Kara I.
Senior Product Manager (Growth) at Cobalt- Claim this Profile
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English Native or bilingual proficiency
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Afrikaans Native or bilingual proficiency
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SeTswana Native or bilingual proficiency
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German Limited working proficiency
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Dutch Limited working proficiency
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Swedish Limited working proficiency
Topline Score
Bio
Bardur R. Guttesen
It was a pleasure to collaborate with Kara at Cobalt, where he made a significant impact as a product manager on our growth team. In a short time, I learned valuable lessons from him, helping me evolve as a product-focused software engineer. Kara's refreshing passion for delivering meaningful results and his deep understanding of modern, outcome-oriented, and customer-centric product management set him apart. He exemplifies the value-driven mindset that thought leaders like Marty Cagan, Lenny Rachitsky, and Teresa Torres endorse. If I were to build a billion-dollar startup, I'd want Kara by my side from day one. He's a critical thinker who persistently challenges conventional wisdom and embraces first-principles-based reasoning. Kara has a unique ability to uncover product growth opportunities by leveraging key metrics, data, and qualitative customer feedback. He empowered our team by initiating the company's first unbiased customer interviews and usability tests, and he enriched our product demos with powerful visual storytelling backed by evidence. As a result, we transitioned from minimal customer input to consistent, fresh insights through weekly customer interviews and usability tests. With a relentless focus on experimentation, Kara led efforts to significantly reduce the time-to-value for our customers by eliminating friction that prior product leaders had missed. He pinpointed impactful changes that would allow customers to self-serve within the platform, significantly reducing their reliance on CSM assistance. Kara worked closely with engineers, incorporating their perspectives early in the product development process, specifically during product discovery. I had the opportunity to collaborate with him in a Product Trio, fostering strong cross-functional teamwork between product, design, and engineering. Kara's commitment to delivering value and innovation to customers and the business was evident in his work. Collaborating with him was inspiring and enjoyable. I regard him as one of the most talented product managers I have worked with. I highly recommend Kara for any empowered product team that is ready to take off.
Sten Li
There are few people I have worked with so closely as with Kara, and his passion and drive for entrepreneurship and business development is really inspiring. Apart from being well-versed within - and at the same time open to learning more about - tech and innovation, Kara is willing to go the extra mile to achieve his visions for the future. And on that note, Kara is not only a dreamer - but also a doer. Kara is a true entrepreneur who loves startups and is not afraid to go out of the way to work for what he believes in, which is something I have seen time and time again on several occasions. It is truly a privilege to not only get to know and exchange ideas and thoughts with Kara on a professional level, but also to be a part of his journey forwards as a friend.
Bardur R. Guttesen
It was a pleasure to collaborate with Kara at Cobalt, where he made a significant impact as a product manager on our growth team. In a short time, I learned valuable lessons from him, helping me evolve as a product-focused software engineer. Kara's refreshing passion for delivering meaningful results and his deep understanding of modern, outcome-oriented, and customer-centric product management set him apart. He exemplifies the value-driven mindset that thought leaders like Marty Cagan, Lenny Rachitsky, and Teresa Torres endorse. If I were to build a billion-dollar startup, I'd want Kara by my side from day one. He's a critical thinker who persistently challenges conventional wisdom and embraces first-principles-based reasoning. Kara has a unique ability to uncover product growth opportunities by leveraging key metrics, data, and qualitative customer feedback. He empowered our team by initiating the company's first unbiased customer interviews and usability tests, and he enriched our product demos with powerful visual storytelling backed by evidence. As a result, we transitioned from minimal customer input to consistent, fresh insights through weekly customer interviews and usability tests. With a relentless focus on experimentation, Kara led efforts to significantly reduce the time-to-value for our customers by eliminating friction that prior product leaders had missed. He pinpointed impactful changes that would allow customers to self-serve within the platform, significantly reducing their reliance on CSM assistance. Kara worked closely with engineers, incorporating their perspectives early in the product development process, specifically during product discovery. I had the opportunity to collaborate with him in a Product Trio, fostering strong cross-functional teamwork between product, design, and engineering. Kara's commitment to delivering value and innovation to customers and the business was evident in his work. Collaborating with him was inspiring and enjoyable. I regard him as one of the most talented product managers I have worked with. I highly recommend Kara for any empowered product team that is ready to take off.
Sten Li
There are few people I have worked with so closely as with Kara, and his passion and drive for entrepreneurship and business development is really inspiring. Apart from being well-versed within - and at the same time open to learning more about - tech and innovation, Kara is willing to go the extra mile to achieve his visions for the future. And on that note, Kara is not only a dreamer - but also a doer. Kara is a true entrepreneur who loves startups and is not afraid to go out of the way to work for what he believes in, which is something I have seen time and time again on several occasions. It is truly a privilege to not only get to know and exchange ideas and thoughts with Kara on a professional level, but also to be a part of his journey forwards as a friend.
