Nikunj Marvania

Director of Product Management

Product leader with 13+ years building consumer products at Verizon, Bed Bath & Beyond, and my own startup (acquired). I specialize in growth, experimentation, and AI-powered experiences — my work has driven $500M+ in revenue impact across digital channels serving millions of users

Open to Group PM / Director / Sr. Director of Product opportunities - Let's talk

• Email
• Link

• How I Work

• Case Studies

• Experience

• AI Projects

• Education

How I Work (Product Philosophy)

I'm drawn to complex problems that look unsolvable — and my job is to make them feel simple for the user. At Verizon, I took a 26-step sign-up flow and reduced it to 9. At Bed Bath & Beyond, I championed one-click checkout. At my own startup, I built a 3D configurator that replaced months of offline guesswork with a real-time visual experience.
My approach is always the same: deeply understand the problem through data and user behavior, strip away everything that doesn't serve the customer, and validate that the simpler version actually performs better. Simplicity isn't about removing things — it's about knowing which things matter.
Having built products from both sides — as a founder who did everything from sourcing manufacturers to designing the UX, and as a director leading a global PM team at a Fortune 20 company — I know when to go deep on data, design, or technical architecture, and when to step back and multiply the team's impact instead. I set a clear vision and measurable goals, but I give my team the space to own their solutions.

Case Studies

Case study 1: Reinventing the BYOD Experience
Company: Verizon | Role: Director of Product

The ProblemBring Your Own Device (BYOD) customers are some of Verizon's most profitable — roughly 25% of all new activations, with better margins since there's no device subsidy. But the sign-up experience was a nightmare: 26 steps including manual device entry, plan selection, credit checks, and legal agreements. Conversion was suffering.I watched live user sessions and reviewed funnel data. Users were dropping off at predictable friction points — manually entering device details, getting confused by plan options, and abandoning during the lengthy checkout. The experience felt like filling out a tax form when it should have felt like unboxing a new phone.My ApproachI started with the data. My primary KPI was conversion rate; secondary KPIs included device insurance attach rate and accessory attach rate (both multi-billion-dollar businesses for Verizon). I also reviewed customer feedback and live session recordings to understand qualitative pain points.Then I asked a simple question: What information can we get automatically instead of asking the user? I dug into API documentation and confirmed with the app tech lead that we could detect the user's device model and current carrier directly through the My Verizon App. This meant we could eliminate 6 manual steps entirely by confirming device eligibility in the background.
The second insight was bigger: newer devices supported eSIM, meaning users could activate instantly without waiting for a physical SIM card. I pushed to make eSIM the default for eligible devices — an industry first — that would enable instantaneous activation.I prioritized auto-detection first (smaller effort, higher impact across all devices) and eSIM second. We designed the new flow to be radically simple: open the app → we detect your device → confirm eligibility → 9 steps to activation. For eSIM users, they could make calls within minutes.The Results- Reduced sign-up from 26 steps to 9
- 106% conversion lift, driving $30M in annual incremental revenue
- Device insurance attach rate improved by 10%; accessory attach rate improved by 25%
- eSIM activation became an industry first, enabling new use cases including the Verizon Free Trial (see next case study)
- The platform I built was later adopted by Prepaid and international traveler teams

Case study 2: Launching Verizon Free Trial (0 → 500K Users)
Company: Verizon | Role: Director of Product

The ProblemVerizon had no strategy for engaging potential customers before they committed to a wireless plan. Every competitor was fighting over the same acquisition funnel: ads → landing page → sign up → hope they stay. There was no "try before you buy" experience — unlike almost every other digital product category.I saw an opportunity. There was no roadmap for this, no detailed offering, and no stakeholder alignment. I had to build the case from scratch.My ApproachI put together a data-driven point of view: competitive analysis of free trial models across industries, a business case built with our finance team modeling potential conversion rates and incremental revenue, a proposed offering designed with marketing, and a high-level UX concept.The key insight was that the BYOD platform I'd already built (auto-detection + eSIM activation) could be repurposed. The same infrastructure that let existing users activate in minutes could let prospective users trial the network with zero commitment.I designed the experience to take less than 2 minutes: device eligibility check (automated in the background), personal info, and eSIM-based activation. Three steps. I presented to senior leadership, got alignment by showing both business value (incremental subscribers) and customer value (risk-free trial), and worked with design and engineering through agile sprints to build and launch.The Results- 500K+ trial users acquired
- 18% conversion rate from free trial to paid subscriber — far exceeding internal projections
- Leadership recognized the initiative as a model for bottom-up innovation
- The platform now powers multiple acquisition channels including prepaid and international travelers

Case study 3: Bundling Home + Wireless (Cross-Sell Strategy)
Company: Verizon | Role: Director of Product

