How Revolut trains world-class product managers: The “local CEO” model, raw intellect over experience, and a cultural obsession with building wow products | Dmitry Zlokazov (Head of Product) | Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career | Podwise
How Revolut trains world-class product managers: The “local CEO” model, raw intellect over experience, and a cultural obsession with building wow products | Dmitry Zlokazov (Head of Product)
This episode explores Revolut's unique approach to building a high-performing product team, emphasizing ownership, depth, and the creation of "wow" products. Dmitry Zlokazov, Global Head of Product at Revolut, details how their product managers, or "product owners," function as mini-CEOs, driving product strategy and execution within cross-functional teams. Against the backdrop of Revolut's rapid growth and diverse financial offerings across 50 countries, the discussion highlights the company's preference for hiring individuals with raw intellect and a hunger to build, rather than solely relying on extensive experience. More significantly, the conversation uncovers Revolut's emphasis on deeply understanding customer needs and technical intricacies, ensuring products are not only functional but also delightful to use, with founders reviewing every screen shipped. For instance, the company's success in launching new products, like joint accounts, is attributed to this focus on quality and user experience, leveraging a lean team structure and a flat hierarchy. The episode concludes by underscoring the importance of autonomy, continuous learning, and a relentless focus on execution, revealing emerging industry patterns that prioritize talent development and customer-centric innovation.
