Lauren Ward, CSPO
Head of Product at Fanbase, in Atlanta. I started in Product Management at Meta, focused on ideating, strategizing, and launching new products. While completing my Master's from USC in design, I supported development and numerous launches for Facebook and Instagram Reels & Stories.
I also have career experience in consulting and program management across several industries, specifically FinTech and crypto, and I love thinking of creative ways to solve new problems.
On the side I coach product managers into big tech at Lomentum Careers . Over 300 so far.
Work
Meta to Fanbase
Bitcoin conversion for 1,500 Square merchants
Square. Program Manager, Risk Foundations Policy. Sep 2024 to Mar 2025.
Informed and shaped risk strategy for expanding Cash App's Bitcoin conversion product to 1,500 Square merchants, letting them convert 10% of earnings into Bitcoin automatically and move it to external wallets.
Assessed risk exposure across every Square product launch through a company-wide council, reading PRDs for gaps in fraud, financial loss, and regulatory compliance.
Worked with product, engineering, legal, and risk to land mitigation before launch rather than after.
Afterpay integration, and two AI tools built 0 to 1
Square. Program Manager, Credit Risk Policy. Jul 2023 to Sep 2024.
Ran discovery and the foundation roadmap for post-acquisition systems integration after Square acquired Afterpay, streamlining process across key risk and policy verticals.
Partnered with product and engineering on two company-wide, AI-powered internal tools, built 0 to 1, to catch risky and fraudulent seller behavior before the loss was realized.
Managed the SEV program: pull insight out of major loss events while they were still in progress, and get it to the right people early enough to stop revenue hemorrhaging between $25k and $5M.
Cross-border rails at Sentz
Sentz Global. Senior Product Manager. Jun to Oct 2025.
Shaped Q3 and Q4 2025 product direction for the Nigerian freelancer and remittance markets, through UI work and partner integrations tuned to local transaction behavior.
Owned the Bridge and Yellow Card rail integrations end to end: technical scoping, front-end design oversight, partner relationships, go to market, metrics, and post-launch optimization.
Authored PRDs for 7 major features across engineering, compliance, and design.
Authentication, login, and in-app messaging fixes cut related support escalations 77% month over month.
Reels, on both apps
Instagram and Meta. Product Manager. Jan 2021 to May 2022.
Managed QA, A/B tests, launch blocker fixes, and roadmap execution for the Reels viewer flow at Instagram.
Built features and fixes meant to turn Reels viewers into Reels creators.
On Facebook Reels, ran the QA, A/B test, and launch blocker programs for global release and feature parity with Instagram.
Facebook Stories, camera and filters
Meta. Product Development Specialist. Jul 2019 to Dec 2021.
Developed camera and filter tooling for Facebook Stories, holding cross-platform parity with Instagram Stories.
Owned PRD collaboration and data-driven strategy decisions.
All of it while finishing a Master's at USC.
Shipped
Five case notes
300 people into tech
Lomentum Careers. Founder and CEO, since Mar 2024. Over 300 jobseekers coached into competitive tech roles, focused entirely on product management.
92% of interview prep clients land the role they came for. 100% leave a session with something they can act on.
The gap she noticed sitting on interview panels at Meta: candidates were not getting the insight an interviewer could give them. So the frameworks are built per question type. Product sense, analytical, leadership.
Interview coach at Exponent since Aug 2022, on the product management track.
Co-founded Buildhouse, Mar 2025 to Jan 2026, connecting Atlanta small and mid-sized businesses to builders who ship practical AI.
Building
Three ventures
USC
Master of Science, Integrated Design, Business, and Technology. 2020 to 2022.
Emphasis in entrepreneurial design solutions and leadership across tech and business.
Contracted by Eric Garcetti's office to ideate, strategize, and prototype a way to market resources to LA small business owners.
Designed the go to market strategy for an Oakland nonprofit expanding into LA.
Michigan Ross
Bachelor of Business Administration. 2015 to 2019.
Concentration in Global Marketing, Tech, and Strategy. Minor in Performing Arts Management.
Delta Sigma Pi professional business fraternity.
Certified Scrum Product Owner
Scrum Alliance, issued Apr 2025.
Also a licensed Georgia real estate salesperson since 2023.
English, native. French, elementary.
The Atlanta Voice
June 2025 feature. Help Wanted. Help Given.
On the path from launching global products at Meta to founding Lomentum Careers, and on coaching candidates to think like PMs, avoid AI-generated resume pitfalls, and show value past the page.
Background
Atlanta, Georgia