Women in Tech - Q&A with Lauren Morris, Head of Product

Today, in our Women in Tech Series, I’m happy to introduce Lauren Morris, Head of Product at amazee.io. 

Lauren leads a full and vibrant personal life. A dedicated parent to three children, she's watched them grow into young adults, though, as she says, “They'll always be my kids.” When she finds moments for herself, Lauren enjoys a bit of "lightweight hiking," getting lost in the pages of a good book or dabbling in various crafts. She's also a devoted moviegoer and into all things pop culture and science fiction. She enjoys engaging with all forms of media and learning and understanding how the business of movies and TV works. Lauren can get excited about Sci-Fi in general, and specifically anything Star Wars and Star Trek related. And she loves finding new TV shows to jump into, especially if there are supernatural or Sci-Fi elements to it.

💬 How do you feel about being a female employee at amazee.io? Do you feel like you can thrive in an equal-opportunity work environment?

At amazee.io, we've got a great start, but there's always room to grow and improve. No one's perfect, and no company is either! Thanks to our collaborative spirit and transparency, I think we do a pretty good job of making sure voices are heard, especially for underrepresented groups. So, overall, it's been a really positive experience for me.

One of the coolest things about being at amazee.io is that I can be myself. I'm pretty direct, and I don't like to sugarcoat things. I definitely don't apologize for being a woman in tech, and honestly, that's gotten me into hot water at other places. I'd get feedback about my communication style, and I'd always wonder, 'If I were a guy, would I be getting the same feedback?' One time I asked this question after getting feedback, and that person actually came back to me and said, 'You know what? You're right, you wouldn't!' because an engineering counterpart would behave the exact same way and not get that kind of feedback. So, yeah, I've run into that a lot.

This is my first time working at a global company, and I think that's actually worked in my favor. Since I'm also working with people whose first language isn't always English, my directness seems to be better for everyone. I'm making assumptions here, but they don't have to translate from their language to what an American means, and then try to decode what I'm saying. I'm just like, 'Nope,' and I think that clarity has been a huge plus for me here.

💬 How and why did you decide to study in the tech industry?

Honestly, I call myself an accidental product manager because, really, I just stumbled into tech. But when I look back at my super unconventional journey, it feels like everything was leading me to this point.

I started out by getting my master's degree in Library and Information Science. I absolutely loved doing research and helping people solve specific problems. Back then, when I was in 'library and information science school' (that's a mouthful!), everything was starting to shift towards this new thing called Google. Librarians were basically the first people who had to figure out how to create websites, taxonomies, and relational databases for the library world. So, I picked up all these, at the time, random skills.

I worked as a librarian for a while, and then life happened, and my family happened. So, I veered off that path for a bit, though I was always freelancing and writing on the side. Then, I took a really wild 'side quest' and actually ran an improv comedy theater for almost a decade. I'd always been a performer since high school. At some point, the kind of art scene I wanted to be part of just didn't exist where I was living, so I decided to create it myself. It was there that I started learning about customer journeys, user journeys, marketing, and what an ideal customer profile looks like. Being an entrepreneur and a business person started to shape how I thought about things.

Eventually, I found myself at a crossroads. There was a job opening at an EdTech company, and they were specifically looking for someone with a librarianship background. That was my very first job in tech! Pretty quickly, I was talking to an engineer about something, and he started explaining something, and I was like, 'Hold on, you're just talking about a relational database.' And he was like, 'Wait a minute, why aren't you in our product department?' I had no idea what 'product' even was! So, that's how I found myself in product management. 

From there, it's just been an incredible journey to build products, whether starting from scratch (zero to one) or scaling an existing product. I've worked on products with millions of daily users, highly regulated products, and customer intelligence products.

I've also done a lot of traditional AI, which is more about machine learning – something that's been around forever, especially if you have a library science background like mine. When Generative AI hit the scene, I always say it's 'the librarian's time to shine' because prompt engineering is really like a really good reference library room interview and intake of how you think through finding and getting the right information for the problem you're trying to solve. Let me explain. Reference librarians will interview the person who is looking for information. They're often looking for information to solve a problem, such as writing a paper, wanting to learn something specific, or getting data. So for us Librarians, context matters, and understanding the individual's needs and goals matters. Those are all elements that make a really good prompt when using LLMs. It's all about figuring out how to find and get the right information to solve the problem you're working on. And that pretty much sums up my career journey in a nutshell! 

💬 How would you best explain your job to others?

