Jonathan Middleton - Founder & Head of Product, And Cru

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Work Background

ExercismHead of Community & Business Development

Apr. 2022Exercism is an online, open-source, free coding platform that offers code practice and mentorship on 66 different programming languages. Exercism currently has over 1.5million users, ~1,500 signups per day, 66 programming language tracks for learners. - Responsible for the cultural health of the community across multiple channels such as Discord, the Community Forum, Slack. - Responsible for an increase in community engagement in the platform by 250% over 18 months. Measured according to conversations, mentoring requests and other interactions site wide. - Conducted market research, user interviews, and competitive analysis to identify customer pain points, market opportunities, and product requirements with specific focus on mentoring within the platform. - Defined product specifications, user stories, and acceptance criteria to ensure clear communication and alignment with development teams before handing those over to developers. - Conducted user testing and gathered feedback to iterate on product designs and improve user experience. - Worked closely with the marketing and sales teams to develop product messaging, positioning, and sales collateral specifically in the recent launch of Exercism Premium, our monthly subscription service. - Helped define marketing strategies in collaboration with our head of fundraising to give sponsors personalized strategic clarity for any collaboration with Exercism and ensure the product was clearly communicated to interested parties. -Maintained strong relationships with key stakeholders, including customers, partners, and internal teams. -Worked closely with the CEO to establish our community strategy and implement this strategy within the product and across the platform. -Delivered multiple learning cohorts for our community of developers that involved over 100 developers in each cohort, spanning over 30 days each. Initiated over 12+ projects to drive momentum, belonging and conversation with the Exercism ecosystem.

&CRUCo-Founder and Head of Product

Nov. 2019Cape Town, Western Cape, South AfricaBoutique development house, specializing in building of custom web applications to facilitate scale. The aim being to develop highly competent, self-organizing teams that could operate with high levels of trust and skill. Developed and executed the company's overall product strategy, driving the successful launch of multiple new products and features, across different companies including Varsity Vibe, Conservio, Voyc, Reg-Direct (current project scope and build), Dayrize. Led a team of senior, mid-level and junior developers, providing guidance, mentorship, and fostering a collaborative and innovative environment. Collaborated with cross-functional teams including engineering, design, marketing, and sales to align product vision with business objectives. Conducted market research, competitive analysis, and customer feedback analysis to identify market trends, customer needs, and opportunities for product enhancement. Defined and prioritized product roadmap based on customer insights, business goals, and market dynamics. Oversaw product development lifecycle, from concept to launch, ensuring timely delivery while maintaining product quality and user experience. Collaborated closely with executive leadership to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), and provide regular reports on product performance and growth during the lifecycle and build of the various projects we were involved with. Consulted for companies looking to refine their technical and developer strategies in order to establish good foundations to succeed and scale. Recruited developers who could facilitate the project builds. Worked with engineering teams in an Agile/Scrum environment to ensure timely delivery of high-quality software releases. Monitored key metrics and conducted post-launch analysis to identify areas for improvement and implement product optimizations. Developed comprehensive product roadmaps, feature prioritization, and release plans in collaboration with cross-functional teams.

Resound MediaHead of Business Development and Operations

Nov. 2019 - Oct. 2021RemoteResound Media houses numerous brands that span media, education and music industries. Includes Rocket Fuel (crowdfunding platform for music artists), Music Management services and online training content (Storm5 Management) and online learning courses (Lurnex) Responsible for turning around a significant financial deficit by implementing process and clarity to ensure delivery of services. Oversaw the overhaul of the internal team to ensure the business remained solvent and prioritized essential milestones that could be targeted. Ensured the delivery of a congested project pipeline with over 43 outstanding music projects in 18 months, on budget and on time. Each project typically spanning 3-6 months from end to end. Worked closely with the CEO to identify key metrics and KPIs that needed to be met in order to bring about the necessary transformation in the business. Provided significant strategic input across multiple aspects of the business to ensure that there was a coherent narrative that underpinned the vision and purpose of the business.

Bow & Arrow ProductionsFounder

Nov. 2017Cape Town Area, South AfricaBow & Arrow Productions provides training services to companies in the music industry, building training content and developing teams.

Christchurch FulhamHead of Music and 20s

Sep. 2014 - Nov. 2017London, England, United Kingdom- Responsible for leading and directing a team of 30+ musicians - managing events and projects from conception to delivery - ensuring consistent and increasing levels of quality through clear feedback - identification and recruitment of musicians - training and development of team members

The Stewards' TrustMentor/Coach

Sep. 2012 - Aug. 2014London, United KingdomThe following are some of the tasks I performed in this role: - Responsible for mentoring/coaching 20+ students across the UK - Organising regular meet ups and events for students to network and connect - Highly relational role where building relationship with students was essential for building trust. - Working in a small and competent team to execute the vision of the Stewards' Trust.