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I'm Priyanka.
Hi!
An Entrepreneur, Coach, Product Leader, and Speaker.
I'm on a mission to make product management easy, fun, & accessible to all so that more women & diverse people can make it to the C-suite!
A little bit about me
Just like you, I’m a mash-up of many different traits & experiences that make me who I am today...and who I am becoming!
I’m the Founder of a Coaching/Training business - "Product-with-Pri",
ICF (International Coaching Federation) Certified Coach,
Experienced Product Leader (18 years in B2B SaaS),
Electrical Engineer (Columbia University) by education,
Product Coach at Stanford University,
You-tuber & Content Creator,
Artist and Speaker,
First-generation immigrant,
Mom ( & Dog Mom!) and
Self-proclaimed Diversity Champion!
Enjoying an outdoor dinner despite the rain! In the magical town of Leavenworth, Washington...
Transitioning from PM Leader to Product Coach..
I started my journey into Coaching and Teaching Product Management in 2021, during the pandemic, when I taught my first PM cohort at Product School, part time.
Since then, I’ve led six PM cohorts including at Product School and Stanford University, teaching and coaching over 400 people, from 15+ countries, through 1:1 and group coaching sessions! In addition to coaching many Experienced and Aspiring PMs on their career strategy, job search and PM interview skills last year..
While my love for coaching has been somewhat of an accidental discovery, it is something that comes very naturally to me.
I enjoy working with diverse groups of people, not just diverse from their cultural or ethnic background, but coming from a diverse work experience..
For example, I’ve coached an M.D./CEO of a pharma company in Canada, a product leader in Ghana, a product director from the Netherlands, early-career start-up PMs, and a big-tech PM moving to Lead PM in the U.S., all looking to learn or up-level their Product Management, Story-telling or Interview skills, to achieve their career goals faster!
This knowledge and experience, combined with my passion for coaching & teaching people, and helping them fast-track their career, is what led me to start my own coaching business in 2023!
What I do..
Since 2023, I am focused on Product Management Career Coaching and Training for individuals, through my business - ‘Product-with-Pri’.
"I have helped many Aspiring and Experienced PMs fast-track their product careers, and
increase their income + impact, without the stress and overwhelm of doing it alone!"
Starting 2024, I’m also offering Coaching and Training services to companies (B2B)! So, if you’re looking for an experienced coach or trainer who will create a personalized, flexible, effective and fun course or training curriculum for your Product Team to take their knowledge and performance to the next level, I’d love to talk to you!
Being an Entrepreneur at heart, and with my vast experience across 7- 8 industries and 4-5 product domains, I’ve always enjoyed helping startup founders in both early and late stages solve different problems such as product-market fit, defining their target market and more.
For example, in 2016, I worked as a Consultant and Advisor to the CEO and CPO of a successful bay area start-up - Moveworks, currently valued at $2.1B, to help them develop a target customer profile, and a customer qualification process, when they were in their very early stage!
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Where I’ve worked..
Stanford University
ServiceNow
Salesforce
NYC Health & Hospitals
Google
Credit Suisse
Capgemini
Estée Lauder
Who I help...
Experienced PMs
I help Experienced PMs grow to the next level (internally, or externally) by assessing their PM skills, helping them understand their superpowers, and building Product Thinking muscles in areas where they have limited knowledge and experience.
Aspiring PMs
I help Aspiring Product Managers figure out their own personalized path to a PM career, using a 7-step process that I created, which helped me transition from Program to Product Manager, and has helped my clients transition to PM!
New Product/People Leaders
I help new Product/People Leaders by helping them increase their impact, and become more authentic leaders, without burning out, to create sustainable success!
My Story
Born and raised in a close-knit, small but mighty middle-class family in the beautiful state of Gujarat, India, I've lived by these tenets…they also happen to be my favorite Harry Potter quotes 😀 (you don't need to be a Harry Potter fan to relate to these though!)
Taking risks... “What’s life without a little risk?” —Sirius Black
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Caring & communication... “Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” - Albus Dumbledore
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Loss... "Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.” - Luna Lovegood
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Self-blame... "You are not a bad person, Harry, you are a very good person who bad things have happened to” - Sirius Black
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Self-trust... "It is the quality of one’s convictions that determines success, not the number of followers.” - Remus Lupin
Life, and values... "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
- Albus Dumbledore
Significant milestones in my life & career..
