From IC to VP in Four Years: Reflections on Growth & Problem Solving from Peloton's Betina Evancha
"It's very zen, right?" asks Betina, who is the VP of Product Management for fitness tech company Peloton. "My work life is lots of lateral thinking, where there are no correct answers to problems a lot of the time. So it's very soothing to do something where you just start, follow the directions, and at the end, you have a chair."
We sat down with Betina to talk about her career as a product manager, how she's seen Peloton's Product Management team grow from four to 25, and what she's learned about tackling not-so-straightforward problems along the way.
Finding her niche: mixing people and problems in product management
Betina studied mechanical engineering in college and took a job after graduation as a consultant, excited by the opportunity to solve problems for different kinds of businesses. But she wanted to be more hands-on with her solutions than consulting allowed for, so in her free time, she learned how to code and later took a job as a mobile developer.
That was better, but still not quite right; she felt like she had more to offer. Her then-boss gave her an opportunity to be a product manager, and that was her Goldilocks moment.
"Product management is super fun—there are lots of different problems to solve," says Betina. "There's data problems and user testing problems and strategy. It's an opportunity to work with many different skills and tools, and I enjoy the challenge."
Betina joined Peloton in 2016 as the fourth member of their product management team. They covered many of Peloton's products, from the website, to the system used in showrooms, to the Peloton Bike itself. Her focus was on the Tread, Peloton's full-body workout offering. The team grew quickly, and two years in, her boss offered the opportunity to manage people.
Management was interesting to her, she explains, because it would give her an opportunity to learn how to make an impact through others. "You're no longer just solving problems yourself. You're thinking about how to help someone else solve problems and help them improve, while giving them ownership," she says.
She went from a Senior PM to a Director of Product Management and found she thrived in the role. A year later, when the VP of Product Management role opened up, Betina decided to throw her hat in the ring.
"I knew I had a lot of experience at Peloton and with the subject matter and team, and at the same time, I knew I hadn't been a VP before. I knew I was a good candidate and I knew I'd have to grow into it," says Betina. But she raised her hand and her manager gave her a shot, first with a smaller team-wide project to create a standardized system for planning, and then, when that went well, with the job itself.
Developing as a manager—and learning to "bottle the magic"
"Being a good manager is not the kind of thing that you do one day and then you are good [at it]. It's a practice and it's an effort that you make. And it's also something that you learn over time," reflects Betina. "It's not like many skills, where you could spend a few weekends studying and then you've learned something. Managing doesn't work that way. You can't practice giving performance reviews over the weekend."
(We wondered briefly if maybe you could, if there were a manager-marketed VR app that let you practice sitting at a conference table and walking an employee through their performance metrics. We call dibs on bringing it to market.)
As she's developing as a manager, Betina has been careful to frame her style of leadership and management in ways that felt authentic. "I would say, 'Hey, my job isn't to come in here and tell you what to do. Or even really to change the way we're doing things. It's to provide you with resources and help you grow,'" she says.
She also needed to determine what kind of values she wanted to encourage, and for her, it kept coming down to something simple: obsession with making the product good.
When the team was small, that obsession was easy to foster. With fewer product managers, each person's responsibility area was huge, and naturally created a sense of ownership that helped team members thrive. But as Peloton's offerings have expanded beyond a bike and into other areas, Betina notes that it can be harder to maintain that energy.
"You need to believe that 'the buck stops with you,' right? The nightmare scenario is a PM saying, 'Oh, I would change the product, but I can't because of the bureaucracy,'" she says. To address that, Betina actively ensures that her product team has all of the tools they need to fully own their work and focus on solving member needs.
She calls that "bottling the magic"—creating an environment where everyone is enabled to obsess over the pursuit of creating a good product. It's a hard task as the team keeps growing in size, but she's committed to keeping that magic and that energy there.
"One of Peloton's core values is 'operate with a bias for action,' which I very much agree with," says Betina. "If I see anyone on my team start to lose that feeling of being able to create change, I know I need to change the structure to make that person feel like they can do what's important to create a great product."
Failing — and learning from it
"I like being successful and doing things correctly," says Betina on behalf of…pretty much all of us. But then she gets vulnerable, on behalf of all of us, too: "But I've been in a lot of situations where I didn't have the answer to the question. I've sometimes failed publicly. It's not that fun to do. Figuring out a way to fail at something, learn from it, and do it better next time has been challenging."
For Betina, the path forward requires finding ways to maintain her confidence despite setbacks. She says she's learning from her manager, Tom, who she jokes might "genuinely not have an ego" and who has shown her that admitting when you don't have the answer can empower and strengthen the team.
But despite the pain that comes with growth, Betina's thrilled for the chance to be doing the growing. "Honestly, it's been a total privilege to work on the stuff that I get to work on with the people I get to work on it with. I genuinely love the product and I think it's really fun to work on something that our members are really excited about," she says.
She's looking forward to the future, too, which may see her team growing even further and taking on new products yet to be dreamt up. "The complexity will just continue to increase," she says. "So how do you continue to create that sense of possibility and excitement about what we can build?"
If you're interested in learning more about Peloton or checking out their open roles, click here.
A Look at PowerToFly's NYC Event with Peloton
On February 12th, PowerToFly co-hosted an evening of tech talks and discussions with revolutionary fitness innovator Peloton. (We have three PowerToFly team members who are Peloton members so we are clearly big fans).