As a Head of Product, my main responsibility is to develop the product strategy. This strategy involves determining how our products and services can genuinely solve real problems for our customers. I set that overarching strategy. Since we're a smaller company, I also build out the roadmaps and structures that allow our engineers to really thrive. I want them to have a high level of autonomy and creative input. So while they focus on ‘what’ we’re building in terms of products and ‘how’ we're building them, my focus is on the 'why' and the 'when'.

When working with my engineering counterparts, I'll say, "Okay, based on our business's strategic objectives and what we're aiming for, here are the problems I think we need to try to solve." Then, they'll be like, "Great, in order to do that, we'll do X, Y, and Z." From there, we talk a lot about how and when it's all going to happen.

A big part of my job is also the 'glue work' – connecting with all our other workstreams. It's about explaining the 'why' behind what we're doing, how to talk about us, how to position our solutions, and how our products are solving real problems for our customers.

A massive piece of product work is all about empathy and listening to our customers. This means I need to hear directly from the people who work with our solutions. I could do this by sifting through support tickets, chatting directly with our support team, sitting in on 'voice of the customer' meetings with our customer engagement team and technical account managers, or even just reaching out and talking to customers myself.

Ultimately, I’m making sure our products get to market, that they're actually creating value, and that the business is seeing revenue as a result. It's a pretty cool puzzle to put together!

💬 What does a typical workday look like for you?

No two days are the same for me, which is pretty typical for a Head of Product! It's an ambiguous role in an ambiguous field, and while the core concepts are consistent, how it plays out day-to-day really depends on the company.

Here at amazee.io, one day, I might be neck-deep in trying to validate a pricing hypothesis. That could mean spending the entire week talking to as many customers as possible, whether through surveys or direct interviews, to understand what works for them. Then, the next day, I could be absolutely swamped with meetings. Everyone wants to know when things are launching, how they work, why they work, and what they should be saying about them. So, I end up navigating a lot of high-stakes discussions.

Other times, my day or even my week might involve deep research into other applications and products, both within and outside our industry. I need to understand market trends and what new solutions are emerging. Often, a solution in a completely different area can spark fantastic inspiration for what we're working on. So, I could be sitting there, analyzing products and taking tons of notes.

I also spend time collaborating with our product designers, discussing my latest thoughts on user journeys and how we can improve them. The cadence can be intense, as it often is in product. You really have to treat your calendar like a product itself – constantly iterating on it and looking for ways to optimize your time.

There's a lot of context-switching involved. Some people are naturally good at it, and some even thrive on it. I also think it's a skill you can definitely learn, though you have to be aware of its limitations. At some point, too much context-switching can dilute your focus from those higher-leverage tasks and outcomes, pulling you into lower-level daily interruptions. It can be a bit challenging, especially for new product people who come from more task-oriented roles where the work is very defined. It can feel overwhelming or just unnerving because you're moving from a focus on specific outputs to thinking more about outcomes and high-level strategic thought work. This eventually leads to outputs, but you spend a lot of time in that bigger-picture thinking space. Context-switching is a muscle you have to build, and also rest, just like any other muscle!

💬 What would you say is the best part about being a woman in the tech industry?

For me, there are a couple of 'best parts' about being a woman in tech. One is definitely getting to connect with other women in the industry, especially those who've been in tech for a while. It's fantastic to learn from them and hear their experiences.

Another best part is when I can actually make an impact on someone who's newer to the tech industry – not necessarily younger in age, but perhaps making a career transition or trying to break into product. It's like what I'm doing with Bree Benesh right now, right? She started at our company as a Sales Architect and has recently transitioned into the Product team. There's something really great about being able to mentor and guide someone. I often think of myself as a lantern up above, shining a light and saying, 'Hey, the path is this way!' I don't necessarily tell them how to walk their path, but if they follow the light, they'll find their own way. 

💬 What roadblocks have you encountered as a woman in tech, and how do you work through them?

Honestly? Sometimes the best thing you can do is quit. There were times when the environment just wasn't right for me. Those people were never going to truly 'get' me. So, you have to go where you can actually make an impact. 

Sometimes, if an environment just isn't going to change, if you're constantly getting pushback such as 'you're too harsh,' 'you're too direct,' 'you're too noisy', but you see your male counterparts doing the exact same thing and thriving, you might need to say to yourself: ‘This isn't an environment where I can make an impact. This isn't an environment that wants to change.’ And why should you stay there? I know that this is always easier said than done, and it's definitely a privilege to be able to just up and leave. I understand that. But there are times when you really do need to say to yourself, 'Okay, I've done what I can to try and make a change, and I'm clearly not going to be the person to enact it. Let me go somewhere where I can.'

