There is a lot to love about Colorado: outdoor recreation, sky-high mountain vistas, and — of course — the popping tech scene.
At ground level, there are tech success stories everywhere. In December 2021, Denver-based Hotel Engine became a unicorn when it announced a $65 million funding round that valued the company at $1.3 billion. The company shared plans to bring on 400 new team members this year.
The company has been working on a host of customer-facing solutions in addition to client-side products. “We are listening to our supplier network of hotels and launching a platform where our partners can gain key data and insights to tailor their offerings to our members,” said Product Manager Hayley Jennings.
And it’s not just unicorns making magic in the Centennial State. Louisville-based GHX recently acquired Syft, which provides AI-enhanced inventory control and end-to-end supply chain management software. The acquisition is the company’s third in the last two years, all in an effort to drive the pivot to value-based healthcare.
Such moves offer the opportunity for these companies to add features and products to their portfolios, which bodes well for the professionals tasked with bringing them to fruition. The numbers back that up, too: As of this writing there were more than 340 product jobs posted on Built In Colorado.
That’s why we connected with professionals from these companies and others from around the state: to check in on what their teams have to offer ambitious product managers.
What are the biggest projects or challenges your team is working on in the next six months?
The hospital technology landscape is shifting to a clinically integrated supply chain and value-based care. We are focused on supporting the curation and management of critical item data in support of that shift. The biggest near-term opportunity we have is how we show up in the market with a significant push to move critical systems to the cloud.
We are rapidly innovating existing products in the market. Exciting projects include data insights, workflow automation and ensuring hospitals have the products required to perform. We are launching an insight and analytics platform providing visibility into opportunities for all customer segments across procure-to-pay automation cycles and driving additional insights tied to product outcomes for value analysis teams.
What opportunities exist at your organization for ambitious PMs?
Healthcare is a rapidly changing market with a focus on improved patient experience and the move to the cloud. This creates opportunities for ambitious PMs to lead this shift. It manifests as customer-focused delivery starting with persona-based design teams and rapid cycles of innovation and feature delivery. Ambitious product managers have the opportunity to engage and interact with customers, determining how we position the value of GHX solutions as well as what we deliver to the market. For those PMs looking for broader impact, we have the opportunity to engage with partner companies driving tech innovation, as well as international markets to ensure a globally viable product suite.
Our culture welcomes open conversation and evolution through collaboration. The most ambitious PMs will bring outside experience to impact how GHX delivers the voice of customers and persona positions, as well as the technical implementation of our products.
Our culture welcomes open conversation and evolution through collaboration.”
How have you been able to grow your career within GHX?
Since joining GHX 18 years ago, the company has continuously invested in my career development through industry training and certifications, along with opportunities for personal and professional growth. Thanks to GHX’s position in the healthcare industry, I’ve built critical teams, participated in industry advisory boards with customers, worked with innovators entering the healthcare automation space, and participated in multiple global product launches. None of this can happen without being surrounded by smart and creative team members. It takes a village to be successful in product management, and my career growth is due to this incredible team.
With the guidance of my leaders, my career improved through candid conversations and the encouragement to take risks. Product management is about taking risks, failing quickly, and adjusting in order to drive growth and customer satisfaction. Being given the leeway to do this and rally when we miss helps me continually improve.
What are the biggest projects or challenges your team is working on in the next six months?
Hotel Engine has no shortage of exciting projects in the pipeline. Our main goal is to empower businesses to experience the cost and time savings of managed travel. For so many of our customers, it’s a game-changer. Not only are they saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in business lodging, but their teams gain more efficiency and control over their travel data. We are continuing to build upon our core offerings by adding more hotels to expand our inventory, developing quick checkout options to get from search to booking faster, optimizing our search functionality and launching a new flexible cancellation program. We also recently created an upsell and engagement team that will be launching a notification system, a new friends and family referral program, and personal accounts to take advantage of our great rates and exclusive deals for leisure travel.
What opportunities exist at your organization for ambitious PMs?
