Digital applications and services are the focal point of businesses across industry verticals and company sizes. With developers in mind, Catchpoint has built an intelligence platform that wrangles huge volumes of data to help companies improve product performance.
With high-traffic, high-visibility customers such as Google, LinkedIn and Honeywell, the stakes and speed of Catchpoint’s development are significant. After almost a decade, the company has found that a culture built around experimentation, creativity and individual growth yields the best products and the best solutions.
We caught up with the company's product team to learn how they have adopted a startup mentality to tackle challenges.
FOUNDED: 2008
EMPLOYEES: Nationally: 185; NYC-based: 85
WHAT THEY DO: As a SaaS company, Catchpoint provides a digital intelligence platform that tracks performance issues in apps and services.
WHERE THEY DO IT: New York City
WHO THEY DO IT FOR: Companies interested in understanding how their customers interact with their products and improving user experience.
PERKS: Wellness offerings like yoga and massages, as well as additional PTO for time spent volunteering in the community.
FUN FACT: Catchpoint operates as a startup, but as a company about to celebrate its 10th anniversary, they’re an established organization. Several members of the team have been with the company for more than seven years.
Matt, Vice President of Product
As the vice president of product, Matt manages products end-to-end. His team is responsible for the product roadmap, design of all features, user experience (both UI and UX) and commercialization.
BEYOND WORK: Matt sings in a classical chorus. He sees parallels between putting on a concert and rolling out a software release. “Both strive to deliver an amazing experience to the customer,” he said, “and both require dedication, hard work and coordinated teamwork.”
An ideal candidate is a constant learner who can seamlessly translate between customer needs and technical solutions."
What kind of candidate integrates well into the product team?
An ideal candidate for the product team is a constant learner with a passion for problem solving who can seamlessly translate between customer needs and technical solutions. They’re relentlessly detail-oriented but never lose sight of the strategic big picture. They’re expert internal and external communicators and don’t blindly accept feature requests. Instead, they search for the problem motivating the customer’s “want.”
Which parts of the product development process have you found particularly useful or meaningful?
One process we use heavily is building UX prototypes, which serve as a great way to communicate and collaborate on feature functionality and design between product managers, designers and engineers. We also love using Post-it notes on the wall to map out features into priorities and releases. Of course, we use a lot of digital tools as well, but something about the old-school method of writing on paper and physically arranging features by hand helps us internalize the scope of the product roadmap.
How would you describe the interplay between vision and development on your team?
We use standard product management tools and procedures to translate ideas into user stories, the Agile building block for developers. Once feature ideas are broken down into use-case flows, we identify a minimum viable product. We take that to the engineering team to find dependencies and look for potential problems or better alternatives. We use design sprints and build our prototypes. Once we have the set of user stories, we prioritize and rank them for development.
Vandan, Senior Product Manager
Vandan is responsible for managing Catchpoint’s Enterprise Node product, which helps companies preempt performance issues. He and his team are constantly thinking strategically about how they can improve accessibility and service, and implementing well-designed solutions.
BEYOND WORK: As an enthusiastic wildlife and landscape photographer, Vandan is keenly aware of the patience necessary to get the perfect shot. “You typically have to wait hours for the right moment,” he said, “and you have minutes, and at times, seconds to capture it.”
What signature processes are in place at Catchpoint for collaborations between design, engineering and product teams?
One of the most important aspects of the process is that the design and product teams sit together. This helps us talk out loud about new features that are either in the design phase or maturing as an existing feature. We also constantly validate our progress with engineers. Something that would take too long to build either does not make the cut or is broken into smaller pieces so we can deliver something functional and receive feedback before we build out the remaining parts.
User data as well as communicating and validating with our users is key."
How does your discovery process help you find out what your customers want from Catchpoint’s products?
User data as well as communicating and validating with our users is key. Once I have something concrete or think I’m onto something, I try to write a job description for the feature or product. People typically want to “hire” a product or service to get a job done and that job is at the center of my focus. Once I have the job description, it’s easier to break the work into smaller logical pieces.
