I’m Kirk Castro.
All of my wealth is in my relationships. As a relational leader, I focus on trust and purposeful direction to help teams create amazing products and overcome big challenges.
Experience
At IPG, I lead a cross-functional team of talented Product Designers, UX Specialists, developers and brand leaders to support activities in our suite of Pet Insurance brands. These brands serve the pet insurance, shelter adoption, and the larger pet ecosystem.
Achievements
Promoted to lead the charge on Conversion Rate Optimization
Led a redesign of IPG’s Pet Insurance App: Pet Cloud
Designed a hiring strategy and process for bringing in UX talent
Through UX efforts, increased conversion rate on insurance policies by 50%
Introduced and implemented Design Systems to our organization, increasing efficiency on both design and development efforts
Independence Pet Group
Director of UX and Conversion Rate Optimization
September 2022 - Present
As a strong, relational leader, I know that all of my wealth is in my relationships.
I have been extremely fortunate and proud to have led some of the best people, with trust and purposeful direction, in the face of great challenges, to build amazing products.
I co-founded Shepherd, a veterinary practice management software. Shepherd strives to help the veterinary practice reduce time and effort to keep accurate medical records and reduce missed charges. As the Head of Product,
I oversaw both product design and engineering, directing internal, remote, and offshore teams on a wide spectrum of projects. At Shepherd, my team and I were able to save veterinarians at least 2 hours on their records each shift, capture more accurate detail, and eliminate missed charges, increasing revenue by 13%.
I led in every aspect of the business from product management, UI/UX design, customer service, to account management and more since starting Shepherd in 2016. Over the past 6 years, I’ve grown a 2 person operation to nearly 20 employees, served over 130 practices across the US, and onboarded nearly 3,000 daily users. Shepherd and the entire team was acquired in early 2019.
As the Head of Product, I led a team of project managers, developers, designers, technical project managers, and QA specialists to define the vision, develop features and ship products for Shepherd. I also managed strategic partner relationships, directing integrations with external platforms that best served our customers.
Achievements
Designed and managed two B2B web applications
Grew Shepherd install base over 100% in 2021, and 85% by June 2022 with projections well over 170% by EOY
Provided direction and oversight for in house teams, 10+ offshore developers, and relationships with 7 integrated partners
Led product discovery, validation, and execution for dozens of 0-1 projects
Led and designed the current branding for the company, and developed a brand guide for proper use of the system across departments. Designed UI web templates for Kajabi site builder. Built templates using HTML, CSS, SASS, and Ruby on Rails . Designed internal platform features, customer facing UI, and conducted UX research. Created static and animated marketing content for campaigns and web ads.
Apparel designer working with a team of designers on seasonal lines of apparel.
Responsibilities included :
Contributing designs to the men’s and women’s lines
Color separation for print
Special orders for retailers such as The Buckle, Pac Sun, and Macy’s
Hurley
Graphic Designer
2010-2011
Freelance Designer
UI/UX Designer
2009 - Present
Mainly focused on UI/UX projects and branding, my freelance design work has spanned many mediums both digital and physical. Over the past decade I have worked for many clients including Oakley, Hurley, Microsoft, Gravity Payments, and more.
The Mash Bill
Founder and Chief “Whiskey” Officer
Jul 2018 - Mar 2020
In 2018, I founded The Mash Bill, a community to learn, discuss and taste whiskey from around the world. Each month we explored a different set of whiskeys and enjoy each others company. This organization taught me how to teach others in a concise, clear manner with passion and conviction. I also learned so much about hospitality and event coordination. The community grew to 50 monthly members, and hosted events, distillery tours, and more. Each year, I released a seasonal Aged Egg Nog that sold out hundreds of bottles in a matter of hours.
About Me
I grew up in Southern California, and moved to Seattle in 2016. Since then, I have become a father to 3 beautiful children, having recently delivered my youngest daughter myself (maybe should add midwife above too).
In my free time, I enjoy serving our church and community, building motorcycles, cooking for a crowd, teaching people about whiskey, cheering for the Seattle Sounders, and exploring the city with my family.
I couldn’t have achieved what I have, or be where I am without the support of my family and friends. All of my wealth is in my relationships, and I am a very, very rich man.
Art by Tom Deslongchamp
