product mentorship with Yerke Sapar
ex-YC product manager Yerke Sapar
(Jabu YC S21)
product mentorship plan
(topics can be way broader than those below, it depends on the needs of a mentee)
| week | topic | description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | customer development | on how to interview customers to understand their needs, wants and pain points |
| 2 | competitive research | on how to analyze competitors' products and offerings |
| 3 | business model | on how to choose and implement the right monetization model |
| 4 | project management | on how to manage the product development and delivery |
| 5 | product requirements | on how to write clear and concise product requirements |
| 6 | roadmap | on how to plan product roadmaps |
| 7 | UX tests | on how to test solution hypotheses through UX tests |
| 8 | career planning | on how to manage the product career |
why Yerke Sapar as a mentor?
Invictus Fitness
C2C fitness app, 2022-2023
developing an app for online fitness programs from top-rated fitness instructors
Jabu Logistics YC S21
YCombinator-backed company
B2B marketplace, 2022-2022
Namibia, Zambia, South Africa
developed an app for customer orders in Namibia, Zambia and South Africa and grew users 15-fold from 200 to 3,000 small shop owners
Airba (Technodom)
B2C marketplace, 2020-2021
developed from 0 to MVP a platform for merchants at a B2C marketplace
DAR Tech
diversified IT company, 2020-2021
Kazakhstan, Indonesia, UK
launched an automated recruiting system for company internship program
Marshall Cavendish
textbook publishing company, 2020-2020
Central Asia, Singapore
sold Singaporean textbooks to privately-owned schools and city-level local authorities
Kcell
telecom operator, 2019-2019
developed 2 B2B SaaS products: credit scoring and data verification
Intellimarket
web-development agency, 2018-2021
Russia, Kazakhstan
co-founded and managed web-development & marketing agency
Aviata
online travel agency, 2017-2018
Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Bangladesh
worked as an assistant to CBDO & co-founder Alexey Li, Aviata was sold recently for $32.3M
PwC
consultancy firm, 2016-2017
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia
conducted commercial due diligence, market research, and feasibility studies in Kazakhstan & Azerbaijan
Zheti Ata app
iOS app, 2016-2016
in a team of 4 people developed the app in 10 weeks that became #1 downloaded app in AppStore Kazakhstan for 4 days
Study Rooms
educational business, 2016-2016
launched educational courses for high school students to successfully pass university entrance exams
Nazarbayev University
#1 university in Central Asia, 2011-2016
graduated in 2016 with a bachelor in electrical and electronics engineering
feedback from alumni
"I landed a job at Citix with a good salary after 3 weeks from starting mentorship. interview preparation questions that we prepared for with Yerke covered all questions asked by the hiring manager"
"before mentorship with Yerke I accepted several job offers without signing legal contracts, as a result after 1 month employers rejected to pay me. I stopped doing this."
"I am implementing product managers' tool from Yerke directly at my workplace. our platform is benefiting from it already."
"Yerke guided me in building a new LMS system for the client, structuring our work as contractors, and gathering the product and tech team."
"I understand that getting into YC-backed company is a challenging goal. But the mindset shift I am getting from mentorship is exactly what I need to have the right attitude towards mt goal."
“before I met Yerke I had vague understanding of how to get offer from a tech company, what I had to do. We went through my strength and weaknesses and built individual growth strategy.”
Aizat is looking for a product manager position
Aktolkyn found a new job after 1 week of mentorship
Zhuldyzay is working as a product manager at Smart Satu and willing to propel her skills with mentorship
Temirlan is launching a new product at Halyk Insurance
Nurzhan is working as a project manager at Tour Agency and willing to move the product manager's position
