Leader Spotlight: Evaluating data in aggregate, with Christina Trampota

Christina Trampota is Chief Product and Customer Officer at Innovate Grow Scale, which provides solutions for organizations with disruptive technologies. She began her career in large enterprises such as AT&T and Motorola before transitioning to leadership roles in several early-stage startups and then back into larger teams, including Visa and Meta.

In our conversation, Christina talks about how looking at data in aggregate can help you understand if you are building the right type of product for your audience. She talks about her role as both a product and customer executive, and how the two are heavily intertwined. Christina also shares advice for innovating in highly regulated industries such as payments and financial services.

Moving between startups and established companies

To start, could you share how you came to a career in product management?

I actually joined product management early in my career. Right out of undergrad, I started a journey through a rotational general management program in the telecom industry. Little did I know, that was actually going to pave the way for my exciting product career. That general management program was an amazing foundation — not just in accelerating my career progression in that company and industry, but also in helping spark curiosity and understanding of so many areas that tie into product.

You’ve worked in the product function in several companies, from well-established companies like Visa and AT&T to very early-stage startups. How does product differ in those varied environments and how has the function evolved over the years?

It’s very unique. In a more established organization — especially in older and regulated companies — it tends to be a little bit more prescriptive. When you’re looking at something, it takes a lot more sign-off, integration, and exploration to make a decision. When you’re in a startup, product is more about, “What does the founder need? Whatever that is, let’s build it.” This is especially true in a zero-to-one environment, which is fun to work in because you’re just trying to build something new.

I wouldn’t say that there is any specific methodology that stays common between the two environments, but there are some common links. For example, basic agile ways of operating with development teams, understanding what the customer is actually looking for, and knowing who that customer is are all central to product management. Beyond that, I would say the experience is very unique.

Being both a product and customer executive

Could you give us an overview of Innovate Grow Scale and share why you decided to found it?

Over time I’ve explored a variety of companies, industries, and phases — from scrappy startups to well-established industry leaders. Based on all the years of experience working with such a diverse set of people, products, and processes, I learned that there really isn’t one way to build success and drive the future for everyone.

This is especially true because of the different stages of companies. Where is the organization at that time? That’s really the story of the name “Innovate Grow Scale.” I feel that in some ways and at various times, an organization is in one of those three buckets: innovate, grow, or scale. What are they actually focused on?

If it’s a very large multinational organization, it’s likely doing all three at the same time. Sometimes, the three are integrated together. Other times, they might be distinctly different due to teams, budgets, or expectations. That’s why I also like to call out the separation — often the funding, resources, and expectations vary. That’s where Innovate Grow Scale comes in. We can fit in the different opportunities that exist. There are different openings, as well as directions or path forwards, that someone is looking to achieve with their initiatives. Hopefully, that also fits into the different types of clients based on the stage of the business, the size, and strategy.

You consider yourself to be both a product executive and a customer executive. Can you explain what you mean by that, and do they overlap?

I find my role as a product executive and a customer executive to be so interconnected today. The core function of a product executive is to focus on developing solutions that meet the needs of a target customer. On the other hand, the customer executive side looks at focusing on customer needs. Who are we trying to sell this to? What are their interests, where are their budgets, and where are their scopes?

The two roles are fundamentally complementary and integrate together, which is why I identify with both. That deep understanding of the customer is essential to be effective, whether you’re doing product development or strategy at a higher level. When you wear both hats, that’s ideal because you can ensure you’re integrating the voice of the customer. It’s always there and it’s always being considered in every phase of the product cycle.

As a product executive, a lot of the focus is translating insights from the customer into tangible product features. Of course, you want to drive value and bottom-line engagement usage, but from the customer side, I’m advocating for their perspective. My job is to make sure their expectations are met and that those features can be made in a roadmap and committed to. And balancing those helps you keep it going.

How do you handle the situation where you’re advocating for the customer but that outcome conflicts with business objectives?

I have been in that position many times. You try to find the middle ground on anything, such as when you’re trying to work something into the roadmap and communicating it to the customer. But some of that comes in the craft of communication. How are you telling that story?

For example, we say, “We’ll get it in the calendar for next year.” We don’t necessarily commit that it’s going to be this month or this quarter if we don’t know if that’s possible. From leading others across the teams, whether it’s product or growth, I often help them with the messaging by giving them that more generic story. At the same time, if a customer is demanding it or they’re going to leave you, you have to look at that and understand the business impact. Who are they in your overall market and the broader market available for the business? Is it critical? If so, you need to reprioritize things.

I’ve been in organizations that create different ways of escalating and driving those changes last minute. To do that, it’s best to bring in additional resources. For sales to get that in for a specific client or an industry sector, for example, they’re likely going to use a point system or budget internally. That’s how they sign off and say, “Yes, commit extra resources, this is our top priority,” and then it can be a win-win.

Looking at data in aggregate

You’ve talked a fair amount about customer insights. How do you consider customer data in aggregate?