Bardur R. Guttesen
It was a pleasure to collaborate with Kara at Cobalt, where he made a significant impact as a product manager on our growth team. In a short time, I learned valuable lessons from him, helping me evolve as a product-focused software engineer. Kara's refreshing passion for delivering meaningful results and his deep understanding of modern, outcome-oriented, and customer-centric product management set him apart. He exemplifies the value-driven mindset that thought leaders like Marty Cagan, Lenny Rachitsky, and Teresa Torres endorse. If I were to build a billion-dollar startup, I'd want Kara by my side from day one. He's a critical thinker who persistently challenges conventional wisdom and embraces first-principles-based reasoning. Kara has a unique ability to uncover product growth opportunities by leveraging key metrics, data, and qualitative customer feedback. He empowered our team by initiating the company's first unbiased customer interviews and usability tests, and he enriched our product demos with powerful visual storytelling backed by evidence. As a result, we transitioned from minimal customer input to consistent, fresh insights through weekly customer interviews and usability tests. With a relentless focus on experimentation, Kara led efforts to significantly reduce the time-to-value for our customers by eliminating friction that prior product leaders had missed. He pinpointed impactful changes that would allow customers to self-serve within the platform, significantly reducing their reliance on CSM assistance. Kara worked closely with engineers, incorporating their perspectives early in the product development process, specifically during product discovery. I had the opportunity to collaborate with him in a Product Trio, fostering strong cross-functional teamwork between product, design, and engineering. Kara's commitment to delivering value and innovation to customers and the business was evident in his work. Collaborating with him was inspiring and enjoyable. I regard him as one of the most talented product managers I have worked with. I highly recommend Kara for any empowered product team that is ready to take off.
Sten Li
There are few people I have worked with so closely as with Kara, and his passion and drive for entrepreneurship and business development is really inspiring. Apart from being well-versed within - and at the same time open to learning more about - tech and innovation, Kara is willing to go the extra mile to achieve his visions for the future. And on that note, Kara is not only a dreamer - but also a doer. Kara is a true entrepreneur who loves startups and is not afraid to go out of the way to work for what he believes in, which is something I have seen time and time again on several occasions. It is truly a privilege to not only get to know and exchange ideas and thoughts with Kara on a professional level, but also to be a part of his journey forwards as a friend.
Bardur R. Guttesen
It was a pleasure to collaborate with Kara at Cobalt, where he made a significant impact as a product manager on our growth team. In a short time, I learned valuable lessons from him, helping me evolve as a product-focused software engineer. Kara's refreshing passion for delivering meaningful results and his deep understanding of modern, outcome-oriented, and customer-centric product management set him apart. He exemplifies the value-driven mindset that thought leaders like Marty Cagan, Lenny Rachitsky, and Teresa Torres endorse. If I were to build a billion-dollar startup, I'd want Kara by my side from day one. He's a critical thinker who persistently challenges conventional wisdom and embraces first-principles-based reasoning. Kara has a unique ability to uncover product growth opportunities by leveraging key metrics, data, and qualitative customer feedback. He empowered our team by initiating the company's first unbiased customer interviews and usability tests, and he enriched our product demos with powerful visual storytelling backed by evidence. As a result, we transitioned from minimal customer input to consistent, fresh insights through weekly customer interviews and usability tests. With a relentless focus on experimentation, Kara led efforts to significantly reduce the time-to-value for our customers by eliminating friction that prior product leaders had missed. He pinpointed impactful changes that would allow customers to self-serve within the platform, significantly reducing their reliance on CSM assistance. Kara worked closely with engineers, incorporating their perspectives early in the product development process, specifically during product discovery. I had the opportunity to collaborate with him in a Product Trio, fostering strong cross-functional teamwork between product, design, and engineering. Kara's commitment to delivering value and innovation to customers and the business was evident in his work. Collaborating with him was inspiring and enjoyable. I regard him as one of the most talented product managers I have worked with. I highly recommend Kara for any empowered product team that is ready to take off.
Sten Li
There are few people I have worked with so closely as with Kara, and his passion and drive for entrepreneurship and business development is really inspiring. Apart from being well-versed within - and at the same time open to learning more about - tech and innovation, Kara is willing to go the extra mile to achieve his visions for the future. And on that note, Kara is not only a dreamer - but also a doer. Kara is a true entrepreneur who loves startups and is not afraid to go out of the way to work for what he believes in, which is something I have seen time and time again on several occasions. It is truly a privilege to not only get to know and exchange ideas and thoughts with Kara on a professional level, but also to be a part of his journey forwards as a friend.
Credentials
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CS50
HarvardX
Experience
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Cobalt
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United States
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Computer and Network Security
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100 - 200 Employee
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Senior Product Manager (Growth)
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Nov 2022 - Present
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Volvo Car Mobility
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Sweden
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Consumer Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Product Manager (Growth & Experimentation)
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Feb 2022 - Nov 2022
Throughout my time at M I was part of initiating the product growth team working with a focus of driving experimentation across our demand side product area. I was also the PM responsible for our product activation team working on the onboarding and driver risk product flows. Our teams objective, was to verify user identity, drivers licence and credit checks for onboarded users through a range of API services. Throughout my time at M I was part of initiating the product growth team working with a focus of driving experimentation across our demand side product area. I was also the PM responsible for our product activation team working on the onboarding and driver risk product flows. Our teams objective, was to verify user identity, drivers licence and credit checks for onboarded users through a range of API services.
