How to build your product team from scratch, attract top product talent, go multi-product, and more | Rohini Pandhi (Mercury, Square) | Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career (private feed for websong16@gmail.com) | Podwise
This episode explores the evolution of product management at Mercury, a fintech company, and the challenges and benefits of incorporating product managers into an organization initially resistant to the role. Against the backdrop of the CEO's initial skepticism towards product managers, the conversation reveals how bottlenecks and increasing complexity led to the eventual hiring of a product management team. More significantly, the guest, Rohini Pandhi, a product leader at Mercury, introduces a framework categorizing product managers as "pioneers," "town settlers," and "city planners," illustrating the varying skill sets needed at different stages of product development. For instance, the discussion highlights the importance of investing in quality user experience, even when it doesn't directly impact immediate metrics, and how this can create a competitive advantage. As the discussion pivoted to scaling a product team, Rohini details Mercury's approach to defining the product management discipline, building a career ladder, and refining the interview process. Finally, the episode delves into Mercury's successful multi-product launch strategy, emphasizing the importance of organizational structure, strategic adjacencies, and a customer-obsessed culture. What this means for startups is a clear understanding of when to hire product managers, how to build a high-performing team, and how to strategically expand product offerings while maintaining a focus on quality and customer experience.
