Roadmaps · Prioritization · GTM
Product Strategy
Roadmap development, feature prioritization, product positioning, and go-to-market planning, tied to what executives and customers actually need.
About
A product manager who started by listening.
I'm a product manager at Aeonian Technology, where I run strategy and roadmaps for three SaaS products and report directly to the CEO. I'm also finishing an MS in Technology Management at North Carolina A&T State University, with a 4.0 GPA.
I came to product through communication. I spent the years after my undergraduate degree leading communication and stakeholder engagement, most recently at The CANs in Abuja, a nonprofit that built digital platforms against gender-based violence, police brutality, and poverty. There I helped take the UNSUB platform from pilot to 2,000 users and learned that good products start with the people who use them.
My toolkit spans both sides of the work. On the research side: surveys, interviews, personas, and journey maps. On the delivery side: user stories, acceptance criteria, risk-based test plans, and go/no-go criteria. As a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, I measure what matters, and I build AI-powered web apps of my own.
Get in touch →3SaaS products managed in parallel
2,000UNSUB users, up from 17 in two months
150+student registrations led at BVCC
What I do
From discovery to a confident launch.
Surveys · Interviews · Personas
Customer Research
Voice-of-customer surveys, stakeholder interviews, personas, and journey maps, synthesized into recommendations a team can act on.
User stories · Acceptance criteria
Requirements & Delivery
Build-ready requirements, sprint planning support, and day-to-day coordination with offshore development partners.
Go / no-go · Green Belt
Launch Readiness & Quality
Risk-based test plans, severity-based launch criteria, and end-to-end journey testing, backed by Lean Six Sigma methods.
Executives · Partners · Teams
Stakeholder Management
Executive reporting, cross-functional alignment, and influencing without authority. I taught public speaking at NC State for three semesters.
LLMs · Automation
Building with AI
I design and build AI-powered web apps myself, which keeps my requirements grounded in how software really gets made.
Toolkit
Google AnalyticsGoogle Forms & Apps ScriptExcelCanvaSlackPythonClaudeChatGPT
Product work
Selected product outcomes.
What I owned, and what changed because of it.
- Led a 13-sprint fintech build with an offshore partner, writing user stories, acceptance criteria, and requirements for tier benefits, board-vote approval workflows, and portfolio-based membership tiers.
- Built a risk-based pre-launch test plan that narrowed 100+ features to 10 critical end-to-end user journeys, with severity-based go/no-go criteria across web, Android, and six role-based user manuals.
- Ran voice-of-customer research for drivers, operators, and parents using branching surveys built in Google Apps Script, and turned the findings into roadmap recommendations on driver onboarding and tracking reliability.
- Shaped the product family's naming and information architecture, wrote a branding proposal that client executives approved, and created sales content that surfaced an undersold charter booking feature.
- Supported the UNSUB lifecycle from pilot to scale, coordinating onboarding across 122 partner organizations and iterating on the platform from user requirements.
- Turned product outcomes into funding with data-backed performance reports and stakeholder updates that secured $100,000.
- Managed launch readiness for Project RISE across 70+ organizations, reaching 35,000 beneficiaries on time and to standard.
- At Cyber Alliance, I ran market research and competitive analysis that informed positioning and go-to-market planning. I built personas and buyer journey maps from stakeholder interviews.
- Built KPI dashboards to track performance and engagement against targets, surfacing insights that improved program strategy.
- As BVCC's Product Management Student Leader at NC A&T, I designed and ran a multi-channel recruitment strategy that brought in 150+ registrations.
- As an independent consultant (2016 – 2023), I helped 10+ small businesses redesign their processes, doubling one client's output within a month.
Builds
Products I've designed and built myself.
Each one started with a real operational problem: a job search, a volunteer roster, a machine shop.
AET Lab Operations Platform
Runs the CNC, automotive, and fabrication labs for NC A&T's Applied Engineering Technology department. Students scan a machine's QR code to book time, check out tools, and report problems.