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Tink
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Sweden
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Financial Services
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500 - 600 Employee
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Product Growth Manager (Developer Platform & API)
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Feb 2021 - Jan 2022
Working in the Growth & Monetisation team optimising self-service onboarding and retention of our developer audience using the Tink console and API. Working in the Growth & Monetisation team optimising self-service onboarding and retention of our developer audience using the Tink console and API.
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Knowly
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Sweden
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E-Learning Providers
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1 - 100 Employee
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Head of Growth
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Sep 2018 - Feb 2021
Responsible for building and maintaining our website as well as increasing user activation and retention in our Learning Transfer Platform and Digital Coach App. Responsible for building and maintaining our website as well as increasing user activation and retention in our Learning Transfer Platform and Digital Coach App.
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Scope Gaming
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Sweden
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Computer Games
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Co-Founder & Product Manager
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Apr 2017 - Mar 2019
Scope offered an automated service for analysing game replays using machine learning and provided users with feedback on where they are going wrong and how to improve on those areas. Our service pulled video replay files (.dem) from FACEIT and Steam to continuously train our machine learning algorithm to identify player weaknesses and recommend ways to improve. The initial process involved using naive-Bayes to classify players based on their skill group and then offer recommendations on which… Show more Scope offered an automated service for analysing game replays using machine learning and provided users with feedback on where they are going wrong and how to improve on those areas. Our service pulled video replay files (.dem) from FACEIT and Steam to continuously train our machine learning algorithm to identify player weaknesses and recommend ways to improve. The initial process involved using naive-Bayes to classify players based on their skill group and then offer recommendations on which key areas to improve to level up to the next classification group. The startup up was initiated in the Chalmers Ventures incubator programme. My main responsibility was managing the backlog and ensuring the team worked on features customers wanted and would pay for. This was my first attempt at trying to build a company and dip my toes into product management. After two years, of incredible work and learning, our startup failed. While we were able to classify some gamers accurately, our recommendation engine, offered feedback to obscure for humans to gain actionable insight. With the growing advancement in reinforcement learning and natural language processing, these issues could be addressed in the future. Our hope is others can succeed where we failed. Show less Scope offered an automated service for analysing game replays using machine learning and provided users with feedback on where they are going wrong and how to improve on those areas. Our service pulled video replay files (.dem) from FACEIT and Steam to continuously train our machine learning algorithm to identify player weaknesses and recommend ways to improve. The initial process involved using naive-Bayes to classify players based on their skill group and then offer recommendations on which… Show more Scope offered an automated service for analysing game replays using machine learning and provided users with feedback on where they are going wrong and how to improve on those areas. Our service pulled video replay files (.dem) from FACEIT and Steam to continuously train our machine learning algorithm to identify player weaknesses and recommend ways to improve. The initial process involved using naive-Bayes to classify players based on their skill group and then offer recommendations on which key areas to improve to level up to the next classification group. The startup up was initiated in the Chalmers Ventures incubator programme. My main responsibility was managing the backlog and ensuring the team worked on features customers wanted and would pay for. This was my first attempt at trying to build a company and dip my toes into product management. After two years, of incredible work and learning, our startup failed. While we were able to classify some gamers accurately, our recommendation engine, offered feedback to obscure for humans to gain actionable insight. With the growing advancement in reinforcement learning and natural language processing, these issues could be addressed in the future. Our hope is others can succeed where we failed. Show less
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Chonkanyanukoon Girls School
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Chonburi, Thailand
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TEFL Mathematics Teacher
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Mar 2016 - Aug 2016
With 6 months to kill before graduate school, I decided to embrace two of my passions, scuba diving and helping people learn. So, I spend 6 months scuba diving and teaching mathematics in English to Thai high school students. Yes, you read that right, mathematics in English to Thai students. If you ever fancy evaluating your communication skills, I recommend this experience. With 6 months to kill before graduate school, I decided to embrace two of my passions, scuba diving and helping people learn. So, I spend 6 months scuba diving and teaching mathematics in English to Thai high school students. Yes, you read that right, mathematics in English to Thai students. If you ever fancy evaluating your communication skills, I recommend this experience.
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Royal Bafokeng Platinum Ltd
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South Africa
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Mining
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300 - 400 Employee
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Jnr. Metallurgist
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Jan 2013 - Dec 2015
Reagents Monitoring and Control. Reagents Monitoring and Control.
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Education
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2016 - 2018
Chalmers tekniska högskola
Master of Science (MSc), Industrial Engineering and Management -
2018 - 2021
Reforge
Growth Series, Mastering Product Management -
2011 - 2015
Stellenbosch University/Universiteit Stellenbosch
BEng (Hons.), Chemical Engineering -
2018 - 2018
Udacity
Digital Marketing Nanodegree, Digital Marketing
Community
