About Tech Talks
In this Tech Talks series, we will directly share with you the attitude and vibe of the PayPay Tech team through the voices of the unique product members from over 35 countries! This time, Sunna Mo from the Product Management team will share her story.
*Japanese version of the article is also available.
Sunna Mo
My name is Sunna and I’m a product manager in PayPay specifically focusing on the core app & growth features. It’s been just about a year since I’ve joined PayPay. Also appeared in the Professionals recently.
What I’ m working on currently
I’m in charge of core app & growth features, which mainly contributes to user retention and growth within PayPay. Main questions we try to answer in this team are, “how do we better improve usability so that users can find exactly what they want?”, “how do we attract more users to use PayPay?”, “how can we make people want to explore PayPay other than making payments?” and such. We are also the team that sits closest to the marketing team and work closely with them to increase the acquisition /retention rate of users.
The Product Management Team
There are around 30 people in the product department, with 20 people in the PdM team. The PdM team is also divided into specific sub-teams such as, core app & growth, Mini Apps & gratification, O2O, P2P, and etc. Each sub-team is responsible for managing its own roadmap and KPIs.
A Technical Challenge I Experienced Recently
N/A (There are of course hurdles and puzzles that you have to resolve every day when it comes to managing a project. However, I don’t think I can pinpoint one challenge to share with the general public… All I can say is, small or big challenges will come your way everyday and the most important thing is to know which one takes priority. I won’t be able to resolve all the issues that come my way in a timely manner. Being able to prioritize tasks and communicate possible delays to the project members and stakeholders is very important)
What I like to Challenge at PayPay
In the immediate future, I think I will focus on learning more about PayPay. There are still a lot of areas I’d like to explore and educate myself in. As for further down the road, who knows! PayPay is very flexible in resourcing people to areas of work they are interested in.
My Typical Daily & Weekly Schedules:
My daily schedule would usually start at around 9AM. In the morning, I’d like to plan out the day and make sure to secure time slots in my calendar for work other than meetings. Most likely, all product managers including myself would be managing several different projects, so during the day, I would follow up on any queries for my projects, write/edit PRDs, conduct data analysis, or tests.
It’s important for the PM and the project members to conduct sanity checks for that feature before QA begins. Therefore, usually every week, I have dedicated time to test my features on STG.
My career before joining PayPay
I started my career as a product manager at one of the major messaging app companies in 2016. For the first 2,3 years of my career with them, I learned tremendously and it’s definitely exciting to work with a product that has a huge user base. However, I wanted to try building a product from scratch, which is why I decided to take my career in a documentary company. As they were looking to launch an OTT (over the top) product in Japan. I had a great time learning about video streaming services and live streaming technology during my time with them. One of the highlight moments would be when we live streamed the ZOZO Championship (all the golf fans would know what this is!).
The reason that I decided to join PayPay
PayPay was (and still is) the up and coming financial services in Japan. I wanted to get the hands-on experience of working with one of the best product teams. Also, PayPay delegates the project’s decisions and direction to the product manager in charge. This is a lot of responsibility, yet also gives the chance for product managers to drive the project forward freely. PayPay’s diversity is also very attractive! I greatly appreciate the level of respect people have towards each other, regardless of cultural backgrounds. As our workstyle motto dictates, “ego is not welcome, communication is necessary!”
A Message to Aspiring PayPay Employees
PayPay is in the forefront of Japan’s change into a cashless society. When I first came to Japan 5 years ago, cashless payment was not an option. I remember having to carry cash as a must for everywhere I go, especially outside of Tokyo. Over these past couple of years, PayPay led the change into a cashless society and has impacted the lives of millions of people. If PayPay’s mission and track record resonates with your career goals then please join our team!
Currently available positions
*The recruitment status is current at the time of the interview.
Author: Sunna Mo ／ Editorial Supervisor: Mune ／ Managing Editor: Az
* Employee affiliations are as of the time of the interview.
