Product Manager

Are you ready to join Connecticut Innovation’s vibrant community of innovators? Connecticut Innovations (“CI”) is Connecticut’s strategic venture capital arm, and we are passionate about serving our portfolio of 220 companies across various industries, with strengths in life sciences, technology, and climate tech.

Come join one of our quickly growing portfolio companies, Trashie!

Trashie Overview

Trashie is a recycling rewards platform dedicated to making recycling easy, accessible, and rewarding for everyone. Our mission is to divert unwanted textiles and electronics from landfills by offering convenient recycling solutions and incentivizing sustainable choices through our innovative rewards program.

Our flagship product, the Trashie Take Back Bag, is the premier choice for clothing recycling in the USA, ensuring over 95% of collected items find new homes. In 2024, Trashie diverted 4.5 million pounds of items from landfills. Together with our passionate team and community, we are driving critical systemic change. Join us and make an impact!

Product Manager | Position Overview

Trashie is seeking a Product Manager with a background in consumer-facing digital products/services and interest in rewards and loyalty programs driving customer engagement. As the Product Manager, you will be responsible for contributing to defining product requirements and managing the end-to-end product lifecycle in collaboration with multiple stakeholders across the organization. Your primary goal will be to create a fun & engaging product experience that drives engagement, builds customer loyalty, and strengthens our brand.

• Software Development and Execution: Collaborate with engineering and operations teams, setting development priorities, and ensuring timely delivery of high-quality features using Agile methodologies. Define and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success and impact of feature launches. Continuously iterate and improve the product based on data-driven insights.
• Product Planning and Definition: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including engineering, design, marketing, creative, customer service, business development, and finance, to define product requirements. Translate customer needs and business goals into clear and actionable product specifications. Create and maintain a prioritized backlog of features and enhancements.
• User Experience Design: Work closely with the creative team to create an intuitive and seamless user experience. Conduct user research, usability testing, and iterate on the design to optimize engagement and retention. Ensure that features are user-friendly across various user devices.
• Stakeholder Management: Collaborate with internal stakeholders, including executive leadership, marketing, creative, customer service, engineering, and operations, to align on product requirements supporting the broader business initiatives. Effectively communicate product updates, roadmap plans, and performance metrics to key stakeholders.
• Customer Insights and Feedback: Leverage customer feedback, data analytics, and market insights to identify opportunities for feature development, enhancements and ideation. Conduct surveys, interviews, and user testing to understand customer needs and preferences. Be the voice of the customer in discussions with cross-functional stakeholders and drive business decisions that impact customers with data.
• Strategy Development: Contribute your point of view into the development of product strategy supporting the company's overall business objectives. Conduct market research and competitive analysis (as needed) to identify opportunities, trends, and customer preferences.

What You'll Bring

• Experience as a Product Manager or similar role, preferably in a consumer-facing digital product environment
• Basic understanding of rewards industry and loyalty programs, customer engagement strategies, and e-commerce platforms
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven mindset
• Appreciation of agile development methodologies and tools (e.g., Scrum, Kanban, JIRA, Asana, ClickUp)
• Ability to collaborate and influence cross-functional teams and stakeholders
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal
• Strong project management skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple initiatives simultaneously
• Passion for delivering exceptional user experiences and driving retention
• Knowledge of emerging trends and technologies especially in consumer tech
• Desire to work at a fast-paced early stage startup environment where change is a constant

Why Join Trashie

As the only rewards platform inspiring new consumer behaviors around recycling and sustainability while driving revenue and environmental impact, Trashie offers a mission-driven opportunity to make a difference. You'll work alongside a smart team passionate about creating positive change in the world. Trashie fosters an inclusive culture as an equal-opportunity employer, committed to diversity and providing a safe, rewarding, and empowering work environment. With competitive wage minimums, generous benefits, and supportive personal leave policies, Trashie ensures its employees feel valued and supported every step of the way.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Trashie is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We have strict wage minimums, generous benefits, and personal leave policies. Our goal is to provide safe, rewarding, and empowering work environments for all who interact with our company.