Sole PM. Half-built product. Taken from prototype to live.
Popcom is a Shopify-native creator commerce and affiliate platform. Brands launch campaigns and set commissions. Creators apply, get a smart link, and earn a base fee plus commission on every sale. Brands get real-time attribution.
The problem
I joined as the first and only PM. The product was half-built, hardcoded, and not ready for market. No process, no documentation, no PM before me.
Outcome
• 40+ creators onboarded
• 1 active brand campaign live
• Live at www.getpopcom.com
Scoped it. Designed it. Hired for it. Shipped it.
Key decisions
• Hardcoded platform: pushed for a proper backend before going to market
• 6-step onboarding: cut to 3 without losing anything essential
• Physical product tracking in the MVP: opposed it, got it deprioritised, kept focus on the core loop
• No age check: proposed 18+ for legal and brand safety, and it shipped
• No sprint structure: set up Jira in week one
Research and GTM
In the first three weeks I ran a competitor analysis, including an emerging competitor the team wasn’t tracking. It shaped our positioning and GTM. I also wrote decks for brands, creators, and leadership.
Hands-on delivery
• Designed the mobile app UI in Figma, on deadline, approved by the founder
• Led two redesign cycles and 12+ concepts before locking direction
• Finalised API architecture for creator tracking and smart links
• Evaluated payment gateways, scoped Shopify pixel integration, and worked through RBI wallet rules for payouts
• Interviewed engineers, sourced agencies, and ran contracts and sprints
Two calls that proved right
I pushed back on a deliberately complex onboarding flow, and flagged early that another stakeholder’s setup had no real backend. Both turned out to be accurate.
Popcom went from a hardcoded prototype to a live product in under a year, with one PM owning it end to end.
