New Product Development
Building new products that solve real problems
Readomain
Role: Product Manager & Founder (NPD Focus)
Product: Cross-Platform Educational Book Platform
Timeline: 2020-2024
Impact: Invented, built, and scaled a new way to deliver, market, and track books and educational materials online—bypassing traditional eBook/app limitations.
Website: readomain.com
Context
The digital/ebook market offers the possibility of democratised publishing, making access to books and markets open for both authors and readers.
- Readers: True cross-device access, fast performance, shareable/indexable content, no device/app lock-in, and translation-friendly.
- Authors: Transparent performance data, direct marketing ability, and greater discoverability—unlike Amazon and mainstream platforms.
Issue:
Dissatisfied with the Amazon or PDF/Epub formats, I set out to create a platform that solved limitations for both readers and authors.
Approach
Problem & Market Discovery:
- Applied frameworks (SWOT, PESTEL, Five Forces, business model canvas) to evaluate market needs and product feasibility.
- Assessed technical and commercial blockers to both author and reader adoption.
Prototyping & Iterative Development:
- Built initial conversion flow using VBA to turn Word docs into PHP-based chunked web pages, focusing on modularity and speed.
- Collected usage analytics from day one to inform further iterations.
- Currently developing a Python-based converter to enable AI chat and search capabilities with vector database support.
User-Centric Design:
- Designed for seamless navigation (swipe, tap, cross-device), performance (0.03s page load), and accessibility (web-native, indexable content).
Execution
- Developed and launched V1 in three months, iterating based on live user and author data.
- Built out content pipelines, analytics integration, and modular book page system for fast publishing.
- Developed roadmap for future AI/chat enhancements (vector embeddings, conversational search).
- Managed all aspects of product, marketing, and platform operations.
Outcome
- Launched a unique platform enabling full-book reading and sharing online, not dependent on closed devices or apps.
- Gained actionable data on reading patterns, retention, and engagement unavailable to authors on Amazon/Kindle.
- Created the infrastructure to support future AI-powered features and global expansion.
Tools & Frameworks Used
- PHP (web platform)
- VBA (initial doc conversion)
- Python (next-gen content and AI integration)
- Google Analytics
- SQL, JS
Capabilities Demonstrated
- Primary: New Product Development (NPD)
- Secondary: AI (vector DB prep), Design (UX/UI), Marketing (direct author reach), Strategy (business model design)
Key Learnings
- Product-market fit depends on solving both sides of the value exchange (reader and author).
- Iterative prototyping and analytics-driven design accelerate learning and adoption.
- Building for extensibility (AI-ready content, modular codebase) opens new product opportunities.