The ProblemDuring my research into customer retention patterns, I discovered something compelling: customers who had both Verizon Home Internet and Wireless services churned at a significantly lower rate than single-service customers. But if a customer wanted both products, they had to complete two entirely separate transactions — different flows, different systems, different checkout experiences. This created friction and meant Verizon was leaving cross-sell revenue on the table.My ApproachThis required thinking across the entire business, not just digital. I partnered with finance to build a business case modeling churn reduction and incremental revenue. Then I developed three options:Option A: Offer home internet on the order confirmation page after a wireless purchase. Lowest risk — doesn't disrupt the existing wireless flow.Option B: Fully integrated purchase flow — buy both services in one transaction. Best experience, but highest complexity.Option C: Upsell during onboarding after the wireless purchase is complete.The key decision was that different channels needed different approaches. For door-to-door, retail, and telesales, I chose Option B — reps could handle the complexity since they were trained on the flow and placing orders on behalf of customers. For digital (self-serve), I prioritized Option A first — lower effort, no risk to existing wireless conversion, and a fast way to test demand before investing in the full integration.The Results- 30K+ bundled orders within the first 3 months across all channels
- $10M+ in incremental revenue
- Home internet business is now on track to a multi-billion-dollar annual revenue run rate, with bundled purchase as a key growth driver
- Established a cross-channel product strategy template adopted by other teams

Case study 4: Building (and Over-Building) a 3D Product Configurator
Company: Awl & Sundry (my startup, acquired) | Role: Founder & CEO

The ProblemI founded Awl & Sundry to solve a problem I experienced firsthand: custom dress shoes cost $1,000+, took 2-3 months, and the design process was entirely offline. Customers had to imagine how their shoes would look based on leather swatches and samples. If the end product didn't match their mental image, there was nothing they could do.I saw an opportunity to bring bespoke footwear online with a real-time 3D configurator — let customers see photorealistic renders of their design before the shoes were ever made.My ApproachI validated the market through industry reports, search volume analysis, conversations with custom suit makers and shoe manufacturers, and competitive research. Then I traveled to China to meet manufacturers, understand the 200+ steps in handmade shoe production, and secure a manufacturing partner.For the product, I built an industry-first real-time 3D configurator. Here's where I made my biggest mistake: I assumed customers would want granular control over every detail — sole type, stitching pattern, lining color, toe shape, dozens of leather combinations. I invested months and significant capital building out every customization option before launching.When I looked at the usage data post-launch, roughly half of the options were barely touched. Customers primarily cared about outer leather, color, and toe shape. Options like welt stitching or lining color? Almost nobody changed them from defaults. I'd invested months of development on features that added UI complexity without adding customer value.The Results- The configurator was still a success: 14% conversion lift, 10% reduction in returns
- Seven-figure cumulative revenue, partnerships with NFL athletes and the TV show The Blacklist
- Company was acquired
- But I could have launched in half the time at a fraction of the cost by starting with just the 5-6 options customers actually cared aboutThe LessonThis experience fundamentally changed how I build products. I took away one core lesson: validate assumptions before building all the bells and whistles. At Verizon, I applied this obsessively — running 90+ experiments because I stopped trusting intuition over data. When I redesigned the BYOD flow (26 → 9 steps), I didn't just gut the experience based on instinct. I looked at drop-off data, watched user sessions, and validated each removal before committing engineering resources. That discipline of "prove it before you build it" came directly from over-engineering this configurator.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Verizon - Director of Product Management (December 2018 - May 2025)

Led shopping experiences for new customers across .com, mobile app, retail, and telesales. Managed a global team of 9 PMs. Drove $200M+ in incremental revenue through conversion optimization, new product launches, and experimentation.

Bed Bath & Beyond - Product Manager (June 2016 - December 2018)

Owned cart and checkout experience. Launched repeat-purchase and recommendation features, one-click checkout, and digital coupon experiences. Managed a cross-functional team of 30 across 2 locations. Drove $25M+ in revenue through conversion and AOV lifts.

Awl & Sundry - Founder & CEO (January 2015 - June 2017)

Founded and scaled a DTC custom footwear brand from idea to acquisition. Built an industry-first 3D customization experience. Seven-figure revenue, NFL partnerships.

Sattva Meditation App - Product Lead (volunteer) (January 2025 - Present)

Driving engagement, retention, and monetization for a global wellness platform (3M+ users, 182 countries). Improved 10-day streak completion by 45%, first-week retention by 30%, and course conversions by 22%.

Art of Living - Product Lead (volunteer) (September 2023 - Present)

Built AI-powered semantic search and conversational assistants serving 50K+ queries.

AI Projects

Art of Living Foundation

AI Assistant

Art of Living Foundation

EDUCATION & PATENT

Lindenwood Unversity

Master of Business Administration, Accounting, GPA: 3.9/4.0 (2009 - 2010)
Bachelor of Arts, Finance GPA: 3.8/4.0 (2005 - 2008)

U.S. Patent 11748209

Systems and Methods for Remote-Initiated Device Backup
Invented a patent-approved remote data transfer experience at Verizon that reduced support calls and drove $15M in cost savings.