Matt Goff

I've been in product management for over fifteen years, leading teams that take messy, complex data and operations and turn them into scalable products that deliver value for customers and the business. I started in financial services, then joined a former manager at a company marketing higher-education programs, which scratched the itch of getting closer to education. Through people I met there I found a true edtech company focused on online tutoring, with a data-focused role that was my jam, and I ran with that for a solid four years.

Two things pushed me to start looking. The macroeconomic environment for education was tightening, and I was at a smaller startup that had found its footing but couldn't quite get up to running pace. At the same time, I'd worked on almost every aspect of the product, was running the data mart, and wanted to expand my influence into people management — and that wasn't an option in my role. So I perused the market, had a few initial interviews, and could sense I was missing a beat. Something wasn't clicking. When I came across Shobhit's content, I realized that if I was really going to get my next step, I needed to refine my story so others could track what Matt is about and why he'd be great for the role.

I joined two separate calls before deciding. The first got me questioning what I was actually missing. By the second it clicked: I was out of practice sharing my story and providing clarity on my own contributions, because I'd spent so much time naturally saying "this person was great at this." I needed to do that for myself, and I needed someone to help pull it out of me. I also wanted to be more deliberate about what I wanted next instead of letting things work out by chance.

I joined right before the winter holiday break thinking I'd have lots of time to pour in. That was an overestimation of how much I could do, and an underestimation of how much reflection work I really had ahead of me: what do I want next, what do I want long term, and how do I connect what I've done toward that direction. Then work started back up and I had to balance doing well at my current job with the program — while raising a toddler with a strong sense of self. I had a lot of starts and restarts. I'd get on a hot streak, life would change, and I'd have to pause and jump back in. From when I started to when I accepted the offer was almost eight months.

Four moments in the program stand out. First, being pushed for clarity on what really matters to me in my career and how it fits with my life, and thinking two or three steps ahead so the next step gets me toward my longer-term vision. Second, developing my "tell me about yourself." The team helped me get the real material refined until it felt like me, and I surprised myself — if I heard that story, I'd consider hiring the person. Third and fourth were my resume and LinkedIn. Once I had the clarity in my story and had worked through what in my career I could leverage to communicate my value, the messages I was getting on LinkedIn and the cold resume sends started getting a better response rate. Those moments led to the flurry of conversations over the last two months.

Around the beginning of July I applied to a bunch of roles, and over the next four weeks I finally started hearing back — a conversation one day, another company the next day, another the day after. They were all real interviews, but they were also helping me practice and sharpen my messaging. Interviews are game time, and I'd been practicing, even talking to AI to refine how I stated things. I was fortunate to be progressing in a couple of pipelines, and when it became clear Frontline and I could get to the right place, I stepped out of the others to respect people's time. I knew I'd found the right next step. I'm joining Frontline Education as a Group Product Manager, leading a team to modernize the absence and time product and integrate it with the broader product ecosystem — and it's the step back toward people management I'd been wanting.

When I recently described the program to someone, I told them the coaches somewhat specialize, so I could quickly connect with Danielle for LinkedIn guidance because that was her jam. All these different people there to help gives it a community feel and builds energy. I also explained it's not "go talk to them and then go do homework." You do the work and bring it to them, and if you hit a roadblock — like I did telling my story at first — they help you break through, and then you follow the guidance and get there. It's done with you, not for you. I wasn't repeating what someone else told me to say; the coaching was "be crisper here, make sure you make this point," and I could find my way because of the work I'd done to build up to that moment. That's what let me own it in the actual conversations.

My advice: definitely consider it, and make sure you yourself are ready to go. If you are, do it. The system and support are there, and if you're ready to pour in, you'll get something out. But it needs to be something you think about daily, even twenty or thirty minutes — ideally hands on keyboard, or capturing notes like "I really liked how I said it this time." Those bits of work compound over time and lead to the greater success. You can join any fitness program and do nothing; that's why they're called memberships. The question is whether you're truly ready to invest yourself and invest in yourself to go after this.