My Name Is Keith Davenport — This Is Why I Joined Aha!
It is amazing to watch someone connect the dots. There is no more satisfying feeling than seeing a person “get it” — especially if you are a teacher. This is one reason I chose to study education in college. After earning my degree, I taught high school students in a small town in the mountains of Georgia. I could see the impact I had on each child’s life and perhaps some small influence on who they would become as they found their own direction.
Making a positive impact on people has been the driving force throughout my career — inside and outside the classroom.
The funny thing about dots is that there is always another one to connect. If you are not seeking this next connection, you are not really challenging yourself and growing as a person. So after three years as an educator, I wanted to broaden my teaching skills and pursue my interest in technology.
I joined a healthcare IT company as a corporate trainer. Anyone who knows healthcare in America knows the complexity of this industry. My role included traveling across the country to train physician practice personnel on how to use a software management system. I helped to connect the patient with the practice and with the insurance company.
As I gained more experience, I spent more and more time with our product management team. Since I was working with customers firsthand, I was able to give the product managers unique insights into how our product was really being used. I realized that paying attention to the problems people were facing and figuring out solutions was just another way of learning and connecting.
It felt like a natural progression to move from training to product management. My favorite part of the job was educating consumers about the healthcare services available to them. I worked on patient portals — helping people communicate with their doctors and get their prescriptions filled faster.
It was easy to see how the work I was doing was directly helping people access a higher level of care.
After a dozen years as a product manager in healthcare IT, I wanted to keep growing and learning. It was time to do something different. I had always been a big proponent of Aha! in my previous role — I used the roadmap software before and loved the product. So when I saw an opportunity to join the Customer Success team, I was excited.
I became even more excited during the interview process. Everyone I spoke with at Aha! was smart and transparent. They were genuinely interested in determining if there was a good mutual fit and they clearly valued my time and expertise. I knew I wanted to join the team.
Now I am able to do everything I love — sharing best practices, answering technical questions about the product, and even onboarding new Aha! teammates.
My job is challenging, demanding, and completely rewarding. I love that I get to teach product managers how to use Aha! and have a real impact on how they deliver winning products. And working with A-player teammates has forced me to raise my own game even higher. The culture of learning and continuous improvement is tremendous.
I love the product. I love the team. And I love that I am able to influence fellow product managers so that they can build products that their customers love. Truly, a virtuous loop of connectedness.
That is why I joined Aha! — and why you should too.