Moderated by PowerToFly's Amy Trappey, this event was a chance to hear directly from the women tech leaders and allies who make Peloton's innovative products like the Peloton Bike, Peloton Tread and Peloton App possible.
Kicking off the evening, Peloton's Mindy Lieberman, VP of enterprise systems, greeted the crowd with warm and heartfelt introductory remarks before introducing Christine Becker, -senior software engineer at Peloton, who walked us through a behind-the-scenes tech talk. Mindy and Christine then stuck around to join a panel discussion & audience Q&A that also included Chandra Galbiati Thomas and Rosemary Arnold, both of whom are also software engineers.
Peloton is hiring. Benefits include a 401k plan with a 4% match, $100 a month towards your student loans, $100 a month towards a college savings plan, discounted bikes for you and your friends/family, and a great work-life balance.
A packed house listens to Mindy Lieberman's opening remarks.
Christine Becker leads the night's product demo.
A look at the night's panel discussion.
Our amazing panel answers questions from the audience.
A Night of Networking with Peloton’s Women Tech Leaders
If you are a New York based tech professional and you'd like to attend this event, please email your name and LinkedIn URL to events@powertofly.com.
Whether you are a software engineer, fitness enthusiast or both, you won't want to miss PowerToFly's evening of product demos and networking with the women tech leaders and allies at Peloton.
Founded in 2012, Peloton brought top talent together in its Silicon Alley headquarters to create a new concept in fitness. In their words, "We loved cycling but had a hard time finding a workout that consistently fit our schedules, and our at-home workouts never felt quite up to par. So, we set out to create a world-class indoor cycling studio experience on your time, and in the comfort of your own home."
This event is your chance to hear directly from the women tech leaders and allies who make their revolutionary products like the Peloton Bike, Peloton Tread and Peloton App possible. We'll be devoting a large portion of the event to taking your questions and I know the Peloton team wants to hear from you!
The unique evening will take place on Wednesday, February 12th from 6pm to 8:30pm at 125 W 25th Street.
Agenda (subject to change):
- 6:00pm - Check-In & Networking over light Food and refreshments
- 6:30pm - Opening Remarks by PowerToFly
- 6:35pm - Keynote Address by Mindy Lieberman - VP of Enterprise Systems
- 6:45pm - Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Product Demo by Christine Becker - Senior Software Engineer
- 7:00pm - Panel Discussion featuring leaders from Peloton
- Chandra Galbiati Thomas - Software Engineer
- Rosemary Arnold - Software Engineer
- Mindy Lieberman - VP of Enterprise Systems
- Christine Becker - Senior Software Engineer
- 7:20pm - Audience Q&A
- 7:40pm - Networking continues over light Food & refreshments
While you don't need to be looking for new opportunities in order to attend this event, Peloton is hiring. Their benefits include a 401k plan with a 4% match, $100 a month towards your student loans, $100 a month towards a college savings plan, discounted bikes for you and your friends/family, and a great work-life balance.
About PowerToFly: PowerToFly is a women-run startup that works with companies to identify skilled professionals they'd like to network with. Over the past two years, we've produced over one hundred events across the world with brands like American Express, Microsoft, Deloitte, and Slack, which have resulted in countless hires. Visit http://powertofly.com to learn more.
About PowerToFly's Events: All RSVP'd attendees are welcome, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, or age. If you require accommodation to fully participate in this event, please email hi@powertofly.com, and we will contact you to discuss your specific needs.
Unfortunately, PowerToFly and Peloton cannot admit outside recruiters to this particular event. Please email hi@powertofly.com if you have any questions about this policy.
A Look at Our Event with Bloomberg, Peloton and TodayTix
PowerToFly was proud to partner with Bloomberg, Peloton and TodayTix to host an invite-only night of talks and networking on April 16th in NYC for women in tech.
Hosted by PowerToFly's Co-Founder Katharine Zaleski at Work-Bench, an enterprise technology-focused VC fund that invests in the next era of enterprise founders selling into the Fortune 500, over one hundred New York-based women in tech had a chance to mingle with their peers and hear from women tech leaders at three exciting and very different companies.
Speakers included:
- Bloomberg - Wendy Kim, Recruiter; Betty Lam, Engineering Manager; Priya Shrivastava, Engineering Manager
- Peloton - Mary Huang, Strategic Program Manager
- TodayTix - Rachel Birnbaum, Director of Vertical Expansion; Kiki Dolan, Director of Geographic Expansion
Each of our three featured companies are hiring! Visit their pages on PowerToFly to check out their open roles.
Bloomberg - No other company processes financial data into meaningful and actionable information with the breadth and depth that Bloomberg does. Their 5,000+ engineers and data scientists are dedicated to building and advancing new solutions for the Bloomberg Terminal and enterprise products. Together, Bloomberg's team rolls out new software daily that integrates seamlessly — and immediately — into their clients' workflows.
Peloton - Peloton is more than a bike. This is a company that is pioneering technology that shapes lives and creates connections. When you join Peloton, you get the opportunity to work alongside the most creative and innovative minds in the field. A few of the benefits and perks of working here are a 401k plan with a 4% match, $100 a month towards your student loans, $100 a month towards a college savings plan; Medical, Dental, Vision and Life Insurance, discounted bikes for you and your friends/family, a complimentary digital subscription service, a great work-life balance.
TodayTix - Launched in 2013, TodayTix is redefining the way you see theatre. They have created an international ticketing platform that connects global audiences in 13 cities to the $50 billion live entertainment business by helping people secure the best discounted and full-price last minute tickets for the most sought after shows around.