Hello! I'm Marisa Smailes, a strategic product manager with 18 years of experience helping creators, developers, and studios understand their users and delivering products that resonate, engage, and grow. I have a proven track record of building from zero to one, then sustaining products through long-tail live operations by building the tools, processes, and team infrastructure that let lean teams deliver outsized results. From releasing games or features to running AB tests or building a stacked calendar of events, I have owned the full lifecycle and built the scaffolding that makes it repeatable.

Using deep user research including interviews, playtests, community listening, and behavioral data, I'll craft dynamic personas that help teams understand who they are building for and why. We'll build with your community rather than telling them what they want, because when your users have a place to belong, they'll become invested. This makes them your most vocal advocates, your earliest signal on what to fix or where to double-down, as well your most durable retention engine.

Genuinely one of my favorite parts of the PM role is keeping teams fueled with insights that get them excited to tackle the next problem space. Then we can collaborate to turn those solutions into a killer roadmap that will get results.