Introduction
In this instalment of our ‘Meet the Team‘ series, we have a conversation with David McKenny, our Product Manager. We explore his unconventional journey that brought him to his current position in the sports betting and iGaming industry.
With a background in Health & Exercise Science and over a decade of experience in the sports tech industry, David offers a distinctive perspective and a wealth of knowledge to the ever-changing field of product development.
Can you share your professional background and the path that led you to become Product Manager at The Unit?
I had a somewhat unconventional route into Product Management. While completing my undergraduate degree in Health & Exercise Science, I interned at a growing sports technology company as a Sport Scientist and joined permanently shortly after while continuing studies on a master’s degree in Sports Performance Analysis. Over almost a decade in the sports tech industry, my role evolved from Account Management to Research and Development and subsequently into Product Management. During this time, I was incredibly fortunate to work alongside a talented team and bring to market industry-leading solutions in the B2B elite sports space. In 2023, I had the chance to join The Unit, which I saw as an exciting opportunity to challenge myself in a new sector and develop my skills as a Product Manager.
The team here at The Unit is vastly experienced in delivering cutting-edge products in the sports betting and iGaming industry, and I felt it was the perfect environment to progress my career in product. The opportunity to contribute to and learn from the team here was extremely compelling.
In your role, how do you foster innovation and ensure that The Unit stays ahead in the rapidly evolving sports betting tech landscape?
Being relatively new to the world of sports betting, continuous market research and analysis is key. It’s vital to stay abreast of emerging trends and technologies that we can use to enhance our products. The rapid development of technology in the space has redefined how customers interact with sports betting products and created innovative new ways for customers to experience sports betting digitally.
Coming from another industry can be helpful in this regard, as it can bring a fresh perspective to how we think about certain user needs and solutions. While new technology capabilities open up exciting product and feature opportunities, it’s important to keep the user at the center of the process. An over-reliance on technology-led solutions can lead to bloated and overly complex products. By focusing on the user’s underlying needs, we can ensure innovations are addressing the problems actually worth solving and are easy to use.
There’s also an enormous amount of knowledge within the organization to tap into. The Unit’s reputation in the sector is well-earned, and regular brainstorming and collaborations across the various sections of the business are hugely beneficial in better understanding a rapidly evolving industry.
The Unit is known for its unique culture and collaborative environment. How do you cultivate this, and why is it important for product development?
Cross-functional collaboration is fundamental in how we develop products at The Unit. Our product teams consist of a product manager, a designer, and engineers. The purpose of the team is to solve complex problems for the business, and the team is collectively responsible for the outcome.
For this to work, we need to create an environment where all team members feel empowered to bring solutions to the table and work collectively to determine the optimal solution for the business need.
Our product teams have an intentionally flat hierarchical structure, where each team member acts as an individual contributor, and the team is collectively responsible for the outcome. The best products sit at the intersection of product, engineering, and design.
Harboring an environment where we empower multidisciplinary teams to create solutions that take into account the required functionalities, user experience, and technical capabilities is crucial in maintaining our ability to innovate.
What philosophies or approaches define product development at The Unit, setting it apart from competitors?
In terms of development, we embrace agile development methodologies to facilitate rapid iteration and experimentation. This allows us to quickly respond to changing market dynamics, incorporate client feedback, and adapt team goals accordingly.
At The Unit, we’re very committed to delivering best-in-class, innovative solutions to customer needs. This process is centered on building strong relationships with our customers in the development process, by fostering and maintaining open lines of communication.
Through customer engagement, we can gain an understanding of unique issues faced by each client and iterate solutions with regular feedback throughout the development cycle.
How does The Unit integrate customer feedback into the product development cycle to ensure the end product meets or exceeds user expectations?
As touched on before, customer feedback is hugely important throughout the process. We look to engage with the customer often and early to identify and prioritize their needs so that we can align product decisions with customer insights.
In this process, it’s important that we don’t just focus on gathering requirements from the customer, but rather focus on the underlying problems they are trying to resolve so that we are focused on building the most innovative solution.
In practice, this will typically take the form of a discovery phase ahead of development, where ideas will be discussed, prototyped, and tested with the customer. As we move into development, we’ll host regular feedback sessions with customers and identify any areas for improvement.
Beyond meeting business objectives, what larger impact do you hope The Unit’s products will have on the sports betting and igaming industry at large?
The Unit has been rapidly expanding and is now firmly established as a key player in product development for sports betting and iGaming. We’re keen to continue that growth and become the partner of choice within the industry.
User-centric thinking is a big part of how we develop products, and I hope that we can continue to demonstrate that in our products and drive forward the standards for innovation in the sector.
We’re deeply committed to pushing the boundaries of what is achievable with digital products in the domain, and I have no doubt we have the expertise on board to reach those goals.
Based on your experience, what trends or technologies do you believe will shape the future of the igaming industry?
In the relatively short time I’ve been involved in the iGaming industry, I can say the only constant is change! We’re continuously seeing evolution driven by new technologies, regulations, and new markets, as well as emerging trends in how users engage with sports betting.
Mobile betting has probably been the biggest driver of change in the last decade or so, as the ease of use – particularly for in-game markets – has allowed bettors to enjoy a more seamless experience with a focus on convenience. This is an area I think will continue to flourish as sports fans are seeking more engaging experiences that take them closer to the match.
We’re seeing more and more that younger players experience live sports as a dual-screen experience, and so innovations to improve the real-time experience will only continue to grow. Augmented reality technology will likely grow increasingly important in this area and redefine the user experience for live events.
Looking ahead, what are your long-term goals and aspirations while working with the Unit, and how do you plan to achieve them?
Looking ahead, my long-term goals and aspirations are to continue growing The Unit’s reputation as an industry-leading development team and firmly establish our position as a preferred partner within the industry.
To achieve this, it’s critical to adhere to our principles of customer-centric thinking and foster cross-functional collaboration between product, engineering, and design teams.This, leveraged with the deep domain knowledge and expertise within the business, will enable our product teams to continuously deliver innovative solutions that drive our long-term growth.
On a personal level, I am keen to grow and develop professionally alongside our talented team. By continuously learning within this dynamic industry, I’m excited to contribute to The Unit’s success and make a meaningful impact in the sports betting and iGaming space.
