Welcome to The Rift

My journey into Product Management has been a pretty unique one to say the least, in just a couple of years – I managed to accelerate through several roles leading to me turning consultant finally. With all these experiences and challenges I have overcome, a place to share my thoughts and opinion on the vast world of product management felt like the right move.

The Rift is Born

Now I don’t claim to be the best of the best, but I do have what many lack, a high tolerance for risk and experimentation. 

This has led me to work with big clients, small clients, apps, websites, web apps and you name it. I have switched over 6 jobs and worked with more than 20 teams, and I never got comfortable in any one given role.

The goal was always to keep on striving to learn more, adapt more, and execute more. With over 50 projects delivered and dozens of clients satisfied, I am equipped with the knowledge to help you scale your skills, knowledge, and expertise.

What is The Rift?

The Rift (an opening made by splitting or separation) will serve as the source material of my life. I feel like I am always flip-flopping between too many things and I have finally found my break with Product Management. Given my background and passion for tech (more at sknexus.com) the dots just connected over the past year.

And also the cover image has to say something about the name, wink, wink.

What The Rift can offer you

The Rift is where I want to share my experiences, my thoughts, and my exposure – maybe someday it can help you overcome your mundane 9 to 5 life.

• Unique insights into the world of tech and product
• Tips and tricks for becoming a Solopreneur
• Ideas about your next project
• How to get better at being a Product Manager
• How to escape the matrix….I mean low income jobs in Pakistan

So let’s start with the first question that comes to the mind, I am sure you are tired of hearing it all over LinkedIn as well:

How did I break into Product Management

Come to think of it I can break down my pursuit into 3 chapters.

Adaptation

When I returned home from my higher education (Mechanical Engineering) I found it very hard to get a job as you may already know Pakistan isn’t really known for manufacturing or Mechanical Engineering relevant industries.

That being said I was always into tech and worked as an Apple technician for the majority of my life before University. One thing led to another and I gave a try to the SaaS industry. Got into tech support baby, a point of start for many here in Islamabad, and also a place where many get stuck forever. 

Circling back to the part where I never managed to hold a job for more than 3-6 months – I quickly transitioned to Support Content Management, then Biz-ops work, and soon after got a job in marketing as a content writer where I never wrote an article. 

Turned out that I had a knack for Project Management, so that is where I went next until eventually I was discovered by a CEO of a company who wanted me to get into a Product Owner/Management role.

Execution

Here came the high-risk move, I had no software education but I had a very versatile tech background, so I had my doubts when being tested for a PO/PM role. 

Thankfully my generalist upbringing lead me to quickly adapt to the Product oriented role, with the right mentors and a hunger for knowledge (yes as cliche as it sounds, you’ll be surprised how many people just talk but don’t walk this) quickly led me to manage and deliver 3-4 major successful projects and solidifying my passion and interest in the field of Product Management. 

Expansion

Which brings us to the current chapter.

In Pakistan, as booming as the IT industry is, true Product Management exists sparingly.  Pakistan is known for outsourcing work mostly and all the PM roles are basically glorified Project Manager roles. The problem with these roles is that you don’t really get to exercise your product muscles properly. You will be solely working on Execution, without any hands-on experience with Research and Planning phases.

Boredom came quickly for me and hence at the start of this year I turned to Upwork as a Product Management Consultant, was the best decision of my life as I saw how many opportunities existed if I looked beyond the bounds of my location.

Now as I write this, I want to learn more about what it is like being a PM at actual companies abroad where people learn and share their experiences over platforms like Linkedin. I aim to build a platform of my own to share my exposure with like-minded individuals while growing truly as an expert. My vision is to eventually be in a place where I can fully execute my passion beyond the bounds of my locality.

Join The Rift Perhaps?

All this being said, I have a long way to go still – in the year 2022 I made it my goal to go beyond the borders of where I live to seek better, bigger, broader opportunities. Keeping true to that goal – for 2023 I want to work on building a team of experts ready to learn and share their experiences with the world. 

With this new website and blog, I aim to build more connections and help more people. Join The Rift to learn, share, and engage.