John Rizzo
Product Management
San Francisco,CA
Summary
As a seasoned Product Leader, I excel at navigating cross-functional teams through the complex and ever-evolving landscape of product development using ideation, strategic planning, collaboration skills, and a formidable talent for simplifying complex concepts for all audiences.
My recent endeavors have taken me on a journey into Prompt Engineering and the foundations of AI, leaving me with an insatiable thirst for further knowledge. With a knack for creating successful partnerships and a deep understanding of global data privacy regulations, I’m an asset to any organization seeking someone to steer their product vision and execute cutting-edge business, strategic, and technical solutions.
As a Y Combinator Startup School alumnus, I continue to work with a large community of founders from the YC SUS, constantly exploring new horizons and pushing boundaries. My proven track record of raising $170k in funding for CYDigital and generating revenues of $9M through technical business development at Aplix, alongside selling company IP to Oracle for $5M+, speaks volumes of my exceptional abilities. I am well-equipped to lead a team through the turbulent waters of product development, guiding them towards their ultimate vision with a steady hand and unwavering determination.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
HEAD OF PRODUCT / CTO
Marteq.io a CYDigital Company
San Francisco, CA
01.2018 - Current
- Co-founded the organization while crafting product vision and roadmap to build a consent driven, ethical data collection solution in the consumer data privacy space
- Pitched to 112 investor groups, raising 170k initial funding
- Managed an 80,000 USD development budget building a SaaS for Mobile and Web
- Hired & managed product development team of 15+ people in three regions using a mix of outsourcing and partnerships
- Conducted user interviews resulting in 400+ backlog features
- Conducted competitive analysis for market fit
- Translated user needs into PRDs
- Prioritized 200+ features in 5 swim lanes mapped over twelve main product phases
- Adjusted feature priorities based on internal and key target user input after each sprint
- Conducted sprint review and planning meetings to set sprint velocity
- Managed development from proof of concept to MVP to v1.0 over a 10-month period
- Mitigated tech debt through low-to-no throwaway methodology
- Used SQL and NoSQL solutions as well as Slack, GitHub, Basecamp, Trello, Miro, JIRA, and Confluence
- Built development plan including service runtime costs for financial plan – covering system, key roles, equipment, and cloud costs
- Leveraged AWS and Google Cloud specials to minimize entry costs.
SVP PRODUCTS AND INNOVATION
Ubitus Inc
San Francisco, CA
01.2013 - 01.2017
- Program manager For USA game streaming efforts
- Led sales, business development, technical business development, customer relations, lead sourcing, content sourcing with US publishers, market intelligence, and solutions engineering
- Launched products in the ad space, the VR space, and the gaming space for Mobile and Desktop (UGameNow, a game streaming service running on Verizon)
- Negotiated and closed a $5M+ contract with EA for a game delivery solution through a partnership with EA and Comcast that grew to run in 100k+ homes
- Built business and product pipeline through partnerships with Verizon, Comcast, AT&T, Cox, Scholastic, Hulu, Vizio, Nvidia, AMD, Valve, Microsoft., Headed up technical expert groups.
VP TECHNOLOGY AND STRATEGY
Aplix Corp
San Francisco, CA
01.2004 - 01.2013
- Devised strategy and roadmap for platform products in Mobile and IOT working cross-functionally with engineering, sales and biz dev, both in the US and in Japan
- Product manager leading a cross-functional team of 12+ in 3 locations (San Francisco, Tokyo, and Taiwan), covering requirement analysis, design, project management, and specification development for a next generation Mobile application platform
- Closely collaborated with C-suite as well as internal and external stakeholders
- Served as Alpix representative for mobile standards organizations such as the Java Community Process EC, OSGi Mobile Expert Group, OMTP, etc
- Led technical business development covering current roadmaps, new products, and innovation projects
- Increased revenues by $9M by negotiating key licensing with IBM
- Negotiated $5M sale of company IP to Oracle.
CHIEF ARCHITECT
Vodafone Group PLC
Walnut Creek CA and Dusseldorf Germany
01.2000 - 01.2004
- Architected several products during an international assignment in Germany (2002 – 2004), including a global content download platform.
- Manager of 20+ engineers and PMs
- Provided technical support on contracts and licensing, and conducted international technical workshops.
- Headed up technical expert groups.
- Development lead for several products and platforms
Skills
- Turning complex subjects into easy-to-understand stories
- Prompt engineering and AI fundamentals
- Product Management
- Agile Mindset
- Influence Management
- Product Strategy
- Mobile application ecosystems
- Innovation Management
- Stakeholder Relations
- Business Development and Customer Retention
- Capital Fundraising
- Vendor Negotiations
- Technology Trend Forecasting
Additional Information
- VOLUNTEERING , BOARD DIRECTOR / PRESIDENT Field of Dogs, Dog Park Marin County, CA 2014-2018
- GROUPS YC Startup School Alumni, Late Night Founders, Mobile Experts, Vodafone Alumni Group, PM Community
Education
Philosophy
Brooklyn College of The City University of New York
Brooklyn, NYAccomplishments
- Raised 170k in funding for CYDigital/Marteq
- Developed the marteq SaaS from ideation through launch
- Participated in NewChip accelerator and YC Startup School
- Served as chief Architect for VodafoneLive! App Store, with 3 million users in the first 3 months
- At Aplix managed a project that increased revenues by $9M
- Also at Aplix I sold company IP to Oracle for $5M+
- At Ubitus I negotiated a $5M+ contract with EA and was Product Manager for the project
Certification
Linkedin Learning Certs
- Agile Foundations
- Becoming a Product Manager: A Complete Guide
- Product Management: Building a Product Strategy
- Technical Product Management
Google Cloud Learning - https://www.cloudskillsboost.google/public_profiles/b1d43393-29a0-49a2-bf79-f32dbf6ac5c4
- Generative AI Fundamentals
- Attention Mechanism
- Generative AI Hands-on-Lab
Timeline
HEAD OF PRODUCT / CTO
Marteq.io a CYDigital Company
01.2018 - Current
SVP PRODUCTS AND INNOVATION
Ubitus Inc
01.2013 - 01.2017
VP TECHNOLOGY AND STRATEGY
Aplix Corp
01.2004 - 01.2013
CHIEF ARCHITECT
Vodafone Group PLC
01.2000 - 01.2004
Philosophy
Brooklyn College of The City University of New York
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