One of Redfish's favorite clients is LOYAL3, a game-changing technology company who is democratizing the way individuals invest. The company has created financial products exclusive to the industry that make it simple and easy for consumers to buy stock directly from a company's websites and/or social media page; another product allows consumers to get in on IPOs along with initial investors at institutional pricing. LOYAL3's mission is to make it easier and more affordable for people to invest in the brands they know and love. The company recently sought a product manager to help build their broker dealer platform from the ground up. The position required knowledge of financial accounting and legal requirements, as well as experience with stock trading platforms. The PM would need to have proven skills working with Engineering, Marketing, Legal, Sales, external partners, customers, and the management team to set product development priorities, to identify product requirements, and to ensure reliable and scalable new features implementation.

Kelly Seefeldt is a self-starter with a keen interest and ability to work in a fast-paced start-up environment. He has built an impressive career since graduating with Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Initially in sales, he worked in strategic sales and business development at Morgan Stanley and Bank of America. Kelly then moved into product management for two online brokerage companies where he focused on superior client service and loyalty achieving exceptional retention rates, as well as building strategic partnerships with trade desk and clearing firms to meet and exceed customer's service expectations. Kelly's rich experience in the financial services solutions product management space encompasses managing proprietary & multi-asset trading platforms, working with internal and external partners to generate asset based revenue streams, and leading cross-functional teams in developing products that meet the needs of customers. He has proven expertise in vendor research, requirements documentation and analysis, project planning, test planning, and product launch. In short, Kelly was just what the doctor ordered.

"Leah O'Flynn is simply very good at what she does. She has the ability to take what is normally a very stressful process and turn it into something which is seamless and exciting like it should be. She genuinely cared about my priorities and ensured I was completely comfortable and prepared for each step along the way. Leah & Redfish come highly recommended!" - Kelly Seefeldt

Strategic thinking is key in plotting the course for a great career. In order to build a fantastic resume, thought needs to be put into creating the experience and accomplishments that great companies want. Here are some things to think about:

Diversification

Play the field but do so with some strategy when you are young and starting out.  Avoid more than three jobs within your first five years out of college. By year five, you should have a much clearer expectation of what you want from your job, what you have to offer, and what sectors are a good fit.

Startup experience makes you more marketable for many reasons. The primary reason is that working at a startup demonstrates the ability to be agile and wear a lot of hats. It shows that you are hands-on and roll up your sleeves. The higher visibility and greater expansion of your skill set provides opportunities to accumulate accomplishments more quickly than in a big department of a big company, where roles are often highly focused on more defined tasks and responsibilities.