Leadership, Product, & Design - Shay Howe_Sports

Hello, I’m ShayI’m a product leader with a design and engineering background.My love is for solving problems. Specifically providing simple solutions to what was previously arcane or impossible. Solutions that, while intuitive, provide value to the customer and business alike.TwitterLinkedInGitHubDribbbleLanyrdRecently & ElsewhereEvery One-on-One Meeting Should Ask This QuestionStartups.coJuly 2017For Managers: How to Provide Meaningful FeedbackJanuary 2017Could Five Questions Help You Become a Better Manager?Chicago InnoDecember 2016Be a Better LeaderDecember 2016Think Like a Four-Year-OldNovember 2016How I Read & Remember What I ReadNovember 2016Chicago companies adopt Google's design sprintsBuilt In Chicago InterviewAugust 2016Sass Mixins vs Extends: The DataBelly TechMarch 2015Shay Howe, Product Director at BellyCampfire InterviewOctober 2014Learn Beginner and Advanced HTML/CSS Skills for FreeLifehacker FeatureJanuary 2013WorkActiveCampaignVP of Product DesignAmidst a rapidly growing business, I lead a team of multidisciplinary designers focused on our customers, ensuring we’re solving the right problems with the best solutions, delivering business value everyday. Collaborating with product, engineering, marketing, and the greater organization, my role includes building and mentoring teams as well as shaping our strategy and vision.Lead HonestlyCo-FounderWanting to help others become better managers and foster high performing teams, I co-founded Lead Honestly to help managers grow as a leaders and actively engage their employees. Be it with design, development, marketing, finance, or anywhere in-between, I work on every aspect of the business, helping me round out and strengthen my overall skill set.YelloVP of ProductLeading and mentoring teams of product managers and designers, I worked collaboratively across the entire organization to deliver the product vision and strategy, and help drive the execution and iteration of our products. With short-term client needs and long-term strategic needs in mind, I aligned our product evolution and overall mission.BellyVP of ProductLeading the Product, Design, and Front-end Engineering teams, I was responsible for the overall strategy, development, growth, and adoption of our products. Day to day I worked closely with cross-functional stakeholders, oversee numerous product and project teams, and mentored the team building the world’s best loyalty program.GrouponUser Interface EngineerWhile fostering a stronger relationship between the design and engineering teams, I helped multiple product teams with different initiatives including redesigning Groupon.com, numerous conversion optimization projects, building visual and interface guidelines, and a developing large scale front-end architecture.The Starter LeagueDesign Director & InstructorWith growing involvement over time, I began as an advisor and mentor and later helped build and lead the design education program, including teaching the front-end development courses. Furthermore, I lead a product team to build a learning management system to expand the in-class experience.lightbankProduct Designer & Front-end EngineerVenturing from web to product focused work, at lightbank I leveraged my multidisciplinary design and development skill set to help build different products and businesses, including working with Groupon, Belly, and Pawngo amongst others.Agency & FreelanceWeb Designer & Front-end EngineerSpecializing in visual and user experience design, I got my start working with different agencies and picking up freelance projects. Wanting to be able to build what I was designing, and by extension have a larger impact on the end user experience, I expanded my skills to include front-end development.Extracurricular Chicago CampsCo-FounderAlongside Brad Simpson and Russ Unger, I co-founded Chicago Camps, an organization with the intention of bringing high-value, low-cost events to the technology community. Our goal includes helping find new talent and topics and provide a forum for those to be shared.DESIGNATIONBoard MemberAs an Advisory Board Member for DESIGNATION, I help guide and support the leadership team in building one of the world’s best design education programs.Learn to Code HTML & CSSAuthorFollowing my passion for education, I wrote Learn to Code HTML and CSS to teach people how to develop and style websites with HTML and CSS. Outlining the fundamentals, the guides cover all of the common elements of front-end design and development, and were subsequently published as a book by New Riders, a subsidiary of Pearson Education.Prota VenturesPartnerProta Ventures is a venture-building and early-stage investment firm where I assist with business ideation, validation, and execution. It’s an all star team of operators on a mission to launch inspiring new ventures and invest in early-stage founders.Refresh ChicagoCo-OrganizerWith Jon Buda, Anthony Zinni, and the late Matt Puchlerz, I’ve had the pleasure of co-organizing Refresh Chicago meetups for over five years. With roughly 3,000 members, Refresh Chicago is one of the largest communities of designers and developers working to refresh the creative, technical, and professional culture of New Media endeavors.TechstarsMentorWorking alongside the best and brightest, I routinely meet with and mentor with Techstars portfolio companies new and old. My relationships with these companies are deep as we cover opportunities ranging from product, design, and engineering to fundraising, recruiting, and leadership, or anything in-between.Shay HoweWritingReading@shayhowe