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Esther Perman
Head of Product at Recurrent
Professional Background
Esther Perman is a dynamic product management and strategy professional with a proven track record of success in the technology and automotive industries. Known for her strategic foresight and innovative approach, Esther has played instrumental roles in several high-profile organizations, including Zillow and Recurrent. As the former product management lead for Zillow Offers, Esther was pivotal in shaping the company’s offerings in real estate technology. She has a rich history of leading product strategy that not only meets market demands but also enhances customer experience.
Currently, Esther is channeling her extensive skills and experience into building a groundbreaking new platform designed to help drivers discover, try, and embrace their first electric car. Her passion for innovation in the automotive sector is evident in her previous venture as Co-Founder of Link – Electric Driving Made Easy, where she worked towards making electric vehicle access simpler and more appealing to consumers.
Education and Achievements
Esther Perman's educational journey began at Dartmouth College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography. Her specialization laid a solid foundation in understanding spatial dynamics and resource management, which would later inform her strategic thinking in product development. To further enhance her business acumen, she participated in the prestigious Tuck Business Bridge Program at The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, gaining essential insights into business principles and practices.
Esther later completed her MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington's Michael G. Foster School of Business. Her education has equipped her with robust financial skills and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, enabling her to navigate the complexities of product management and strategy effectively.
Professional Organizations and Roles
In addition to her educational background, Esther Perman has held a variety of influential roles throughout her career:
- Head of Product at Recurrent: In this capacity, she led the product development team, driving initiatives that aligned with company goals and user needs. Her leadership helped in crafting innovative products that pushed the boundaries in the data-driven market.
- Co-Founder at Link - Electric Driving Made Easy: Here, Esther collaborated to create solutions that eased the transition to electric vehicles, showcasing her commitment to advancing sustainable transportation.
- VP of Product at Emerald Technology Group: She played a crucial role as a vice president, overseeing product strategy and execution, demonstrating her capability as a leader in technology solutions.
- Senior Manager, Product Management/Product Strategy at Zillow Group: Esther showcased her ability to lead teams and develop strategies for product launches, significantly contributing to Zillow’s growth in the real estate market.
- Principal Product Manager, Strategy at Zillow Group: Esther's strategic insights at this level were key in aligning product initiatives with market trends and customer expectations.
- William H. Gates Sr. Fellow in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Technology Alliance: This prestigious fellowship underscored her innovative thinking and commitment to entrepreneurship and community development.
- Graduate Strategy Intern at Intel Corporation: Esther gained valuable experience here, contributing to major technology projects and deepening her understanding of product strategy in a tech-centric environment.
- Government Relations Specialist at Propel Fuels & Consultant at Fabiani & Company: These roles nurtured her skills in navigating complex regulatory environments, further augmenting her expertise in market analysis and strategic positioning.
Achievements
Throughout her career, Esther has been recognized for her adaptability and forward-thinking approach. She has been instrumental in bridging the gap between product development and market readiness, excelling in environments that require both strategic vision and operational execution. Her initiatives have often resulted in increased market share and enhanced user experiences, establishing her as a thought leader in product strategy. At Zillow, her efforts contributed significantly to the robust growth of their service offerings, demonstrating her ability to drive impact in high-stakes environments.
Esther's commitment to sustainability and innovation is evident in her current focus on electric vehicles. As the automotive landscape shifts towards more eco-friendly solutions, her work aims to facilitate seamless transitions for consumers, making electric mobility accessible and desirable for everyone.
Esther Perman embodies the spirit of innovation and strategic leadership, positioning her as a key figure in product management and sustainability initiatives. Her journey through renowned institutions and influential companies has equipped her with a wealth of experience that she now channels into making electric vehicles a mainstream choice for drivers. Her vision for the future is not just about making electric cars more prevalent but also ensuring that they are a joy to drive and easy to adopt, driving positive change in the automotive industry. Esther’s passion for enhancing user experiences continues to inspire those around her, marking her as a leader to watch in the evolving landscape of electric mobility.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
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Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
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