To optimize the product management process, it has integrated Intercom into its app. This software enables communication with prospective and existing customers within the app. Then they tag and categorize all the insights. Due to this, the company can discover what people are asking for, what they’re interested in, and what they’re using most often. It analyzes this information weekly to adjust the product roadmap, which is then exported into Pivotal Tracker, an agile project management tool for collaborative backlog prioritization.
The engineering team has module and major sprints. Thus, even though a major sprint can last two or three months, they’re able to push new features every week while they continue working on updates and improvements.
When it comes to personal productivity, Bartine has a very limited amount of time and cannot afford wasting it on things of little importance.
“Like a lot of startup founders, I can work 24 hours a day and still not be done,” he says. So, there’s always a feeling that I could work more. But I force myself to take breaks and to rest, occasionally even take a vacation, which can be scary.”
Bartine is a fan of Bullet Journal, a planner, journal, calendar, and all-around organizational system. It enables him to keep things structured and prioritized by writing down what’s going on in shorthand.
Along with that, he applies labels such as action, next action, waiting on, and so on in Gmail, which helps him get things done.
“I tag emails using that system so I can track those things more easily without having to pull them into a Bullet Journal-type environment,” he explains. “Those are the two [prioritization] things I use the most frequently.”
Challenges and plans for the future
Bartine points out the company is proud of the its current size given its young age. However, it’s still trying to become better known and convince people to join even though it’s less well-known than some competitors. Another pain point is deciding when the very best time for hiring is.
“A good hire is made not too soon but not too late,” he says. “Hiring too soon means having people who don’t have anything to do. Hiring too late is hurting your customers.”