One of the hardest things, and it happens because there are so many men in engineering, is getting engineers to shift into a more product-minded, more collaborative place. I've actually been pretty good at that. But I see it every day: four men, one woman in the room. It's a lot of educating without people realizing you're educating. That can come through communication, setting expectations, and also, just by proving that I can execute and produce results.

Some of the things I've done, you could honestly debate whether I should have had to as a woman in tech, but they helped me get the job done. For instance, if we had a conversation about a technical concept and I felt like I didn't know enough, I'd go learn about it. I've often put myself in the role of an engineer, learning basic coding skills, like Python, or understanding the tools they use. Not deep, deep knowledge, but enough to get an overview from free online courses or YouTube videos. Really seeing what engineers do on a daily basis has helped me develop empathy for their work, which then helps me reframe what I need from them. You could say that's just a great way to engage with all human beings, and it's one way that has really worked for me as a woman in tech.

Overall, it's about understanding the culture I'm stepping into and figuring out what I will and won't tolerate. Am I going to get upset about every little microaggression? Again, we can debate whether I should, but I've had to figure out my own thresholds and boundaries, and how I'm going to handle it if they're crossed. 

That’s why I find connecting with other women in tech so helpful. You can say, 'Hey, this was a boundary for me, it got crossed, and I didn't respond the way I wanted to.' Then you practice how you can respond and normalize those conversations. Because when you're in the moment, and I think this comes from my ten years of running an improv theater and teaching adults, your frontal lobe takes over. How well you adapt to an uncomfortable situation depends on how much your frontal lobe takes over. Are you going into fight or flight? Freeze? Shut down? Do you fawn? Understanding these things about yourself helps you flip the script. I have an upper hand because I've taught people how to do that for a very, very long time.

In these fight-or-flight situations, there's a lot of practice involved. That's why people take improv classes; your body reacts the same way, but you're in a safe environment. You learn to manage your body without having to truly protect yourself, which gives you space. I've had students have full-on panic attacks, and I'd give them the space to get through it. But there's something that happens when you get through that, or when you go up in front of two people or two hundred people and put on a show with no script, no idea what's going to happen. Continually putting yourself out there keeps teaching your brain how to take care of itself. That's why I was a big proponent of teaching improv in business – those lessons translate directly into how you can handle things in the business world.

💬 Looking back, did you ever see yourself ending up in a role like this?

No! When I was starting out, I don't even think what we call product management today was really a job or even an option. There certainly wasn't a clear path like 'study computer science, then go to business school, then become a product manager.' That journey just didn't exist.

Honestly, I still ask myself what I want to be when I grow up! 😉 But Product really is a great fit for me because it lets me touch on all the different aspects of things I love. I'm incredibly curious, and I love understanding how things are built. While I don't always want to be the one with my fingers on the keyboard coding, there are times when I genuinely love having those deep technical conversations because you're really solving a tough problem. Then, I get to zoom all the way out and think, 'Okay, how do we talk about this to the person who actually pays for it?'

Because no two days are the same, and because I tend to thrive in ambiguity, Product is a really good place for me to be. But being a Head of Product in a tech company was definitely never on my radar when I started out!

💬 Do you think there are enough opportunities for women in the tech field?

Being a woman in tech always comes with its own set of challenges, no matter where you are. I've been really fortunate in my career to have had some fantastic female leaders, even though there were always more male voices in the room.

I definitely think there should be more opportunities. The tech world is actually becoming more difficult because things are constantly shifting. AI is a very disruptive piece of technology, and it makes you wonder what all our jobs are going to look like a few years from now.

When something like AI happens in the tech world, I get really concerned about the roles of those who are already underrepresented. We're already seeing some bias with AI, especially when it comes to jobs and a lack of women in AI. Unfortunately, as Americans, especially in the current climate, we're seeing a pullback on initiatives for inclusion, equity, and diversity. I don't think that's great for us women or any underrepresented communities.

So, I believe there should always be more opportunities. And frankly, I think it's going to be on us, as women in tech, to continue to push and carve out those spaces for ourselves.

💬 How can we and other companies in the tech vertical try to attract more women to the field?

