Abi Waterer

About

I'm a Co-Founder of VerifyEd, a Blockchain-backed learning and skills verification platform. Previously I’ve held senior Product and Marketing positions at B2C, B2B2C & SAAS startups in the US and the UK, including 7+ years within EdTech. I helped scale RefME (winner of: Guardian startup of the year, Apple's top 20 apps of 2016 and best Mobile startup at Mobile World Congress) to 1.2million users in under 2 years, exiting to Chegg Inc.

Experience

• Co-founder & Head of Product · VerifyEd06-01-2019

  1. Co-founded a B2B2C blockchain-backed learning and skills verification EdTech / Future of Work platform to combat educational credential fraud. 2. Successfully onboarded over 160 global institutions, including UCL, Middlesex University, and the World Bank, maintaining an exceptional client satisfaction rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars, and 75% renewal rate. 3. Achieved 7x year-over-year growth in user sign-ups, demonstrating strong market adoption and demand, with a 14% paid conversion rate to premium subscription. 4. Issued more than 16,000 blockchain-backed certificates to learners worldwide, ensuring the integrity and security of their credentials. 5. Secured substantial funding with £500k in investment and over £100k in grant funding, facilitating platform expansion and innovation. 6. Established and led a high-performing team, aligning their efforts with clear Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) to consistently deliver outstanding results and drive continuous improvement.

• Product Owner - Growth and Conversion · Anorak09-01-2019 – 04-01-2021

  1. Strategically developed and implemented a testing plan that significantly improved B2C conversion rates. 2. Successfully performed A/B testing to refine website elements, enhancing user experiences and increasing conversion rates. 3. Produced and presented comprehensive reports on funnel performance and growth metrics, informing data-driven decision-making. 4. Planned and executed partner growth campaigns, leveraging data-driven insights to expand collaborations and increase the company's reach and revenue. 5. Worked closely with key stakeholders and SEO agency experts to implement a robust SEO strategy, improving online visibility and organic traffic. 6. Efficiently managed PPC agency activities and initiated paid media advertising campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, optimising ad spend for optimal results, and increasing brand visibility and engagement across these channels through strategic planning and creative development.

• Product Owner - Ecommerce · Kortext07-01-2017 – 08-01-2019

  1. Developed a vision for Kortext's holistic product offering, defined roadmap, and aligned backlog priorities for web, mobile, and desktop consumer apps 2. Work collaboratively with UX/UI designers, Developers, QA and other stakeholders to define user stories and gather requirements using Agile and Scrum methodologies 3. Performing quantitative and qualitative user research, and facilitating user testing sessions to understand the customer's needs 4. Re-launched Kortext's B2C eCommerce offering increasing book purchase conversion rate by 123% YoY and revenue by 156% YoY 5. Worked with business stakeholders to identify and implement OKR methodology across departments 6. Communicating product releases to customers and end users

• Head of User Engagement · RefME01-01-2015 – 10-01-2016

  1. Managed A/B tests on mobile and web consumer applications to increase key business metrics. 2. Increased homepage conversion by 47%, free user conversion by 40%, activation rates by 38% and paid conversion rates by +10%, helping RefME to grow rapidly to 1.5 million users worldwide in under 2 years and win Best British Start-up at Mobile World Congress, 2015. 3. Heavily involved in all feature launches most notably RefME Plus, RefME's premium subscription B2C offering. 4. Personally responsible for go-to-market strategy, on-going adoption, and usage analysis post launch. 5. In-depth analysis and research to identify user cohorts and understand what makes a good user and tipping points, helping to increase termly retention rates to ~60% 6. Established a monthly content calendar for B2B and B2C audiences, focused on increasing activation, retention, and lead nurturing. 7. Analysis and reporting of key business and product metrics to the CEO, founders, and investors using Mixpanel and SQL. 8. Management of Marketing Executive

• Director of Marketing · Yola11-01-2010 – 01-01-2015

  1. Budgetary responsibility for all Yola's SaaS marketing initiatives 2. Established Yola as a thought leader and resource for small business online marketing by developing the Yola Blog, creating long form content and launching customer webinars. 3. Developed the Yola SEO strategy targeting business verticals, building external links and monitored keyword performance. 4. Managed Yola's international acquisition channels including Affiliate Marketing, Retargeting and Paid Search programs. A/B testing of creative, messaging, and landing pages. 5. Continuous development of new automated email campaigns triggered from various data points, to target users at different sections of the freemium lifecycle (activation, retention, conversion, renewal, reactivation) in order to maximise paid conversions and renewals. 6. Planned and launched the Yola referral marketing program to generate word-of-mouth customer acquisition. 7. Optimisations of existing campaigns, improving average open rates from 6% to 15% through ongoing testing, segmentation and adopting new and best practice email marketing techniques. 8. Developed social media marketing calendar and blog strategy. 9. Planned, developed and launched various marketing campaigns with multiple business and content partners including the Get Your Business Online website initiatives with Google in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

Education

• West Herts CollegeCIM Professional Diploma, Marketing
• University of the West of EnglandBA (Hons) Marketing & Sociology, Marketing

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