What about Catchpoint inspired you to seek a role there, and what inspires you to stay?
When I first spoke to Catchpoint, it was at my interview. They told me who they are and how they work. No frills — they were to the point and very honest. Two years down the line, I can say the experience hasn’t changed. While we have implemented new processes, the culture has continued to nurture directness and authenticity.
Kimberly, Technical Product Owner
In her role as technical product owner, Kimberly works closely with the backend teams. Primarily, she focuses on the logistics of Catchpoint’s agents, including how the data is gathered and parsed before passing it through to the front end.
BEYOND WORK: Kimberly loves to run. She has created running goals for herself that are attainable yet challenging, which has helped her become a better leader. “I have learned how to push myself and others to be the best that we can be,” she said.
What drew you to Catchpoint, and what inspired you to join the company?
Coming from a big financial firm, I knew I wanted to work for a startup. I looked more into what Catchpoint does as a company, and once I found the job description of my current role, I knew the skills I gained from my previous job aligned closely with the role.
At our company, a co-founder interviews every candidate. In my interview, I asked my interviewer several difficult questions and the responses were always honest. I did not hear typical corporate jargon, and I knew that if the co-founders presented themselves in this way, then the company environment was right for me. The culture is amazing here. Everyone is friendly and teams easily integrate together in the working and social environments.
We get to use our personal creativity[...] I love the challenge that comes with figuring out the best, most efficient way to create a new feature."
What is one thing about your job that you can honestly say you love to do?
On the product team, when we build something new, we get to use our personal creativity. We envision how a feature will work, where it will go and what it will look like. The entire end-to-end process, including which team will do each part of the feature and when, is all up to us. I enjoy this part of my job as there are multiple ways it can be done, and I love the challenge that comes with figuring out the best, most efficient way to create a new feature.
How has the culture of the product team contributed to better understanding Catchpoint’s customers?
Being part of a startup, there are many opportunities to get involved in other areas outside of your role. Consequently, you get to understand how different groups work and get a break from your day-to-day tasks. This is exciting for me because it has given me a unique opportunity to understand our customers’ needs outside of our main areas of focus.
Ambroise, UX Designer
Ambroise’s UX design work involves figuring out flows and experiences that shorten goal achievement for users. It also includes standardizing general style guides so the platform feels solid and uses consistent visual metaphors.
BEYOND WORK: Ambroise is constantly sketching and visiting museums, and undertakes both personal and collaborative artistic projects. He also produces music and sometimes DJs at local parties. “Creativity is a lifestyle,” he said.
How did you enter your current role at Catchpoint, and how does it stack up against your expectations?
My position at Catchpoint has transformed from a summer internship during college into a full-blown career in product design, technology and innovation. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into, and I learned a lot of the basics the hard way. Today, I wouldn’t trade my position for anything in the world. I feel like I contribute to products in a way where my voice is heard. That dynamic lets me surprise myself in exponential ways and the more I learn, the more I want to learn.
The goal is common for everyone: innovate while having fun solving difficult challenges...this renders the office as a very safe space for learning and growth."
How have you noticed Catchpoint adjusting to address issues and changes in UI/UX design?
The learning pace is incredible. As the internet expands, our responsibilities grow with it. Online businesses are asking for more, and what used to be a simple chart integration has now become an algorithmic intelligence. Those types of features demand higher consistency and more responsibility in team communications.
How do Catchpoint’s core goals and values translate into the employee experience?
The goal is common for everyone: innovate while having fun solving difficult challenges. Egotistical behavior has no space or time to thrive here, and this renders the office as a very safe space for learning and growth. What especially promotes employee wellbeing here is the understanding of how important family and personal life is. No one is pressured to work off-hours, and our leaders and managers are extremely understanding of personal time, personal health, as well as hobbies and projects.
