Between’s product manager: attention to detail can be a double-edged sword

In the season of all things lovey dovey, for this inaugural series of women in technology, we speak with Jooyeon Kim (pictured right), the product manager at popular Korean couple app, Between. She tells us about her experience of not being able to completely communicate ideas and concerns with part of the team, given that she didn’t come from a tech background, and how she learned to get around it.

Vanessa: Tell us a little about yourself.

Joo: I grew up moving back and forth between United States and Korea, and being bilingual opened tremendous opportunities for me such as studying abroad or doing business development for Between.

I love to read and also love working together with other people. This led me to study business management during college. My first job was with the Boston Consulting Group, where I learned a lot from highly intelligent people, but soon found that I prefer a more hands-on approach. Between was a really good fit for me because I could be a part of global team and actually carry out long term plans that I planned out.

What does your startup do, and what is your role?

I am part of the business development team at Value Creators & Company (VCNC), which is also the company behind the Between app. Between is an online space for couples where they can chat, share photos, and plan together in a private and secure way. We now have over five million users worldwide.

I’d like to say I do everything other than design and development, and it’s true. More recently, I have been investing most of my time in product management for Between 2.0, which was released last year. I spend a lot of my time channeling user insight, studying trends in mobile apps, and working with the product team.

How and why did you get started in the technology and startup industry?

My friend, who made the jump before me, introduced me to the Between team, and it did not take long for me to join as well.

When I first met the team (pictured above), I was overwhelmed by how enthusiastic and motivated everyone was. There was a positive atmosphere coming from people doing what they love, and there was a huge desire and want to be a part of such a team.

I also love being able to work with people from other professions to create and build things. Coming from a pure business background, I appreciate and respect the different skills and views everyone brings to the table. There’s always something new to learn.

Do you think your gender has played a role in helping you gain an advantage or disadvantage over your male counterparts in terms of leadership?