Dan Harris navigates the product marketing waters

Dan Harris didn’t know what to expect having never worked remotely before, but he’s been able to make a big impact as our first product marketer. Based in Indonesia, Dan has built a team that’s rooted in autonomy and trust, so when they’re not connecting live, they collaborate effectively. 

Find out more about what Dan and his team do on a daily basis, and what led him to choose Indonesia as his home.

When did you start working at Linktree?

I started working with Linktree in July last year. At the time, I was visiting a very remote part of Indonesia. I didn’t exactly intend to work from that location, but I saw the opening at Linktree and jumped on the opportunity. I was a user of Linktree before becoming an employee, so I was excited to work for a company having first been an avid user of the product. Fun fact: because of lockdowns, I couldn’t return to a place with better internet, so I had to tether off my phone during my first three months. I wouldn’t do it again!

What does being Head of Product Marketing entail? Tell us a bit about your role.

Product Marketing at Linktree is all about helping inform our product strategy (who we build for and what we build for them), and driving our go-to-market strategy (how do we announce what we build, to who, where, and when). Go-to-market strategy involves many things, but some of the foundations include things like segmentation, pricing strategy, positioning, naming, copywriting, and project management.

Our aim is to develop and use expertise in our product, customers, competitors, category, and the broader market to help us inform the product strategy and drive go-to-market strategy. We aim to be the voice of the customer inside Linktree, and the voice of Linktree to our customers by helping our product teams better understand customers, and helping our customers understand the value we’re creating for them.

What was it like being the very first Product Marketer at Linktree? 

Being Head of Product Marketing, and the first product marketer, means I was able to come in early, set the foundation for the business, define how and what we work on based on priority and impact, create our internal processes, and hire and manage a wonderful team of 2, soon to be 4! I’m lucky to be able to lead a very talented product marketing team and for us to be supported by the many talented folks across the rest of Linktree.

You’ve been with Linktree for nearly a year now. What are you most proud of?

We’ve been able to create some tremendous value for our customers through the new features we’ve built, and the incredible growth of Linktree’s customer base over that time speaks to that. Getting those features in the hands of our customers always feels great. To announce a feature like Music Links and see folks in the music industry like Dark Entries for example, start using it only a few days later is always rewarding. I love seeing my personal network use our product and the value it creates for them, like with Friends of Friends Hat co or with our Store integration with Shopify. In addition, the partnership we’ve been able to develop with the product team, the focus, and processes we’ve developed for our team and the wider go-to-market contributors helps us navigate the challenges of being a startup and growing fast.

On a personal note, Linktree was a big challenge for me. I felt excited yet nervous joining because I had taken a year and a half off prior. I was worried about what it would be like working remotely, and I honestly felt like I had hit a ceiling at my previous company; I was scared that it might be a ceiling for me in general and what I was capable of achieving in Product Marketing. I had my own doubts about myself that I came to Linktree to overcome, and I’ve surprised myself (don’t tell my coworkers :wink:) about the level of impact and motivation I’ve been able to have. The team here, the culture we have despite being remote, keeps me really engaged and I’ve never felt more excited and supported by people around me. I guess it really was simply time to move on from my previous role and switch things up to get a fresh perspective and inspiration. I think as humans it’s hard for us to come to these realizations when we’re in one situation until we make the jump to a new one and are able to fully reflect on things from the other side.

You’re based in Indonesia and the rest of your team is in the US and Australia. How do you ensure you stay in sync and collaborate effectively?

We rely on Slack, Loom, and a few meetings a week to stay in touch, and to be fair, nothing beats time together, so we try to make the best use of the time zone overlap we have together each day. Having less time together means we need to be very efficient and effective in the way we communicate in order to stay aligned. There is a lot of ownership, trust, and autonomy that comes from remote work across different time zones, and I find that empowering, I think my team does too. It takes a special type of company to give employees that trust. 

What was behind your decision to move to Indonesia?

Indonesia is the fourth most populated country on the planet, it is absolutely massive with thousands of islands, and so much diversity across religions, people, animals, and plant life. There is always something or someone new to meet around every corner. I didn’t realize this before I came here, and my original motivation was surfing. In the last two years, I’ve visited many of the different islands around the country and the local people, culture, and history have left me in awe. Indonesia is a very unique and special place on this planet. I recommend anyone visit and explore. 

We’ve heard you’re an avid surfer. Do you have any hot tips for the best surfing spots in Bali?

My hot tip is to contact a local surf guide to show you around, help you progress no matter your level, and pick the best spots for you. You can find guides in all the surfing hot spots and they’ll be able to get you everything and everywhere you need. You will be supporting local people and have a better time all around. 

Where would we most likely find you on a Friday night?

A mixed bag! Probably watching the sunset, eating dinner with friends, playing board games, dancing, it depends 🙂