How do you turn 2 years of messy ecosystem research into a live product that actually gets used? In this presentation, you will walk through the exact journey of building ConnectGA, taking it from a static V1 map of 59 organizations to statewide infrastructure supporting Atlanta’s entrepreneurial community.
Designed specifically for product managers navigating ambiguity, this session breaks down how to pivot from organizing data to solving real user needs. You will explore practical frameworks for customer discovery across diverse stakeholders, strategies for aligning groups with competing priorities without a single traditional customer, and lessons learned from tracking launch data and click-through rates that prove surfaces built around intent outperform general directories.
Whether you are tackling complex problem spaces, validating products before writing code, or driving community adoption, you will leave with actionable insights on building software inside intricate ecosystem.
Join us at ProductCamp Atlanta 2026 to vote on this session and dozens of others! The attendees will choose the agenda for the day, and can be part of it!
Session Details
Type of Session: Presentation
Presented By
Michael Cortez
Michael Cortez is the Product Manager / Principal Lead for ConnectGA and Founder of In The Ecosystem with Mike. Backed by eight years in Atlanta’s tech and entrepreneurship scene, Michael specializes in multi-stakeholder platform discovery, behavioral user research, and data-driven product iteration. A Morehouse College psychology graduate, he served as the foundational fellow intern at the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs and previously used analytics from 100+ participants to achieve a 25% engagement lift at the Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center. Today, he manages cross-functional discovery across 30+ coalition partners to build centralized platform infrastructure for 2,000+ annual business launches. Oh, and he started a cool show to help founders grow and scale through community storytelling and capital access called In The Ecosystem With Mike.
ProductCamp Atlanta is a collaborative, participant-organized professional unconference, focused on Product Management, Marketing and UX topics. What’s great is the variety of sessions that are offered by our attendees. You’ll have the option to select from several different sessions throughout the day. We need you to share your insights in a panel, workshop, or presentation.
