Imagine trading job sites for software meetings and turning industry know-how into real-world tech innovations. Houzz Product Marketing Manager Abby Pratt doesn’t have to – it’s exactly what she’s done. With a deep-rooted background in the interior design and construction industry, Abby works with Houzz’s product and engineering teams to make sure our software is designed and built to meet – and exceed – the needs of our pro community. 

In one sentence, how would you describe what you do here?
My role bridges the gap between our customers and our product and engineering teams. By talking with our pro community, I can share their thoughts, feedback and emotions with our engineers and product teams in a way that results in actionable changes in our Houzz Pro software.

What brought you to Houzz?
After I graduated college, I interned at a new construction neighborhood development. While I was on their marketing team, I met an interior designer, who I worked with for about six years doing residential new construction before joining the team working for a custom home builder. I became familiar with the software landscape and what designers need during my time in interior design. 

What’s your favorite part about working here?
Being able to see tangible change that actually impacts the industry is key. I eat, sleep and breathe the construction industry – truly! I worked in it before coming to Houzz, and my other half is a new-construction builder. It’s exciting to see the ripple effect of the updates we’re making, understand their impact and then observe how pros around the world are benefiting from those changes. 

What do you enjoy most about your role?
Coming from the industry, I’m used to standing on a job site and talking to contractors and designers all day. I love it! And I love feeding the other side of my brain that’s technical. For me, it’s a good balance of actionable things that help the product change and grow, and also building personal relationships with pros.

What does your day look like? Who are you working with, and where are they located?
I’m on the East Coast, in the Atlanta area, so my mornings are usually spent working with the engineers and product teams in Tel Aviv, talking about specific product launches or looking at things they found while they’re developing. I also spend a lot of time interviewing pros about their experience with the platform and working with them throughout beta launches to make sure we’re building new features that reflect their feedback. While my morning is heavily spent on the product side, I can spend more time on the marketing side in the afternoon with the U.S. team. It’s a unique situation for me, because I’m right in the center of the time zones.

You were just at IBS and KBIS, two huge industry trade shows. Can you talk a little bit about that experience and how that helps inform what you do?
IBS and KBIS are amazing. The day before, we host a Houzz Pro Academy, which is hands-on in-person training. We get a lot of actionable feedback in real time, because pros are excited about – and care about – the software: Here’s something I do or don’t like about X; or this would work better if X, Y, or Z. It’s great because our team can bounce ideas back and forth off of each other, as well as with the pros. It gives us, again, that personal relationship with this community and shows them that we are real people who care. 

Through events like these, we can gather as much information as possible and then take it back to inform the roadmap for the next year. Our product marketing team did a lot of software training sessions in our booth at IBS, so we were able to get really deep on specific features. It’s always cool to see what stops people in their tracks; the pros we talked to are really in awe of what we’ve built. I feel like that gives us momentum to keep pushing to see what we can build by the next IBS.

Could you give an example of a conversation or feedback from a pro that has shown up in the software?
That’s a really hard one, because there are hundreds!

There’s one pro with an interior design firm who I talk to about once a quarter. He comes to me with a list of all things that his team has thought of, like Task templates, which we’ve now launched. 

A lot of times when somebody asks for something, they’re able to be involved in the process. I’m working with another pro right now who focuses on procurement for a large design firm. She wants pricing broken down in the Selections Tracker to show the delta between the retail price and the final PO price. After the product manager for Selections and I met, we knew we needed to figure out how to solve this. I can give my perspective, but it’s even better when we can show design mocks and get the pro’s feedback. Now the pro feels involved in the process, and we build the best possible solution – win-win!

Another one would be Selection Boards on mobile. Lots of customers wanted to see that, so several pros were involved in that process and looked at the designs. They gave us feedback that we were able to take and implement. 

You just mentioned a ton of Houzz Pro features. Do you have a favorite?
Selections – for sure! 

Selections, for me, is like a passion. I’m super happy to be a part of it, because there’s so much potential and opportunity there. It touches the client, it touches the sub[contractor], it touches the vendors, the actual pro themselves. And the list goes on: architect, engineer, all these people can come into play. Features like Estimates are customer-facing, but Selections touch most everyone involved in a project, which is really cool.

What advice would you give someone thinking about joining Houzz?
You’ve got to be fast on your feet. We move quickly. I know a lot of companies like to say that they move quickly, but we actually move quickly. And you have to have a customer-centric mindset. You also have to be willing to do what it takes to get the job done. Nobody’s going to let somebody else fail; we figure out a way to get it done together. 

What makes you most excited about what’s ahead for us?
We have huge potential for dominating the market. Houzz Pro is robust, and it’s the most visually appealing and easy-to-use software on the market. I truly believe that. And we’re introducing some new features over the next few months that are going to bring it to the next level. We really are the best option out there, with the most beautiful product and the most amazing team of people behind it, too!

If you’re interested in joining our team, we’re hiring! Check out available opportunities at houzz.com/jobs.