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Jenn Harbin
Staff Product Manager, Mobile @Plastiq
Jenn Harbin is a seasoned product manager with over 6 years of experience in B2B and B2C product development, ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies.5 She previously held the position of Staff Product Manager for Mobile at Plastiq, where she led the development and growth of the Plastiq mobile app.1
During her time at Plastiq, Jenn:
- Led the mobile app product development team, achieving double-digit millions of dollars in volume growth in less than 10 months.1
- Developed product strategy and roadmap that resulted in approximately 15% reduction in churn during the first year.1
- Oversaw the expansion of the Plastiq App, which allowed users to manage, track, and unblock bills remotely, enhancing business operations.1
As of January 2025, Jenn Harbin is no longer with Plastiq. She has been seeking new product management roles in the tech industry since May 2024.4 Her most recent position, as of July 2024, was Senior Product Manager at Built.2
Jenn describes herself as a user-centric, data-driven Product Manager with a passion for building lovable products that solve problems and drive material value.3 She has been actively sharing insights about her job search and career development in product management on LinkedIn.6
Highlights
I officially wrote my first piece for City Cast and will be contributing every month to highlight the best new restaurants and bars in #nashville!
Outside of my professional life I started a food blog two years ago called The Hungry Loner which combined my passion for food and hospitality with storytelling. Focused on the experiences of solo dining and travel, I wanted to inspire people to go explore the world even if that means doing it by yourself.
Long before I ever worked in tech or the music industry, I wanted to be a journalist and write stories to capture humanity and share those stories with others. This has been a long time dream that has existed in the back of my mind for a long time but put aside for many years. When I moved to Seoul, South Korea five years ago, I started writing again which led to a blog about my experiences living in my birth country, exploring my roots, and rediscovering my identity as a Korean American adoptee.
When I moved back to Nashville I became inspired by the Nashville food scene and started writing on Instagram which is the only platform all of my writing and content exists on today (which I plan to change soon) until now. Over the past couple of years I’ve grown a small following of 3K followers but more importantly I’ve built relationships in the food and hospitality scene with award-winning chefs, hospitality professionals, and food and travel enthusiasts.
It’s an honor and a privilege to write about the amazing individuals who dedicate their lives and bring their diverse talents to driving this city forward and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it. Cheers!
#food #restaurant #bar #hospitality
What's your story?
I've studied the "right" ways to answer this in #jobinterviews—frameworks, stats, and everything in between. But no matter how polished my response, it never truly captures who I am or the journey that’s shaped me. I’ve realized that humans are far too complex to be condensed into a few neat sentences, where we reduce ourselves to mere “measurable” outcomes. Our experiences, challenges, and triumphs—those are what define us, and they're often left unsaid.
Recently, I had an interview that changed everything. The CEO didn't just ask me for results or numbers. He was genuinely curious—about where I grew up, what I studied, my tenure at certain companies, the choices that led me to different cities, and how I would get started in the role. At that moment, I was telling my story, really telling it, for the first time in a long time.
And it reminded me: our stories matter. Not just the stats. Not just the frameworks. Our stories are who we are. So here is my story:
I was adopted from South Korea and grew up in a small town in Louisiana. My family moved to Tennessee right before I started high school, where the diversity landscape didn’t change much. My grades were good enough to earn a Tennessee Education Lottery scholarship that paved my way to Middle Tennessee State University, where I studied music business, learning everything from copyright law to artist management. After interning with Universal Music Group, I worked for them for five years, but it was during that time that I glimpsed a future beyond music—I was introduced to the world of tech #startups, and I knew I had found my calling.
I moved to LA to chase that vision, working for a SaaS startup that eventually led me to San Francisco, where I built my skill set for five years. Transitioning into product management wasn't easy—it took time, failure, and persistence. I eventually made it happen, but not for long. A life-changing business trip to South Korea sparked a profound realization that I needed to explore my roots. So I sold everything I owned and took a leap of faith, moving to Seoul to work, reconnect with my identity, and search for my birth family. The search was unsuccessful, and I grieved the past once more. But that experience transformed me.
I moved back to Nashville and again found myself trying to transition back into product management with very little experience and not much to show for it. I took a marketing role that reported into the CPO, proved myself, and eventually transitioned back into product. From that point, I’ve committed myself to the discipline, leading teams, launching products, and achieving measurable success, but it was everything up to that point that really matters. It's the story behind those achievements that defines who I am today.
Our stories are not in the numbers—they are in the journey.
Pictured here is my last day in South Korea with the people who helped me with my birth family search. . . #motivation
