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Berlin, Germany

Hootan M.

product-centric change management

As a seasoned executive and former Y Combinator founder & CEO, I bring a proven track record of driving growth and operational excellence across both startup and scale environments at globally-recognized consumer tech brands. My experience spans diverse industries including productivity, social networking, e-commerce, marketplaces, and fintech.

I have played a pivotal role in accelerating

business success through strategic

leadership, operational optimization, and

building high-performing teams contributing

to four successful exits and one IPO.

Highlights include helping Depop scale GMV

from $150M to $300M in one year,

launching and growing 14 Rocket Internet

products in two years, and leading

Nextdoor's transition to mobile-rst

engagement.

A collaborative leader, I excel at aligning

cross-functional teams and stakeholders

around a clear vision and execution

roadmap. Leveraging data-driven insights,

strong decision-making, and a continuous

improvement mindset, I deliver measurable

business outcomes that drive sustainable

growth and market impact.

Hire Hootan
Hootan M.

Experience

Jul 2024 — Present
Product Pioneer Partners

Product Pioneer Partners

Founding Partner

* Co-founded the firm to guide companies through high-impact organizational transformation powered by emerging AI technologies * Serve as a trusted advisor to investors, founders, and CEOs during pivotal inflection points, orchestrating adoption of cutting edge solutions to enable rapid, step-change growth * Drive measurable outcomes in less than 60 days by architecting AI product vision and strategy frameworks, defining robust technical blueprints, shaping high-caliber talent pipelines, and mobilizing accelerated execution plans * Architected and recruited product and engineering teams from the ground up at an early-stage edtech startup, delivering an AI-powered personalized learning MVP within 30 days * Sourced a Cambridge University AI PhD and delivered a proof-of-concept AI automation solution for a leading global art gallery in just 6 weeks, achieving accuracy rates 19% above client requirements Client Testimonials: “What P3 pulled off in six months was nothing short of transformational. They helped Flylane leap from being a classic education business to a forward-facing AI product company. They brought clarity to our vision, built our strategy and roadmap, and assembled the team that’s now taking it even further. Fast, sharp, and truly all-in — working with P3 was a game-changer.” - Alexander Zheltov, CEO and Co-Founder at Educate Online, Inc. “I engaged P3 to develop an AI proof-of-concept (POC) aimed at significantly enhancing our operational efficiency. Within just six weeks, they not only delivered the POC on time but also exceeded the ambitious success metrics we had set.” - Alexander Zacke, Galerie Zacke

Oct 2020 — Jun 2024
Hyperseed

Hyperseed

CEO & Co-Founder

Hyperseed is a finance operations (FinOps) automation company empowering finance teams with direct control over automating and streamlining their custom workflows. The first product enables finance teams to automate their complex, recurring billing operations at scale.

  • Conceived vision for and built an innovative B2B FinOps SaaS platform for automating and streamlining custom finance workflows
  • Raised $1.3M from YC, Quiet Capital and 11 other investors
  • Responsible for strategy, sales, marketing and P&L
Nov 2018 — Sep 2019
Depop

Depop

Interim Chief Product Officer (consultant)

Buy and sell on Depop — Depop is the home of circular fashion that’s kinder to people and kinder to the planet. Find vintage clothing. Whatever your style, find it on Depop

  • Delivered a cross-functional, three-year product roadmap tied to the vision-at-large for Depop and executed against the immediate annual milestones, helping the company scale from $150M to $300M in GMV during my tenure
  • Restructured and led the product team squads through bi-weekly sprint releases, implemented a transparent weekly product update mechanism for management and a weekly reporting process tying product improvement KPIs and OKRs to GMV
  • Created a management accountability structure formalizing and clarifying key responsibilities from C-level down to director level, outlining inter-dependability of roles to maximize cross-functional collaboration
  • Represented Depop as acting CPO in investor meetings and was instrumental in closing the company's $62M Series C fund raise led by General Atlantic
Sep 2017 — Nov 2017
Brickblock

Brickblock

Interim Chief Operating Officer (consultant)

Brickblock is a blockchain real estate asset tokenization platform.

  • Led a 30-person blockchain asset tokenization startup through its first major, three-week initial coin offering (ICO)
  • Led product and day-to-day operations including finance & accounting, human resources, hiring, and external company communications with vendors and partners
Mar 2015 — Mar 2017
Rocket Internet SE

Rocket Internet SE

Global Chief Product Officer

Rocket Internet is the most renowned and successful global startup incubator and investor, with over 170 portfolio companies and $30B+ in cumulative exits such as HelloFresh ($2B IPO) and DeliveryHero ($5B IPO)