The 80s..
My early years
Who I am today is shaped by my early years, growing up in a loving family with a strong emphasis on education and the arts.
Despite our non-upper-class background, I was able to attend an English-medium school, thanks to an ambitious mom who wanted me to feel confident speaking on a global stage one day.
It was my parents’ support, and my own relentless effort that enabled me to win an award for academic excellence almost every year, for 10 years.
A deep love of art, music, painting, dance and theatre was deep rooted in me since these early days..
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This comfort and joy of being on stage or speaking to a group of people is what continues to drive my confidence in speaking and presenting today!
Performing "Mary had a little lamb" at school, 5 years old..
1999
My beloved dad, whose love for nature inspired the green hues of this website..
My biggest challenge
My early dream was to become an architect, but I ended up pursuing Electronics Engineering at a National Institute of Technology instead..
In April of 1999, I lost my beloved father very suddenly, challenging my resolve and grit...
Supported by my resilient and hard working mother, I persevered through grief and academic challenges...
And graduated with a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering in the summer of 2002...
Thanks to family support, I decided to pursue higher education in the United States...
Ultimately securing admission to the Electrical Engineering program at Columbia University.
2003
A student & first-generation immigrant in NYC..
Coming to Columbia University as a student and first generation immigrant is an experience that shaped me.Â
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The weather was cold and harsh, the city big and crowded, and the housing apartments small.
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I was among the two women in my Masters program, amongst 20+ men!
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I graduated from Columbia in May 2004, a proud moment where my father was dearly missed, but I was thankful for the presence of my mom and my uncle.
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I started my first job as a Technical Associate at Credit Suisse - an investment bank in New York City.Â
2006
My first job
I love New York! The high energy of this city matched mine, and I enjoying living here despite it's challenges.
After a few years at Credit Suisse, I started to feel out of place - women and minorities were scarce, and even less of them in top positions.
Around the 3-year mark, I found out I was being laid off. The pressure of securing a job with an H1-B visa was immense.
After many challenges, I secured an interesting role at NYC Health and Hospitals.
When clients come to me asking for help navigating the job market post lay-off, I know exactly how to help them.
2014
Career transition to Product Mgmt., & moving to California
After working for almost 8 years in New York City, I moved to upstate NY to start a family and a new job as an Project/Program Manager of Enterprise products. However, the long winters left me unhappy.
Having visited a good friend from Stanford many years ago, I had the chance to see northern California, and had been dreaming of living and working here one day!
In the fall of 2014, I successfully made the transition to a Sr. Product Manager role at ServiceNow, which also paid for my family’s move from NY to CA!
2018
A life transition, & moving to Salesforce
After leaving ServiceNow, I faced a big personal challenge - divorce, but professionally, I transitioned into consulting, gaining valuable experience at Google.
Inspired by my solo trip to Maui, Hawaii post divorce, and reading about Marc Benioff's Salesforce start-up story, I applied there in late 2017, based on my Product Management & domain expertise in Customer Experience, Partner Experience, CRM and Marketing Automation.
In early 2018 I joined Salesforce, progressing quickly from PM to Sr Manager of Product (L7 or L8 in most tech companies), leading a team of PMs & product analysts.
Despite startup offers as Head-of-Product, I stayed at Salesforce for stability, which enabled me to fulfill my dream of buying a home after 2 decades in the U.S.!
2023
Starting a new career in my early 40s
After five years at Salesforce, I felt drained by the hustle culture and felt like I had lost touch with myself.
While initially passionate about Salesforce.org, the acquisition by Salesforce.com brought constant org changes and transitions, which drained me both physically and mentally.
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During the pandemic, I had already started to explore coaching and teaching product management, leading me to start my own coaching business in April 2023!
I’m sharing my story here in the hope that you can relate to some of it, and it helps to normalize and validate perhaps your own experiences, emotions and challenges, in careers & in life.Â
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My story is a testament to what you can achieve in your life despite all the odds - with self-trust, determination, effort and the right guidance & support from others!
“You are not just a drop in the ocean,
you are the entire ocean in a drop!”
My passion and commitment to coaching..
