Product Makers Podcast: Ep. 1 Courtney Arnott, 120Water

In the first-ever episode of Product Makers, Justin sits down with Courtney Arnott, Director of Product & Solutions at 120Water, to discuss her journey in product management, her team’s mission, and key takeaways for aspiring product leaders. With over a decade of experience in product management, Courtney’s insights provide a deep dive into her team’s current projects, the evolution of the water industry, and what it takes to succeed as a product manager.

Meet Product Maker Courtney Arnott

Courtney is a seasoned product management professional who has spent years working with various startups, helping them scale from their earliest stages to a more mature business model. At 120Water, Courtney leads the product and solutions team. As Courtney explains, her primary focus is “making sure that I’m helping to enable our team to follow along with our leadership goals, look at what we’re working on, and ensure it’s aligned with our journey.”

120Water is actually unique in Courtney’s career trajectory, as the company focuses on more than just software solutions. 120Water offers a holistic platform made up of three key components: software, physical products, and services. Their software suite consists of six applications, while their physical products include water sampling kits. 120Water also provides expert services to help water systems across the nation manage their water quality data and ensure public health.

120Water Makes Waves in Water Safety

120Water helps ensure that water systems across the U.S. deliver safe, compliant drinking water. Courtney shares the company’s origins, rooted in the water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan. The company’s founder, Megan Glover, launched the business in response to the lack of tools available for consumers to test the quality of their drinking water. The platform evolved from there, expanding its mission to serve not just individual households, but entire water systems.

120Water’s focus today is centered on helping water systems comply with the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), a government initiative to remove dangerous contaminants, such as lead, from water pipes across the country. “What we’re working on is helping our water systems be compliant with those programs, so that the water that they’re delivering to consumers like you and me is as healthy and as clean as possible.” Courtney says. The journey to compliance is a long one, with a 10-year timeline that involves inventory submissions, public notifications, verification processes, and, ultimately, lead line replacements.

A major challenge for Courtney’s team is introducing technology to an industry that is typically not tech-savvy. Many of their clients are using outdated technology or are unfamiliar with digital tools. As Courtney puts it, “We have customers in our platform that didn’t have an email address before they signed up.” This steep learning curve requires patience and thoughtful product design to ensure adoption.

Building a Product-Led Organization

A recurring theme throughout the episode is the transition from being a services-heavy company to a product-led one. Courtney emphasizes that this shift has presented both challenges and opportunities, particularly in terms of managing customer expectations. In the past, 120Water was more reactive to individual customer requests, with product requests often being treated like support tickets. Today, however, the team is focused on building scalable solutions that serve a broader set of needs. 

“We have a general view of all of our customers and what they want,” Courtney explains. The goal is to be proactive and partner with customers to build features that solve problems for the entire customer base, not just one or two clients.

The product team also faces the task of aligning technology solutions with business objectives. Courtney underscores the importance of cross-functional collaboration in this endeavor. From regular check-ins with department leaders to open lines of communication with end-users, Courtney’s team prioritizes empathy and constant communication to stay on track. As she puts it, “Our CEO likes to say you have to say something seven times for somebody to actually hear you.”

Diving Into Career Advice

Courtney has some invaluable advice to share for aspiring product managers. The first piece of wisdom she offers is the importance of empathy in product management. “If you are not able to get on the ground level with somebody and understand their problem… you’re not going to be able to build good products,” she says. Getting to the root of customer pain points, rather than focusing on the specific solutions they request, is another key to success. 

Courtney stresses the need to ask “why” multiple times to fully understand the underlying problem, which can lead to more effective and scalable solutions.

Additionally, Courtney advises product managers to be kind to themselves. Product management is a challenging role, and mistakes are inevitable. “I’ve made mistakes. I’ve shipped products that weren’t ideal, and we had to revert,” she admits. However, owning up to those mistakes and learning from them is what builds trust and credibility within an organization.

Wrapping Up

Productboard is proud to be the solution that underpins the transformative change at 120Water. By providing a central hub for product feedback, feature prioritization, and cross-team collaboration, Productboard has empowered 120Water to scale its impact, streamline workflows, and align its entire team with the critical mission of delivering safe, compliant drinking water. We’re honored to have 120Water as a customer and excited to support their journey toward improving water safety nationwide.

Watch the full episode here.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.