Q&A with Adikteev’s Lead Product Owner, Alix Gabuteau-Dhot
Behind Adikteev is a team of experts who are devoted to delivering the best client experience through first-class services and scientific approaches. One admirable team member is our Lead Product Owner, Alix Gabuteau-Dhot. With a smile, he tirelessly ensures that the nuts and bolts of the Adikteev platform are not only competitive but also innovative. Let’s discover the backstage of product development, where business and technology fuse.
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How long have you been working at Adikteev and what is your job title?
Hi, I’m Alix. I’m the Lead Product Owner at Adikteev. I’ve worked at Adikteev for 3 years. I ended up at Adikteev because I was a little bit bored of consulting and working for big companies like Orange, in big banks, or Disney. I wanted some challenge in a smaller company, and that’s what I found at Adikteev.
What’s the mission of an Adikteev Lead Product Owner?
We have three main missions. The first one is specification. The second one is communication with all the teams. And the third one is to match the strategy of the company with what is going to be developed.
Specification is quite easy. We transform the business needs into small development increments. And for that, we need to specify it as clearly and precisely as possible— what should the developer do and what should the output be at the end of the development.
After specification, we need to communicate what is being done because it’s important for the business team to know what has been released. It’s important for the tech team to know what’s the feedback about the use of those features. And it’s important for the management to know where the product stands now in order to drive their teams in the proper way.
The strategy part is the part that I prefer because it’s our impact on the company. We have two ways: the first way is to raise some projects that could have benefits for the company, and the second way is to prioritize them after the Comex processes the project. Each quarter, we need to adjust the roadmap. We bring new ideas to develop the product. I’m in charge of the product analysis to narrow the top projects and to pitch them to the CPO. Then, the Comex validates the projects and gives us back the top priorities for the next quarter.
What is cross-promotion and what is its added value for our clients?
It’s a close ad ecosystem. It allows each studio to develop the potential of its users by displaying ads inside of their ecosystem. This project allows a part of our previous expertise with adtech and the other part with the SaaS platform. It’s super interesting to connect our knowledge with a self-serve experience that will be used by our future clients.
Our added value is that our product fits the new way of promoting apps. The promise is to keep a user in the client ecosystem and grow the LTV on average.
What are the challenges you have encountered so far?
The first challenge that I encountered was switching my time from 100% retargeting. After that, it was 50-50 retargeting and cross-promotion. I had to adjust my priorities at that time. The second one was more recent. We are really a close team: we have the product and the tech team. When the tech team reorganizes, we have to adjust the product work accordingly. The third challenge was a feature that we launched in production that we had to cut because of the switch to cross-promotion. We delivered something that’s never been used. One year and a half later, we found a solution that fits with our users’ needs.
What have you learned in your 3 years working as a product owner that has helped you grow?
What I learned and what I wanted to learn was about the data parts of adtech. We have data engineers, data scientists, and all the analytics teams related to data. I personally developed some skills about analysis. I also learned efficiency and multitasking. In big companies, you don’t really have efficiency needs. At Adikteev, we need things right now and efficiency is key. The last thing is on management. As a manager, I hired two people to build my team of product owners. Management skills are really challenging but, in the end, it’s really insightful for me.
What makes you happy about your job?
What makes me the happiest is to work with people. Product work is really a people-matter job. Working with great people at Adikteev is a key to my happiness in this company. We work in a multicultural environment. I developed my English skills, but also my awareness with other people. Even after 3 years, I still feel that I can improve myself in what I do and in the perspective of evolution. Last, but not the least, is the feeling that I keep learning in my job — and that’s where Adikteev succeeds. They encourage people to go beyond.