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is a non-profit organization that sets the global standards,
for quality and excellence in Coaching.
In addition to my coaching experience of 100+ hours,
I have demonstrated my commitment to learning and development as a Coach, by attending 60+ hours of an ICF accredited training program based on NLP (Neuro-linguistic Programming), ICF’s 8 core competencies, advanced communication skills,
And, successfully passing a grueling 3 hour exam to earn my ICF ACC (Associate Certified Coach) credential in 2024!
That means, my clients get the benefit of a coach who is not just a Product Management expert, but knows how to coach,
meets the highest quality ICF standard, and goes above and beyond to drive client success!
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Beyond 18 years in high tech
Training & Credentials
Here are some of my key credentials and achievements:
Education
My other dimensions...
Something I want to do more of...
During the pandemic, I used Skillshare to learn Gouache painting, and then used Adobe Illustrator basics to create pattern designs, and print my own mugs, t-shirts, blankets for friends and family.
That’s me wearing my own design :-)
I’d like to paint PM memes one day and create custom merch!
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I’ve worked on mixed-media art, oil on canvas, sketching, and watercolors over the years.
Art & Design
Something that makes me happy...
Dance
Be it a fun bollywood group dance, or a solo Indian classical dance performance, dance never fails to bring me joy.
If good music is playing, my feet can’t help it :-)
That’s me during the pandemic, recording for "Salesforce-got-talent"!
I hold a B.A. in an Indian Classical dance, Bharat Natyam, after 7 years of theory and practice from my Guru.
Be it a fun bollywood group dance, or a solo Indian classical dance performance, dance never fails to bring me joy.
If good music is playing, my feet can’t help it :-)
That’s me during the pandemic, recording for "Salesforce-got-talent"!
I hold a B.A. in an Indian Classical dance, Bharat Natyam, after 7 years of theory and practice from my Guru.
My biggest motivation...
Family
I have a blended family, which includes my son, my boyfriend/partner, and our adopted Siberian husky Piper. With 50% custody, school pickups and activities, life is a constant hustle, but it is love that holds us all together…and...the delicious french cooking of my partner (blackberry almond tart, or saffron creme brulee, anyone? :-)
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Given the early loss of my father, I credit a large part of my success to my mother’s support, and incredible courage as a working parent - so on the hard days, it is my mom who inspires me.
Something that recharges me...
Travel & Adventure
Finding joy and peace in nature is a gift from my father. Whether it is climbing a mountain, just a walk in the woods, camping or rope-walking, adventures in nature never cease to bring me happiness, calm and inspiration.
I've visited the wonder that is Yosemite, and did my first Himalayan trek with my partner in 2018. Bill Bryson's "A walk in the Woods" is a book I have read many times :)
That is me at the relaxing Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, WA at their aerial adventure park!
My lifelong quest...
Spirituality
While I was born Hindu and practice Hindusim, spirituality has always been a deeper quest for me than religion.
On this path, I've had the chance to see Sadhguru at the powerful Inner Engineering Retreat in LA.
In June 2022, I joined a 4 day silent retreat at the Art of Living Retreat Center in the mountains of Boone, NC.
During the pandemic, teachings of the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh (beloved Thay) carried me through. Although his beautiful soul has left the world, I dream to visit his Plum Village monastery in France one day.
Something close to my heart...
Giving back
America is a divided country today, and I think giving back to the community brings us together, while serving those who did not get the education & opportunities they deserved..
I've raised $5K for Asha for Education, running the full 26.2 miles of the NYC Marathon in 2005!
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I also helped raise $9K in 2017 for Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.
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I've mentored and talked to underpriviledged high school kids who have no role models to follow.
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That's us at my son's school's biggest fundraiser, the "Walkathon" where he ran/walked 7 miles!
What's Next?
Looking for help with your career strategy, resume, PM interviews and more to land your FIRST or NEXT Product Manager job? I’ve got you covered…
JOIN MY PM LEVEL-UP COACHING PROGRAM
(Group + 1:1 support, 6-8 weeks!)
With your fellow Experienced PMs,
or Aspiring PMs from a related field...
Through two weekly group sessions per week for 8 weeks, we will craft your career strategy, up-level your PM and interview skills, and help you land your first or next PM role faster!