Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career

How to build your product team from scratch, attract top product talent, go multi-product, and more | Rohini Pandhi (Mercury, Square)

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Jan 12, 2025

Rohini Pandhi is a product leader at Mercury and co-founder of Transparent Collective. In this discussion, she shares insights on recognizing when to hire product managers and the importance of founders taking on this role initially. Rohini emphasizes the need for high-quality product design, particularly in finance, and explores how to attract top talent. She also discusses the transition to multi-product strategies and the value of fostering a customer-centric culture to align offerings with user needs.

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ANECDOTE

Mercury's PM-less Start

Mercury initially thrived without product managers, relying on engineers and designers for product duties.
This approach worked until the company reached around 400 employees, with half in R&D roles.

ADVICE

Founder as PM

Founders should initially act as product managers themselves.
Hire strong engineers and designers who possess a product-focused mindset.

INSIGHT

Signs of PM Need

Bottlenecks and increasing complexity signaled the need for dedicated PMs at Mercury.
Initially, business leads filled the gap, but they lacked formal PM training and experience, highlighting the importance of specialized skills.

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