- Safety-training gate at booking
- AI-triaged repair tickets
- Preventive maintenance and digital 5S audits
- Dashboard for the department chair: machine uptime, open issues, and 5S scores
AI Job Search Assistant
Finds well-matched roles daily, ranks them by fit, and drafts tailored, ATS-ready CVs, cover letters, and answers using only facts you've confirmed.
- Daily ranked matches on your schedule
- Submits on approval, or hands you everything
- Every application tracked with the saved job description
- Follow-ups, interview prep, and weekly insights
Volunteer Coordination Platform
Gets the right people to show up for nonprofits, NGOs, and churches. Volunteers sign up, confirm, swap, and check in by text, with no account or app.
- Automatic reminders and waitlist backfill
- QR check-in that logs hours
- One-click hours verification letters
- Funder-ready impact and in-kind match reports
Experience
From communication to product.
Most recent first.
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Aug 2026 – now
Product ManagerAeonian Technology LLC · Remote
Strategy and roadmaps for three SaaS products, reporting to the CEO.
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Summer 2026
ACE CNC Bootcamp TrainerACE CNC · NC A&T
Trained participants across two CNC machining bootcamps. Led metrology lectures and training for college and high school students with Dr. David Chamblee.
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Jan – Apr 2026
Product Management Student LeaderBVCC · NC A&T Chapter
Led recruitment for BVCC's free product curriculum: 150+ registrations, on-campus talks, tabling events, and media.
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Aug 2025 – now
MS Technology ManagementNorth Carolina A&T State University
GPA 4.0, expected December 2026. Coursework in technology management analytics, strategic quality, and Six Sigma.
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Apr 2025 – Jan 2026
Communication & Marketing FellowCyber Alliance · Raleigh, NC
Market research, personas, journey maps, and KPI dashboards that informed positioning and go-to-market planning.
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2023 – 2025
MS Communication & Graduate Certificate in GISNC State University · Full scholarship
GPA 4.0. Taught COM 110 Public Speaking for three semesters as a teaching assistant. Schnog Fellow and ISAC member.
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2019 – 2023
Communications & Stakeholder Engagement LeadThe CANs · Abuja, Nigeria
Took the UNSUB platform from 17 to 2,000 users, secured $100K in funding, and ran Project RISE across 70+ organizations.
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2016 – 2023
Communications ConsultantIndependent · Remote
Process and communication improvement for 10+ small and mid-sized businesses.
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2015
BSc Mass CommunicationOduduwa University Ipetumodu, Nigeria
GPA 4.31 / 5.0.
Education & credentials
Degrees, certifications, and honors.
Degrees
- MS Technology ManagementNC A&T State University · Expected Dec 2026 · GPA 4.0
- MS CommunicationNC State University · 2025 · GPA 4.0
- Graduate Certificate, GISNC State University · 2025
- BSc Mass CommunicationOduduwa University Ipetumodu · 2015
Certifications
- Product Management CertificateBlack Venture Capital Consortium · 2025
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt2025
- Design ThinkingStacStart · 2025
- ACE CNC CertificateOnline program and in-person bootcamp
Honors
- Cyber Alliance FellowshipCommunication & Marketing Fellow · 2025 – 2026
- Schnog FellowshipAlfred and Anita Schnog Foundation · 2024 – 2025
- Full graduate scholarshipNC State University
Giving back
Service and community.
Documentary for NCCADV · 2025 – 2026
Lights Still On
Shot, produced, directed, and edited a volunteer documentary for the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence on its affiliate agencies and the effect of funding cuts on their work. Member since 2023.
Research · Schnog Fellow
Holocaust Education Resources
With Prof. Roy Schwartzman at NC State, built a website, map, videos, and teaching materials for students and Holocaust educators.
Advisory council
ISAC, NC State
Gave feedback and recommendations to the Office of International Services on programs and policies for international students.
Volunteer
ISSERV, NC State
Volunteered with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, Raleigh BugFest, and other food banks.
Contact
Let's build products people use.
I'm open to product management roles and projects. Reach out about a role, a product that needs a clear roadmap, or a launch that needs to go right.
- linkedin.com/in/richard-abiona
- Based in
- Raleigh, North Carolina
© 2026 Richard Abiona