It’s helpful because you can look at aggregate data from a macro perspective. You can take a big-picture look at customer perspective and then go deeper into details. Especially over the years in more regulated industries like payments and financial companies, there were so many amazing insights that surfaced. A lot of that can help you understand whether you are building the right type of product for your audience. And at the same time, you’re not looking at anything proprietary or identifiable to one particular customer.

That helps you, as an organization, look into the customer profile, understand and focus the efforts you’re trying to plan with and figure out what’s really right for the business. By understanding that insight and data, you’re going to build something to solve a problem or address that pain point for them, while also measuring it and understanding that business impact along the way.

How can companies leverage proper data management to promote their business objectives and also contribute to product growth?

Over time, it comes down to patience. This information can be a wonderful foundation for you, not only in terms of growing the business and the product but also insights for strategy going forward. Data management allows you to look at all phases, from ideation all the way through implementation. Using a data-driven approach empowers the teams to win across the board. If they have data that backs it up, it will help them make the right decision.

If you put a simple data-driven approach in the product plans and drive toward excellence there, you can build that in with improving frequency, decreasing spend, etc. But, although data is great and it really can help with a lot of this, you still need to speak to the customers. You can have a lot of quantitative data and look at a lot of numbers, reports, or trends, but you still need to understand what this means for customers. Make sure to always have that balance of qualitative and quantitative when you’re making the decisions.

What role does trusting data and making sure it’s clean play a part in that?

It’s vital to make sure you understand where it’s coming from and how it was obtained. This means looking at it and making sure it doesn’t have any errors in it and came from the right source. Is it the right region, customer group, and type of product? Sometimes, those factors can have different impacts because they might be regulated differently, have different limitations in place, etc.

Often, there’s so much data in an organization. They just dump it all. Maybe you don’t always know what you’re looking at. Are there any areas of duplication? Of course, I’m not saying you shouldn’t trust your teams, but you shouldn’t say, “Give me this report” and trust everything that’s in it out of the gate. Make sure you understand what you’re receiving, where it came from, and the types of details that went into building it in the first place.

Innovating in highly regulated environments

You have extensive experience in payments and fintech. What are some specific things that product managers should be aware of in those highly regulated industries?

The first thing is patience. You cannot move as fast in that industry, even if you’re in a scrappy startup. You can only move so fast if you’re operating with products or services that require any kind of license, integration, etc. This is a basic requirement across so many areas of fintech and payments.

Second, think of privacy at all times. This is true whether you’re in B2B or B2C solutions. Think about it at a macro level of trust and safety, because that, in fintech and payments, is at a totally different level. The best way I can explain it is to think about sharing a government ID. If you’re going to send a customer through any kind of process where they have to provide government documentation, such as account details, account balances, income, etc., who are you to ask for that? So really think about it. How is your privacy? How are you managing the data you’re bringing in?

The last point I’d highlight is a subset of privacy, which is the data you’re accessing. Once you have the information you’re bringing in, whether it’s ID verification, account balances, card data, etc., you already have the trust of your customers to build and open that account. But just getting it at the beginning is not the only phase. You want to think about it as ongoing. If you’re analyzing it, trying to build things out, trending on it, and seeing how you can grow your business with it, be respectful and understand it. Further, make sure you understand how you can take it up at an aggregate level.

What does it look like to innovate or try something new in a highly regulated industry like that?

When you’re trying something new, I’d go with something related to packaging or pricing. When you’re driving innovation in that space, seeing how you can package things differently is a game changer. Maybe you are allowing everyday consumers to enable access to investment funds, buying stocks, commodities, crypto, real estate, lending, etc. Maybe you’re enabling them to sign up with $0 in their account. Or, once approved, they can get started with only $100, for example. Many of these legacy products had much higher requirements in the previous days.

With this strategy, you’ve made the product more accessible to more people at a better price point. Sometimes it’s in the terms, such as offering better rules for repayment or how somebody can be qualified. Maybe you can have some flexibility there. These types of solutions have really changed what customers expect today.

I would also pay attention to regional requirements because what customers want in one market is likely quite different from others. Some things are common, such as visibility into their accounts at all times, but real-time trading, transfers, pricing, and all of these things can come as a new innovative idea. And if someone is uncertain about where to go next, I would remind them to go global. Look at how this is offered somewhere else in the world. Even if it isn’t the same product, you can find the need and what consumers there are interested in.

Is there a high-level example you could share of advice you give to companies that are trying to innovate in the payments space?

I’ll share a macro-level example that relates to a few companies. This is specifically looking at how people have access. Number one, go mobile if you can. Mobile-first is the way all across the world. I would also think of ways that they can fund both inputs and output — what’s coming into a financial product as well as cashing out. Further, make sure you go down to the local level, if at all possible, in what you build for them.

Some markets have a variety of payment methods that are far more diversified than your home market — wherever you and your company are based. Think of the way it is offered in another place and how you can create it to meet their needs and meet the customers where they are. That’s an example of listening to the customer, knowing the market, and then at the same time, taking what you can bring them and making it even more attractive. That pivots into user experience, overall usability, and customer satisfaction.