I think one way tech companies can attract more women is by being more mindful of small signals and cognizant of any content they're putting out there. I was just watching a livestream for a big tech product release the other day, and there wasn't a single woman on that panel. Why is that? Sure, maybe it just happened that way with the specific engineer or product manager, but if, time and time again, a company puts out content like that and there's never a person who identifies as female in the room, then it's on the company to start asking: 'What's up with our culture that we haven't signaled that everyone is welcome?'

You can start by ensuring diversity, but you can also establish initiatives like 'women in tech', highlighting different women's voices in your industry or in your company, and making sure women have platforms to give talks and be seen.

And I would also say to women themselves: I think we often overthink being a woman in Tech. There are so many male thought leaders and voices out there because they don't stop to think, 'Will somebody actually like me?' It goes back to that whole thing about women not applying for a job unless they're overqualified, whereas men are like, 'I'm 50% qualified, I'm throwing my hat in the ring!' I think we do the same when it comes to getting our voice out there. So, it's also about throwing your own voice out there, whether it's through content creation, thought leadership, mentoring, or whatever. I think a lot of those are ways we can start to make meaningful signals.

💬 How do you stay up-to-date with the latest trends in technology?

I get a lot of information coming at me from all angles, all the time! With my library background, I'm pretty intentional about aggregating different trends and topics. I definitely have my go-to resources.

I listen to a bunch of podcasts and follow a variety of YouTube channels that are specifically focused on the topics and trends in my industry. I've also found some of what I consider ‘high-leverage’ Slack communities to be a part of. I try to intentionally carve out time each week to look at some of these things. I'll even have digests of notes from them.

And then, I use AI! So, often, whether it's scraping for keywords or taking transcripts and putting them into the copilots I've created (which are tuned to exactly what I need them to do), I'll ask, 'What should I be paying attention to? Why should I be paying attention to this?' Or I'll feed it something and ask, 'What are the adjacent things I should be paying attention to?'

Specifically, I'm going to call out a product here: I really like Google's NotebookLM. I can take a 50-page PDF that I know I should read, upload it there, and then have it create a podcast for me. I am much more likely to listen to a podcast than I am to read a 50-page PDF! It'll give me like a 10-minute podcast, and from that 10 minutes, I can then decide, 'Okay, I actually need to take the time to deep-dive,' or 'Nah, I'm good.' That saves me so much time in staying up to date.

There's also the acceptance that there are things I will miss. There's just so much information in the world right now, and there's only going to be more coming. So, it's about finding my own rubric for what's 'best' and sticking with that.

In improv, I used to call it my 'gym/homework' – how to stay current. I kind of treat it the same way now: These are the things I must be keeping up with. And then I grant myself the time to also say, 'It's okay if I fall behind for two weeks,' because you just can't keep up with everything. Things change too fast.

💬 What tech trends or innovations are you most excited about right now, and how do you see them shaping the future?

Well, obviously, AI is the topic du jour! I'm literally creating AI products for amazee.ai, and it's this incredibly disruptive technology that's going to keep impacting and shaping us for many years to come. I think it's actually a pretty good tool for a variety of different tasks, depending on who you are and what your role is.

I think other trends and innovations are going to become very AI-adjacent. One of AI's negative aspects is that it's not great for the environment due to its energy and water consumption. So, I'm really curious to see what trends and innovations will emerge to help us enjoy the benefits of AI in a more sustainable way.

I'm also really curious to see how AI will shape the way we navigate our communities. There are a lot of trends and innovations emerging in medicine as a result of having access to large language models and connected databases. I'm super curious to see how we can improve outcomes for patients. Will there be better, faster diagnostics for those with rare diseases? I'm basically waiting for us to get to the world of Star Trek! I know I won't live to see that day, but that's what I'm curious about.

💬 Is there anything you wish you had known before going into the Tech vertical?

I'm actually glad that I knew nothing when I started because I think it would have stopped me from just assuming I could do the things I'm doing now. So, my advice is to follow your interests and see where that leads you instead of thinking you have to go from point A to point B to point C to reach a specific destination.

That path certainly can be less clear, maybe take a little longer, or feel a bit more uncomfortable. However, in my honest opinion, if you really excel in A or are really interested in B, then do that, and follow that path. You’ll gather all these skills and experiences, and you can see where it leads you.

In tech, for example, if you really want to go into product, but are finding breaking into product very difficult, don't just shrug your shoulders and give up. Consider what's tech-adjacent to product. You could go into customer success and really understand what it means to help specific customers with unique problems. You could go into support. You could go into something operational. There are so many different ways to get into tech that I think people overlook and just see it as, 'I have to either do full-on engineering, or I have to focus on full-on data science.' But there are a variety of different ways you can get into the industry.

