Product manager in a "Buy Now Pay Later" startup

If you are a startup enthusiast and follow the fintech sector then it is very less likely that you do not know the buzz surrounding the BNPL sector.

As per the Inc42 Plus report, BNPL Market Opportunity is to Exceed $40 Bn By 2025. The share of BNPL-triggered payments in the digital commerce and mobile PoS space is expected to rise from 3–4% in 2021 to 21–22% by 2025.BNPL startups have witnessed more than $590 Mn funding, with more than 20+ startups in the space.

If you are a fintech enthusiast and wish to be a part of this growing industry, then this article is for you. We shall first try to understand the ‘buy now pay later’ sector in more detail followed by which I shall be sharing a structured approach to cracking a PM role in your target fintech company.

What is BNPL?

BNPL stands for ‘Buy Now Pay Later’. As the name signifies it means that you can purchase a product /service and make the payment later. BNPL service providers provide micro-credit to customers for making online/offline purchases. You have to make the payment to the platform after a fixed number of days, failing which, a heavy interest is charged, affecting your credit score in long term.

Now you may question — How is this different from taking a bank loan or making credit card transactions ?

While in theory, they might look similar but the use case and target audience are very different.

Would you think of taking a loan for making a Zomato transaction, in case you are running short on money?

And as far as the credit card analogy goes, India still has a very low penetration rate of credit cards, with just about 3 credit cards for every 100 people in India.

However, with the rise of the millennial population and the inherent difficulties in obtaining a credit card/loan (eg. a good credit score), the BNPL sector has attracted a lot of attention. It allows customers to make a purchase instantly, without going through the hassle of remembering passwords, waiting for OTPs, entering card details, etc.

Some of the other benefits that BNPL products provide:

• 1. Simple Onboarding Process
• 2. Easier and Faster Approvals
• 3. No need of having a prior credit score
• 4. Lower interest rates

Given below is a snapshot of some of the leading service providers. Many big players like PayTm with its Paytm Postpaid, Amazon with Amazon Pay Pay Later, and Flipkart with Flipkart Pay Later also got into the race to ride the wave of this growing market.

Many companies like Slice, Uni cards Postpe have also launched physical credit cards giving users access to instant credit along with many lucrative benefits. These cards allow the user to split the bill in 3 or more installments.

Thus , If the problem and BNPL as a sector excite you, then it is one of the best times to be a part of this emerging ecosystem in India.

“I love this sector and want to be a part of it but how should I break into the PM role in these top startups ?”

Yes yes, we hear you!

The Indian startup ecosystem is undergoing a revolutionary change and if you aspire to contribute to this revolution and bring impact at scale then definitely Product manager is a very exciting role. It gives you the opportunity to shape the future, solve users’ problems and create a better reality for them.

Having said all that, if you are an aspiring PM or looking for a switch to a new industry then you might be intimidated by all the information that is out there on the net. You might feel bombarded with questions like ‘ Where should I start from?, ‘ What should I learn? ‘Who to approach for the job?’

So cracking an APM/PM role in a BNPL startup, requires you to work on primarily 2 fronts :

1. Understanding the Industry
2. Developing PM Skillset

Understanding the Industry

If you are someone who is looking out to start your product journey and targetting junior PM roles then you are not expected to be an industry expert. However having some domain knowledge about the industry always puts you in a better position, than your other counterparts.

Also helps you show off a bit if you know the terms and data about the industry 😃

You can use the following tips to research the industry better :

• 1. Reading industry reports of latest trends and potential opportunities in the sector
• 2. Seeing videos/talks of industry leaders
• 3. Reaching out to people working in startups of this sector or a similar space

Developing PM skillset

To get into a product management role, it is important for you to work on your product skills. PM is a generalist role, requiring you to don multiple hats on an everyday basis. Some of the key skills that are key to success in this role are :

• 1. Data-driven
  PM’s are required to make many decisions on a day-to-day basis. Hence being data-driven, analytical with good problem-solving abilities is a huge plus point.
• 2. Communication Skills
  Product managers are required to have excellent verbal and written skills. They are required to do extensive documentation of specs, PRDs that are used by the different stakeholders in the company.
• 3. User-centric approach
  Developing user empathy, defining the target persona and their pain points correctly can help you understand the need and opportunity that still exists in your sector

User interviews : of existing as well as potential customers of your target company, can be a very good exercise. It can help you earn some brownie points in the interview.

Apart from this some other skillsets required by PM’s are :

• 1. UX/UI Design understanding — Design thinking, prototyping, wireframing
• 2. Technolgy understanding— APIs, Databases, system design, servers, frontend- backend architectures
• 3. Analytics and Experimentation — A/B testing, Event design, Defining and measuring the metrics
• 4. Roadmap Setup and product development lifecycle — Agile processes, prioritization, backlog grooming

While all this might look a little daunting, but today there are some fantastic cohort-based courses available, which can help you to learn all the fundamentals with ease. Programs like PM School run various courses to help aspiring PM’s learn the fundamentals better, all in a structured manner.

Once you know about the sector and the role, now it is time to finally land the dream role.

• Build a Brand
  - Create a deck/portfolio of any product. Pick up a problem statement and solve it by building a business case around it. (For e.g. ‘How to improve the onboarding flow of Simpl App?’ ). You can showcase this portfolio on LinkedIn or even share it with your respective interviewer.
  - Sharing your learnings and insights actively on Linkedin, Twitter, doing meaningful engagement (not just likes and shares) on others’ comments. All these activities create visibility and definitely helps you get the foot in the door
  - Participation in Product teardowns, case competitions held by some leading product communities (PM School, Product Folks) is also an interesting way of showcasing your work
• Networking
  - Leverage your contacts, any 1st or 2nd-degree connections, that you might have in your target company.
  - Reach out to hiring managers and recruiters for your target role.
• Internal Transfer
  If you are someone who is already working in a BNPL company and want to switch to a PM role, then first transitioning internally in the company can be a good idea. Volunteering on side product management-related tasks can also be helpful.

To speak to Payments / BNPL Product managers, and access Fintech case studies by learning via the PM School program.