Dhriti Nath is a Product Manager with over two years of work experience in the FinTech space.
Dhriti currently works at NOW Money providing financial services to blue collar workers in the region to drive financial inclusion, social mobility and ultimately mental and physical wellbeing. Committed to fostering financial inclusion, NOW Money provides accessible and affordable digital banking solutions to low-income workers, empowering them with financial independence and convenience. Leveraging cutting-edge technology, NOW Money is at the forefront of driving positive change in the financial landscape by partnering with corporates to incorporate NOW Money’s technology in their payroll offering. The company provides access to financial services to the underserved by providing digital bank accounts to those who may normally be overlooked and it is my job to make the tech side of the product fully accessible to all.
How did you land your current role? Was it planned?
My current role was definitely not planned! I got reached out to by a recruiter and when I looked into the role, I loved the idea of working for a fast-growing start-up and the thought of it was extremely exciting as I was working at the time for a much larger corporation. After multiple rounds of interviews with my (now) colleagues I was fortunate enough to land the role and I have never looked back since!
What are the key roles in your field of work, and why did you choose your current expertise?
Product Management (PM) is a vast and ever-growing domain. The key roles vary based on the experiences you’ve had and they comprise of Associate Product Manager, Product Owner, Product Manager, Product Marketing etc. Product Teams generally also extend and house UX/UI designers, UX researchers, data and product analysts. PMs are also in some organisations classified under growth, data or technical PMs.
The reason why I chose to follow and become a PM is the need to solve and create something of value for someone and drive the growth of a business. In addition to this I have a constant need to innovate and doing things unconventionally is usually the route I like to take. This role satisfies all of the above and has an incredible cause of working towards financial inclusion and helping the underbanked and unbanked and that motivates me to get out of bed each morning.
Did you (or do you) have a role model in tech or business in general?
I do not have a role model per se. Although I have been fortunate enough to meet some amazing folks along the journey who I have learned so much from. The Co-Founder of NOW Money, Kat Budd, will always be an inspiration for me due to her ability to see a social need and realising the right tech could address it and I will always be grateful for the opportunity she has given me.
What are you most proud of in your career, so far?
I am the most proud of selecting to work with organisations that have a deeper cause as to why they function.
Seeing our customers use and find value in our products drives motivation, creativity, and innovation which I feel very proud to have. Most of our users are migrant workers in Dubai, primarily from India, and we have created a tech product which is translatable across many languages, but is also educational and easy to navigate for those who may not be strong in the areas of reading and writing. Some of our users have never used an app before, but the customer focused user interface makes it easy to use and is truly accessible for all.
What does an average workday look like for you?
I begin my mornings with a coffee and get to work by 8am. I start my work day by monitoring our existing product including the download usage, looking into any unknown crashes and monitoring for bugs. I conduct ongoing product discovery and the key to a good PM is to always undergo user testing and carry out user interviews to see how we can constantly improve.
In the afternoon I work on revenue models to optimise profitability of current products and test out assumptions for our product, creating a hypothesis, and then carrying out A and B tests. Tech is constantly updating and innovating and we need to ensure we are ahead of the curve in respects to this and that our product is up to date with not only the latest tech updates but also the latest cyber crime threats.
Are there any specific skills or traits that you notice companies look for when you’re searching for roles in your field?
The key traits are communication skills, leadership, ownership for projects and the ability to work autonomously without much guidance. However, you need good communication to report back on the project you are solely running.
Collaboration is also key, as you need to work with and understand the different stakeholders including finance, customer support, marketing and data analytics to allow their insight and data to feed into the management of your product. Ignoring the importance of wider team data will result in a blinkered view of a product.
Analytical skills are also key, to allow a PM to interrogate user data and to provide solutions to any issues highlighted in the analytics and constant data tests.
Finally, I carry out user research and interviews with users from all walks of life, therefore good interpersonal skills and an ability to relate to everyone and host or conduct these interviews is key.
Has anyone ever tried to stop you from learning and developing in your professional life, or have you found the tech sector supportive?
Honestly, no, this hasn’t happened to me.
Have you ever faced insecurities and anxieties during your career, and how did you overcome them?
Yes, of course. Imposter syndrome is very real to me, perhaps as I am relatively new in my career. However, the only way to overcome imposter syndrome is to do things you are uncomfortable with and prove yourself with excellent results. Real growth happens in periods of discomfort.
Entering the world of work can be daunting. Do you have any words of advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed?
Feeling overwhelmed is totally normal. Prioritising workloads will help break down the huge workloads on multiple projects.
I would recommend breaking down your projects into small and manageable tasks and seek feedback from your colleagues on what to prioritise and whether you are on the right track with your work tasks.
Don’t wait until you think your work is “perfect”, as this might take too long, instead, get your project to a place you are really happy with, then share it with your managers for feedback. Also, I would suggest to always be clear about what your manager expects from you and ensure you know what success looks like and have clear deadlines. Finally, my motto is ‘fail soon, iterate faster’ to remind myself and your readers that failing is a part of work but how you deal with it and put it right is what you will be judged on.
What advice would you give other women wanting to reach their career goals in technology?
Don’t hold back! Don’t feel that your skills aren’t enough because most of the time they are and don’t underestimate the importance of soft skills including communication and interpersonal skills I mentioned earlier. These skills can’t be taught and therefore if you have these then you are already on your way to success.
In this fast paced industry, you need to be bold and take risks and to always try to stand out and do things differently. That is how you make a name for yourself. And finally, keep upskilling yourself with all the technological advancements. Tech is always updating and your skills need to update to match it.