And then there are those who are on the path who only see the really, really big tech giants out there. But there are so many other tech organizations. So, once you're on your journey, while you can look to those big guys and learn from them, you should ignore them and focus on where you are. Because what you're doing and where you are is just as valuable as what the really big guys are doing. In fact, in smaller companies, you can often make a huge impact that you might not have made otherwise.

💬 What advice would you give to young women or girls interested in pursuing a career in tech?

If you're super curious about anything related to tech, lean into channels like YouTube and, honestly, try to build your own products and solutions.

Yes, we talk about AI, AI, AI. But one of the amazing things that AI has done is allow anyone to take an idea to deployment faster than ever before. Through that exercise, you'll learn so much about what you need to be doing. You'll realize, 'Oh, while I was coding that, I knew nothing about design or UX.' And then you can go and take some classes in design and UX. Really, lean into those learning experiences.

Look for school or after-school clubs that focus on what you’re interested in, such as coding or web design. If they don't exist, start them, even if it's just with one other person. Get really curious about the tech topic you’re passionate about. I used to say this a lot in improv: just go out there and live. Go, be a human in the world, because that's how you learn about being in the world, right? You can sit behind books or screens, but until you're living, you're not experiencing, gaining knowledge, and insight.

So, other things young women can do: if they're in college, again, go find the relevant and interesting groups around coding, computer science, design, etc. And reach out to more experienced people in the verticals you’re interested in. The really big thought leaders probably aren't going to get back to you, but people like me, who are working at small to medium businesses, in my experience, our proverbial doors are usually open. So, if someone comes and asks me questions on LinkedIn or some other channel, I'm always happy to talk to you and answer those questions (it just might not be right away).

Another way to do it, and this goes for everywhere: if you're working and you're curious about someone else's job, go tell that person you'd like to buy them a cup of coffee or tea and ask them about their experiences and what it's taken to get where they are today. I think those are valuable things to do. It can be really, really scary, so if that's too scary, then yes, go to the internet. Go onto YouTube, go into Slack communities, and just lurk and read and do. By the way, I constantly lurk, and that's actually how I've learned a lot.

So, if you're a young woman already in the tech industry, but you're not in the role you want to be in, go lurk in the relevant channels! Read how the engineers talk to each other. When a product person posts their PRDs – product requirement documents – for the engineers, if they're open to everybody, go read them. Go to your internal wiki systems and read how product and engineering work. All of that will help you figure out what the next thing is that you need to do.

💬 Looking back, what would you tell your younger self, especially regarding your career path or personal growth?

Oh, I'd scream, 'Run!'

Just kidding!

Mostly, I'd tell my younger self, and I still fight to tell my current self, 'You're actually doing great. You're doing the thing. You're learning the thing.'

From a career perspective, I think there are a few things. That one idea you were afraid to bring up? I'd tell myself to bring up my ideas sooner, even if it's just unofficially throwing them around. I'd tell myself to speak up earlier!

I would also encourage myself to walk away from the computer more. It's actually not going to impact your career in the way you think it will. Seriously, walk away and say, 'It's time for me to start shutting down and go sit outside and read a book.' It won't have the negative impact you think it will. If you just keep barreling through without giving yourself those breaks, the impact will be negative, trust me.

💬 Did you have any role models or mentors who guided you along the way? If so, how did they impact your career?

On the non-tech side? Absolutely. I've had mentors who made a huge impact, helping me build my confidence and teaching me how to think through complex problems. They were able to do all of this in a supportive way because they'd been there before.

On the tech side, it's a bit different. I'd say I have some 'lightweight' role models that I follow, if you will. There are things they do that I really like and want to emulate. I've definitely learned a lot from a couple of CTOs who had incredible approaches to solving large, complex technical and architectural problems, and I've really tried to carry that forward with me. I've also had a few colleagues, engineers, or design researchers, who were great role models in developing a principles-first approach or deep systems thinking. So, yeah, I've had a few here and there, I guess.

💬 Is there anything else you want to discuss/mention concerning women in tech?

Heck, just do it. Yeah, just keep doing it. Don't be afraid to try to thrive in tech, and don't let the fact that it's tech scare you away from doing it.

Thank you for sharing your time and thoughts with me, Lauren!

If you think working with us sounds amazeeing, then please check out our careers page and make sure to follow us on LinkedIn!

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