Darren Austin
Product Exec | Entrepreneur / Inventor | Bldg Materials & Home Improvement | Mobile & Cloud Pioneer | Startup Advisor
About me
Immensely curious product exec passionate about creating solutions that delight millions of users. I recently left a career in software to start a new business developing a new product for the home improvement market called SpeedBox.
Prior to starting SpeedBox, the focus of my career was pioneering many of the innovations that form the backbone of user experiences today - including mobile apps, social messaging, location-based products, and cloud services.
I have been fortunate to have worked for and with some of the most influential companies in technology on their first forays into mobile. I'm most proud of having helped start the mobile initiatives at Amazon.com and at Expedia and having had one of my products, AIM for iPhone, demoed on-stage during Steve Jobs’ unveiling of the iPhone App Store in 2008.
Despite my appreciation for technology, I believe that the greatest business asset is an empowered team of talented, passionate people working together to create meaningful value for customers. I am at my best when working with a small team in a diverse-minded, fun, inspired, no-drama environment.
I am a podcast and audiobook addict (as both a listener and a show producer), a disciple of Ben Thompson's Aggregation Theory, Platform Thinking and Lean Startup methods, and I believe that sustainability is a concept that applies equally to business models and personal interactions as it does to environmental responsibility. I'm bullish on the possibilities for artificial intelligence and machine learning and the benefits it will bring to everyday life.
Favorite podcasts:
Products I can't live without:
Specialties: Designing consumer product experiences based on solid design and psychological principles. Product lifecycle management. Business model design. User empathy.
Professional Summary
Director of Product Management @Microsoft working on Higher Ed; previously on @MSOneNote. Formerly VP of Product @Glympse. Helped start mobile initiatives @ Amazon.com (1999), RealNetworks (2001) and Expedia (2010). In between, I led the product team for Mobile AIM & ICQ and founded and sold a couple of small tech start ups - SeattleRentals.com (2002) and Playfield (2009).
Highlights
Experience
Microsoft OneNote
Director of Product Management, OneNote Apr 2015 - Jul 2021
Recruited to help introduce the Product Management discipline on the OneNote team at Microsoft and evolve the product planning and development process with a focus on user-centric design and business- and data-driven prioritization.
Glympse
VP of Products Dec 2011 - Apr 2015
Glympse is the pioneer of real-time, temporary location sharing. Glympse develops a consumer app and mobile location platform in use by millions of users globally.
PushSpring
Member of Advisory Board Feb 2015 - Present
PushSpring uses advanced machine learning techniques to provide device-level targeting data and insights for verified iOS and Android mobile app audiences. PushSpring data scientists use signals from billions of app usage sessions to create targeting Personas and custom segments that represent the most accurate, multi-dimensional classification of mobile app audiences available.
Sirqul, Inc.
Member, Board of Advisors Nov 2011 - Present
Sirqul provides a platform enabling retailers, brands and advertisers to develop immersive consumer experiences that drive location-based commerce.
Expedia
Director of Mobile, Expedia Worldwide Jul 2010 - Dec 2011
Recruited to lead Expedia’s foray into the mobile market by developing the mobile product strategy and building an industry-leading mobile ecommerce organization.
RentMatch
Member, Board of Advisors Mar 2009 -Mar 2015
RentMatch is an e-commerce and advertising service connecting rental property owners with high-quality tenants.
AOL
Director of Product Management – Mobile AIM Apr 2005 - Jun 2010
Led a team of Senior and Director-level Product Managers and UX Designers responsible for Mobile AIM and ICQ.
Motorola
Product Management Jul 2004 - Apr 2005
Responsible for setting the strategic direction and developing the go-to-market plan for the 4thpass (SyncML) Device Management System server product.
SeattleRentals.com
Founding Partner Jan 2002 - Apr 2005
As a founder and co-owner of the business, I developed the original product concept, business plan and marketing plan. SeattleRentals.com continues to be a going concern in the Pacific Northwest real estate marketplace.
RealNetworks
Director of Business Development Oct 2000 - Aug 2001
Co-developed and executed RealNetworks' partnering and business development strategy for wireless carriers and mobile device manufacturers.
Amazon.com
Mobile Business Development Sep 1999 - Oct 2000
One of nine founding members of the Amazon.com Anywhere team.
Convergence Corporation
Director of Business Development Apr 1999 - Sep 1999
Company Sold to Amazon.com in September 1999. Reporting directly to the CEO, I represented the DeviceTalk line of wireless data and Bluetooth software to leading technology providers.
American Megatrends, Inc.
Product Manager Nov 1997 - Apr 1999
Managed the complete product life cycle of AMI’s MegaRAC line of remote access server peripherals.
Darren rescued a world-wide mobile rollout project half way through across worldwide Expedia brands and energetically drove it over the line. Working with Darren was always a pleasure as he knows his stuff, knows his goals, and is fun.
— Matt O'Kane
Skills
Product Marketing
Product Management
Strategic Planning
Mobile
Corporate Development
International Business
Mobile Internet
Mobile Ecommerce
Education
Georgia State University
Economics, MBA 1997 - 1998
As the only urban research university in Georgia, Georgia State University offers educational opportunities for traditional and nontraditional students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels by blending the best of theoretical and applied inquiry, scholarly and professional pursuits, and scientific and artistic expression.
Activities: � Twenty-two quarter hours of credit towards an MBA degree with dual concentration in Finance and Economics.
� Degree not complete. Studies were interrupted by Amazon.com acquisition of Convergence and my subsequent relocation to Seattle
Georgia Southern University
Mechanical Engineering Technology, BS 1991 - 1995
Georgia Southern, Eagles, fight, Fight, FIGHT!
Activities: -- Member of Golden Key and Gamma Beta Phi honor societies.
Contact me!