Hello, my name is

CJ Donio

I am a product manager from Salt Lake City, Utah who loves to build awesome software

Work

Check out the projects I’ve completed over the years that demonstrate my skills and proficiencies in product management, see below or check out the Portfolio page.

Contact

Have questions about my experience? Want to learn more about me? Please feel free to reach out at any time

My experience summarized

I have well-balanced experience in the following domains:

Artificial intelligence:

Generative Text AI
Generative Image AI
Voice AI

Platforms:

Web (SaaS)
Web (Extension)
Mobile (Android)
Mobile (iOS)
Desktop (Windows)

Product areas:

Greenfield features
Core features
Partnerships
Integrations
Onboarding (including self-serve)
Platform
Internal tooling
Security & Compliance

Filter

Divvy / Bill.com Jasper

Product managers should be principled

Here are some principles that I have learned over the years and live by

People own that which they had a part in creating

The most profound changes are made by teams of people, not a sole team member. Make the change “everyone’s change”, not just “your change”

Does it feel like a magic trick?

If your UX doesn’t feel delightful and memorable, you have not found the optimal flow or design yet. Keep going! Great software feels like a magic trick

A PM is a gatherer of ideas

A product manager’s job is not to come up with the best ideas as a PM. Rather, their job is to find the best ideas, cultivate them, and eventually build them.

Shipping early and often

Shipping early and often builds compounding momentum for your team. In addition, it helps you validate or invalidate your path by getting feedback from customers as early as possible

Aggregate of Marginal Growth

Small changes stacked over time create massive, profound changes in software. The essence of this principle is value can be delivered in small pieces

Am I proud of this work?

One logic check I like to use in my work is asking myself whether I’m proud of the designs or flow. If the answer is not a resounding yes, it’s time to go back to the drawing board

My Story

My whole life, I’ve been passionate about technology. As a child, my best friend and I would disassemble and assemble electronics around the house to understand how things worked mechanically. This led to me building computers and acting as the unofficial IT support for my entire family, whether it was replacing a capacitor in a monitor to removing viruses from an old PC.

Since 2010, I have worked on a wide variety of software projects. I have also learned through both successes and failures. I have worked across many different product areas throughout my career. I have made a name for myself in being the one leaders can assign to big, complex problems who will just “figure it out”.

I have also managed and mentored product managers of all levels of experience. Managing other PMs has constantly motivated me to maintain my technical chops, my fundamentals of product management, my design skills, and overall my discipline as a hard-working professional.

Where I’ve Worked

2023 - current

Director of Product, Bola AI

2022 - 2023

Group Product Manager at Jasper AI

2019-2022

Senior Staff Product Manager at Divvy / Bill

2015-2019

Senior Manager of Client Services at Instructure

2009-2015

Manager of Project Management at UFirstCU

Jasper’s Public API

When we built the Jasper API, we talked to over 50 customers and partners to understand how they wanted to integrate generative AI into their apps which then guided our Public API architecture and buildout. We also held weekly calls with BETA customers to get their real-time feedback on scaling/performance, rate limiting, and other technical considerations.

Divvy Auth

When we built the authentication service at Divvy, we reviewed hundreds of support tickets and held dozens of Zoom meetings with customers to build delight into otherwise “solved” user experiences for authentication. Our goal was to build an authentication flow that felt effortless despite the fact that we needed multiple levels of authentication to secure our application

Website Redesign and CMS

At UFCU, we built a modular CMS that was used to quickly and easily update our website. We traveled to various branch locations to get in-person feedback on the web and mobile experience

What are others saying about me?

“

CJ by far and away has been the best manager I've ever had. Not only does he know product inside and out, he was able to distill his wealth of knowledge down to simple and palatable steps to help me improve as a new PM. His kind and enthusiastic nature allowed me to feel comfortable going to him with any question which allowed my growth to skyrocket. It's hard to find someone with CJ's level of product mastery, professionalism, and contagious energy. Any company would be lucky to have him as a leader within their product team.
Ava Ludlam, Product Manager2023

“

CJ’s infectious enthusiasm for our work motivates me and the entire team to be better at what
we do. Our weekly squad leadership meetings are on of the highlights of my work week, as CJ
pumps up the team, provides vision and humbly instructs about company goals and product
strategy. He is always willing to take extra time to explain the complexities of a product release
or sit down and walk me through how to use advanced features in Pendo or Tableau.
Adam Rich, product marketing manager at Divvy2022

“

CJ is a very talented product manager and his technical nature gains him instant respect from
engineers. I have never seen anybody, let alone a product manager, this passionate about Auth
space. CJ knows and understand this space very well and is eager to build a top of the line,
frictionless experience for our clients. CJ is a great team member and we are lucky to have him!
Anonymous employee review2022

“

I think CJ is INCREDIBLE! I really admire his work ethic, his leadership, his passion, his
charisma, his genuine care for the individual team members and team as a whole, and his
intelligence!
Anonymous employee review2022

“

It's hard for me to articulate all the ways CJ positively impacts my area...
● CJ is an owner. An extreme owner. He puts in the time to understand and plan out the
needs of his area. He eliminates so much cognitive load from me because I know he's
just got it.
● CJ is a leader. He sets such a strong example of good leadership for his team. He takes
the lead in planning, he takes the lead in squad culture, and he takes the lead in
everything he does.
● CJ is a multiplier. He cares about his team. He cares about his product area. He cares
about our customers. Every single day, I see CJ lift everyone around him.
I appreciate so much what CJ does for his team, for the engineers, and for me.
Jen Heiner, former product designer at Divvy2022

“

CJ is a very effective product manager who is tuned into his engineering team's needs, thought
processes, concerns, and is a great partner to them in every sense of the word. He represents
them very capably, and does his best to manage his stakeholders by communicating timelines
and progress proactively. He facilitates very productive discussions, and is one of the best I've
seen at taking notes and following up. He also does his very best to shield his teams from
frequent interrupts, and keeps them focused on his roadmap.
Anonymous employee at Bill.com2022

Ready to start working together?