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 | Career | Growth summary

Key takeaways

Hiring product managers should be timed to when bottlenecks emerge within the product development process.
Founders should understand the different types of product managers and choose to hire based on the stage of their product.
Investing in quality user experience is crucial for fostering customer loyalty and differentiating from competitors.
Organizational structure plays a key role in the success of multi-product initiatives, ensuring that new products aren’t overshadowed by more mature offerings.
Maintaining a customer-first culture through regular feedback loops is essential for successful product development.
Initiatives like the Transparent Collective demonstrate a commitment to diversity and support for underrepresented founders in the tech industry.

Summary

Introduction to Product Management at Mercury

Rohini Pandhi discusses her role as a product leader at Mercury, a company that previously thrived for years without product managers (PMs). She highlights the change in perspective among the leadership team, recognizing the bottlenecks that arose as the organization scaled. PMs were hired when the complexity of the product and the number of employees necessitated dedicated roles for product management. The podcast delves into what founders often overlook regarding the value PMs provide.

Different Flavors of PMs

Rohini introduces a framework for understanding different types of product managers: Pioneers, Town Settlers, and City Planners. Pioneers excel in creating new products from scratch, Town Settlers focus on growing existing products, and City Planners handle mature products, optimizing and managing them at scale. This categorization helps determine the right PM to hire based on the company's current size and product maturity.

The Importance of Quality in Product Development

The conversation shifts to the significance of quality in product management. Rohini argues that investing in quality user experience fosters customer trust and can differentiate a brand in the crowded fintech space. She shares the success of Mercury’s BillPay product, emphasizing that even small enhancements can lead to customer delight and loyalty.

Going Multi-Product: Lessons Learned

Rohini recounts Mercury’s successful transition to introducing multiple products, sharing valuable lessons learned through their structured approach to product development. A key insight is the importance of maintaining a dedicated structure for new product initiatives to ensure they are not overshadowed by the demands of mature products. This way, new products can flourish without being distracted by ongoing tasks related to more established offerings.

Creating a Customer-Centric Culture

Rohini highlights the vital role of a customer-centric approach to product development at Mercury. The organization encourages regular customer calls and feedback to understand the real needs of their users. This process allows them to iterate on products based on genuine insights rather than assumptions, ultimately leading to better outcomes and stronger product-market fit.

Building Community Through Transparent Collective

The episode concludes with Rohini discussing her nonprofit organization, the Transparent Collective, which supports underrepresented founders in tech by connecting them with resources and guiding them through fundraising processes. This initiative aims to create a more diverse entrepreneurial landscape by empowering those who may not have equal access to traditional funding opportunities.

Show notes

Rohini Pandhi is a product leader at Mercury, and previously spent over seven years at Square/Block leading product work on Square payments, invoicing, and the Bitkey hardware Bitcoin wallet. She’s also the co-founder of the startup bootcamp Transparent Collective and is an active angel investor. In our conversation, we discuss:

• Key indicators that it’s time to hire PMs

• How to build your early PM team

• Why founders should initially take on the product manager role themselves

• How to attract top PM talent

• What she’s learned about going multi-product

• A case for investing in quality

• More

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-build-your-product-team-from-scratch-rohini-pandhi

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Where to find Rohini Pandhi:

• X: https://x.com/rohinip

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohinipandhi

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

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In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Rohini’s background

(05:00) The role of product managers at Mercury

(09:51) Key indicators that it’s time to hire PMs

(13:18) Building the product team at Mercury

(19:53) Why you should avoid hiring PMs too early

(22:26) The different flavors of product management

(26:15) How to attract top talent

(35:59) Advocating for quality in product development

(44:10) Going multi-product

(46:37) Organizational structure for multi-product success

(50:57) Organizational culture for multi-product success

(52:07) Customer obsession and product development

(57:36) More lessons from going multi-product

(01:05:57) Transparent Collective: supporting underrepresented founders

(01:09:54) Lightning round

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Referenced:

• Immad Akhund on X: https://x.com/immad

• Mercury: https://mercury.com

• Square: https://squareup.com

• Product management career ladders: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/product-management-career-ladders

• Pioneers, Settlers, Town Planners [Wardley]: https://orghacking.com/pioneers-settlers-town-planners-wardley-9dcd3709cde7

• Jason Zhang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-zhang-5645a860

• What is ‘Dogfooding’?: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/business/dogfooding.html

• Mercury Bill Pay: https://mercury.com/bill-pay

• Zip: https://zip.co

• Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira

• The art and science of pricing | Madhavan Ramanujam (Monetizing Innovation, Simon-Kucher): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan

• Gokul Rajaram on designing your product development process, when and how to hire your first PM, a playbook for hiring leaders, getting ahead in you career, how to get started angel investing, more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/gokul-rajaram-on-designing-your-product

• Gokul Rajaram on X: https://x.com/gokulr

• Transparent Collective: https://www.transparentcollective.com

• 16 Reading Tips from Naval Ravikant: https://alexandbooks.com/archive/16-reading-tips-from-naval-ravikant

• Shrinking on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/shrinking

• Bad Sisters on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/bad-sisters

• Slow Horses on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/slow-horses

• Severance on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance

• Presumed Innocent on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/presumed-innocent

• Waymo: https://waymo.com

• Adam Robinson on X: https://x.com/IAmAdamRobinson

• Cyan Banister—From Homeless and Broke to Top Angel Investor (Uber, SpaceX, and 100+ More): https://tim.blog/2024/11/28/cyan-banister

• Bobby Matson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbymatson

• Jobs at Mercury: https://mercury.com/jobs

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Recommended books:

• Vectors: Aphorisms & Ten-Second Essays: https://www.amazon.com/Vectors-Aphorisms-Ten-Second-James-Richardson/dp/0967266890

• The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance: https://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314

• Pachinko: https://www.amazon.com/Pachinko-National-Book-Award-Finalist/dp/1455563927

• Cutting for Stone: https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Stone-Abraham-Verghese/dp/0375714367

• The Song of Achilles: https://www.amazon.com/Song-Achilles-Novel-Madeline-Miller/dp/0062060627

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

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