  • Led Rocket's central product, design and conversion optimization teams responsible for both 0-1 of new ventures and late-stage optimization through IPOs & exits
  • Directed product development for 14 new Rocket companies built & launched over two years, managing product teams and roadmaps for each company from inception to full independence
  • Advised over 50 companies in the Rocket and Global Founders Capitals (GFC) portfolios - ranging from early-stage to pre-IPO phase - on business strategy, operational and product development best-practices and organizational design matters
  • Led the conversion optimization & analytics team in delivering a projected increase of €1.5B+ in annualized revenues to 85+ Rocket companies across 7 verticals and 100+ markets
  • Served on the Rocket management steering committee, reviewing unit economics and growth metrics of key ventures and subsequently driving decisions on funding, organizational matters, and short- and long-term roadmaps
  • Partnered with Facebook and Google on testing, developing and implementing new technologies from their respective ecosystems in order to scale growth and improve engagement & retention of Rocket portfolio users
Sep 2012 — Jan 2015
Nextdoor

Nextdoor

Director of Product

Nextdoor is where you connect to the neighborhoods that matter to you so you can thrive. Our purpose is to cultivate a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can rely on. Neighbors around the world turn to Nextdoor daily to receive trusted information, give and get help, get things done, and build real-world connections with those nearby — neighbors, businesses, and public services. We believe connecting with others is a universal human need. That truth, and the reality that neighborhoods are among the most important communities in our lives, have been guiding principles for Nextdoor since the beginning. Today, neighbors rely on Nextdoor in more than 315,000 neighborhoods across 11 countries. In the U.S., 1 in 3 households uses the network. Nextdoor is based in San Francisco. For additional information and images: nextdoor.com/newsroom. Nextdoor is free, and it's easy to sign up. Get started at https://nextdoor.com. For media inquiries, email us at press@nextdoor.com. For customer support, reach us at http://nextdoor.com/support.

  • As Nextdoor's first dedicated mobile product hire, conceived and built Nextdoor's mobile platform, team, product development infrastructure and market presence from the ground up
  • Scaled mobile to become Nextdoor's leading interface and a top and permanently-featured social app in both Apple and Google's app stores
  • Led the organizational transition to a mobile-first product culture, collaborating across teams and initiatives to grow the scope of the company's mobile know-how and product development capabilities
Aug 2011 — Aug 2012
Bump

Bump

VP Product

Bump enabled users to quickly and easily exchange contact info and photos, simply by bumping their phones together.

  • Transformed Bump's product development organization as the first VP Product
  • Proposed and implemented a strategy of data-backed elimination of non-performing assets, leading to an overhaul of the Bump product lineup on iOS and Android, strengthening the user base, earning high-prole app store placements
  • Led growth from 50 to 90+ million downloads (7th most-downloaded app of all time) and maintained 15M monthly active users despite elimination of features
Jan 2010 — Jul 2011
Tripit

Tripit

Mobile Product Manager

  • Led product lifecycle efforts for TripIt's award-winning mobile application suite as the company's first mobile product manager
  • Managed the transition of TripIt's core product offerings to mobile platforms in the context of a web-first company rapidly transforming into a mobile one
  • Drove 5x, 48x, and 19x increases in installed bases for iOS, Android and BlackBerry, and introduced WP7 appAcquired by Concur ($120M) * Led product lifecycle efforts for TripIt's award-winning mobile application suite as the company's first mobile product
Jun 2007 — Dec 2009
rightpedal

rightpedal

CEO & Founder

rightpedal was an automotive enthusiast social video site.

  • Conceived vision for Generation Y's social video automotive reference site
  • Secured funding from the distinguished Columbia Business School Lang Fund, beating 40 competitors
  • Assembled, inspired, and led international web development and video production team from conception to launch of website
Apr 2006 — Jul 2006
Yahoo

Yahoo

Global Marketing MBA Intern

Amplifying what matters the most to you.

  • Authored a global marketing playbook aimed at standardizing and streamlining Yahoo!'s global product launches, projecting 50% savings in local marketing costs
  • Playbook was compiled based on firsthand experience of pain points during launch of new Y! Mail and Messenger in USA, Asia, Europe and South America
  • Work was praised by CMO, senior executives, and international managers for quality and thoroughness and implemented across several divisions
Oct 2004 — Jun 2005
Ricardo Strategic Consulting

Ricardo Strategic Consulting

Associate

Global automotive industry-focused strategic consultancy

  • Led a client team of six at a Top 5 global engine manufacturer in resolving an $11M warranty issue
  • Created and presented concise weekly progress reports to the client's C-level management
  • Designed and implemented root cause analysis frameworks and test programs to identify and solve issues
Oct 2000 — Oct 2004
Ricardo Software

Ricardo Software

Skills: Leadership · Strategy Business Development Manager, Mechanical Simulation Products

Automotive computer aided engineering simulation software suite

  • Managed sales & marketing of a $2M B2B mechanical simulation software product portfolio to automotive OEMs and suppliers in Asia, Europe and the United States
Aug 1998 — Oct 2000
Ricardo

Ricardo

Project Engineer

Global automotive engineering consultancy

  • Developed engineering and analytical skills through engine system modeling, dynamometer testing and data analysis in over 17 engineering projects
  • Authored proposals, determined budgets, compiled final reports, and presented results to clients including Ford, GM, Chrysler, Kohler, Briggs and Stratton.