Hotel Engine fosters a culture of trust and rewards those who think big, which in turn creates a sense of community and encourages innovative thinking. We take risks and iterate quickly. It’s been extremely rewarding to see the direct impact our new features have in real time. Our team is growing exponentially, so there is plenty of opportunity to move up in the organization and make a meaningful contribution. From supply and price optimization to search and trends, there is a wide variety of projects and areas of focus. The possibilities for growth are very exciting.
This creates a sense of community and encourages innovative thinking.”
How have you been able to grow your career within your Hotel Engine?
Hotel Engine truly listens to its employees and cares about their career growth. I have only been with the company for six short months, but in that time, I’ve been able to pursue passion projects and switch my area of focus. Hotel Engine also encourages radical candor, which has been great for my growth as I can get the actionable feedback and support I need to move my career forward. As a bonus, the talent and culture at Hotel Engine are best-in-class; I’m surrounded by smart individuals who I learn from daily. It’s a very rare opportunity to be on the ground floor of something this special. The growth of the company within such a short time has been staggering, so it’s easy to feel energized every day about what we are building.
Louisville-based AMP uses artificial intelligence, computer vision and robots to sort recyclable materials.
What are the biggest projects or challenges your team is working on in the next six months?
We’re always innovating. Our current projects include enhancements to our AI neural network for new label identification and accuracy improvements, modifications to our algorithms for enhancing pick success, and frequent new feature releases in our customer data portal, AMP Clarity. We have exciting projects underway with government entities, research institutions and other strategic partners.
What opportunities exist at your organization for ambitious PMs?
We’re actively creating the product organization within AMP today. My teammates and I are helping to implement the processes and workflows necessary to properly define our customers’ needs, our product visions and market evaluations, all while aligning our various stakeholders. As a product manager, I own my product area — software and user interfaces — and work daily within the product team as well as cross-functionally with other teams in the organization. As AMP grows, so does our team, our respective roles and our opportunity to shape our career paths.
How have you been able to grow your career within AMP?
When I started at AMP I managed a single product, but now own multiple items within our portfolio that all impact our customers’ holistic AMP experience. In my product management role, I can directly influence AMP’s impact on the recycling industry by working to launch and improve solutions that provide our customers with access to data that hasn’t been available before. I take pride in creating easy-to-use tools to help my co-workers, or internal stakeholders, carry out their roles more efficiently.
I take pride in creating easy-to-use tools to help my coworkers, or internal stakeholders, carry out their roles more efficiently.”
Emerge is a digital freight marketplace.
What are the biggest projects or challenges your team is working on in the next six months?
Our product management team is currently working on creating efficiencies through automation. While we try to make everyone’s job easier, including both our internal and external users, we are putting automation at the forefront. Logistics is an industry that has been around for a long time and some of those processes haven’t changed. It is our job to bring a refreshing take on technology and introduce that into these users’ everyday lives. The projects we are taking on are going to change processes for the better.
It is our job to bring a refreshing take on technology.”
What opportunities exist at your organization for ambitious PMs?
The opportunities at Emerge are growing by the day as our company scales to reach our growth projections. With scaling, it is now more important than ever to put out new features and create better workflows. As a PM this is great news because there will always be a need for us in this environment. If you are looking for a challenge and to grow as an individual in this field, this is the time to be on board the ship!
How have you been able to grow your career within Emerge?
Emerge has not only allowed me to grow my career, but they have given me one, in every essence of the word. I started in the logistics industry as a broker on the phone. I had no formal training, I had no college degree, and in the beginning, nothing on my resume would make me stand out from any other entry-level worker. They allowed me to work my way up into management and thankfully didn’t stop there. They showed me there are different departments and avenues where I could use my talents if I chose. That is when I was introduced to product management, which changed my life. Emerge provided the training, tools and courses I needed to be successful. I no longer view myself as a person with a job. I wake up every morning thankful that I now have a career that I can grow within for the rest of my life.
