 🌟

What is it?
This exclusive monthly roundtable is dedicated to founding product managers, early PM hires, and PM-turned-product leaders who are making impactful strides at early-stage startups.

Why It Matters

The founding PM role is notoriously challenging. You're tasked with defining the roadmap with limited data, making crucial product decisions with minimal resources, and navigating founder dynamics without a blueprint.

Interestingly, the landscape is evolving rapidly; with agentic coding enhancing shipping speed, PM responsibilities now extend to prototyping and even shipping code—on top of roadmap prioritization, user research, and amplifying the customer's voice. Often, you're the lone PM amidst a whirlwind of diverse functions and fast-paced perspectives that have accelerated over the last two years. While founders have access to resources like YC and OnDeck, founding PMs have lacked a similar support network—until now. The Founding PM Circle addresses this gap by providing a solid community and monthly discussions to tackle the real challenges faced at early stages.

Who's Leading the Conversation?

• Jaron Parnala: Founding PM at Bison Trails, a blockchain infrastructure platform acquired by Coinbase for $457M. Jaron has played a pivotal role in shaping product strategies and was previously the Product Lead at Distributional.
• Sam Shaffer: Previously Founding PM at January, focused on enhancing the debt resolution experience. With a strong background in technology and financial services, Sam brings invaluable insights to the table.

What to Expect

• Intimate roundtable format designed for in-depth peer exchanges, not just networking.
• Candid discussions about defining product strategies without a playbook, collaborating with technical founders, and thriving in ambiguity.
• Insights from two unique perspectives—crypto infrastructure and proptech—with transferable lessons across industries.
• Food and refreshments provided.
• Access to a vetted community of founding PMs navigating similar challenges.

Format

This peer-led roundtable session encourages you to come prepared with your questions and challenges. It's a working session—we're here to learn from each other!

Food/refreshments start at 5:00 PM; roundtable discussions run from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.

Hosted by: Randy Brown, Founder of Scout and former CTO at Jopwell, who knows the ins and outs of early-stage talent development through engaging events, workshops, and private networks.

📍 Location: 989 Market St, 2nd Floor
🎟️ Reserve Your Spot!