In the fast-moving world of financial technology, hiring the right product talent can make or break your roadmap. But one question we hear time and time again from clients across the UK, US and Europe is this:
"Do we need a Product Owner or a Product Manager?"
It might seem like a subtle difference, but hiring the wrong person can lead to misaligned roadmaps, slow delivery and even product failure. As a FinTech recruitment business specialising in Product hires, we've seen the consequences of role confusion firsthand. This blog is here to clarify the difference, help you understand which hire is right for your business stage, and guide you through how to make that decision confidently.
Defining the Roles: Product Owner vs. Product Manager
At a high level, both roles are responsible for creating products that deliver business value. But they operate at different levels of strategy, execution, and stakeholder engagement.
Product Manager (PM):
- Owns the "what" and "why" of the product.
- Sets the product vision and strategy.
- Conducts market and user research.
- Aligns product with business goals.
- Works closely with marketing, sales, and leadership teams.
Product Owner (PO):
- Owns the "how" and "when" of delivery.
- Manages the product backlog.
- Translates user stories into actionable tasks.
- Works closely with developers and engineers.
- Ensures the team delivers against sprint goals.
In short: the Product Manager is the strategist; the Product Owner is the tactician.
Some startups merge the two roles. Larger FinTech firms split them to allow deep focus across strategy and execution.
Why Product Manager vs Product Owner Clarity Is Crucial for FinTech Hiring
In FinTech, where customer expectations, regulatory demands, and market trends change rapidly, clarity in product roles is essential. Hiring a Product Owner when you need a strategic Product Manager (or vice versa) can:
- Stall go-to-market timelines.
- Cause tension between product and engineering.
- Lead to overlapping or abandoned priorities.
- Damage your customer experience.
Many FinTechs come to us after struggling with delivery or roadmap execution, and it often comes down to not defining these roles clearly.
When Your FinTech Business Needs a Product Manager
You're likely to need a Product Manager when:
- You’re building a product from scratch and need market fit.
- You need someone to lead product strategy across multiple teams.
- You're scaling and need cross-functional alignment.
- You want data-led decisions on what features to build next.
- You need someone who can pitch to investors, customers, and senior stakeholders.
Product Managers are key for long-term growth, strategy, and commercial impact. In early-stage or scaling FinTechs, they’re often your most business-critical hire.
Product Hiring in New York vs London: What FinTech Leaders Need to Know
When it comes to how to hire a Product Manager in FinTech, the expectations differ between New York and London.
In New York, hiring tends to favour candidates who drive commercial growth and investor returns. If you're trying to hire a Product Manager for a startup, you'll find many hybrid PM/PO candidates who thrive in fast-paced, VC-backed environments.
In London, especially in regulated FinTechs, there’s often a clearer separation of roles. Many businesses seek help from a product recruitment agency in London to ensure compliance, scalability, and smooth Agile delivery.
If you're struggling to hire Product Managers in either market, the issue might not be talent, it might be market mismatch or unclear role definition. A specialist FinTech staffing agency can help solve this.
When You Need a Product Owner
You’re likely to need a Product Owner when:
- You already have a defined product roadmap.
- You’re running Agile or Scrum frameworks.
- Your dev team needs clearer backlog prioritisation.
- You need to optimise delivery velocity.
You need someone embedded with engineers and QA to remove blockers fast.
Product Owners are essential for execution; they help ensure your product strategy gets built on time and to spec.
Should You Hire a Hybrid Product Manager/Product Owner?
In smaller FinTech teams, especially at startup or seed stage, it's common to see hybrid roles where the Product Manager is also the Product Owner.
This can work, but only if:
- The person is experienced enough to handle both responsibilities.
- There’s support from engineering and leadership.
- You’re not scaling too fast (as the workload will become unsustainable).
Eventually, as your product and team grow, these roles will naturally separate. At this point, many FinTechs choose to bring in a Product Owner to work under an established Product Manager or Head of Product.
Product Career Pathways: Hiring with Future Growth in Mind
Hiring for the now is important, but hiring for the future is essential.
If you’re leading a FinTech scale-up, you may start with a Product Manager, but that person could eventually evolve into a Head of Product or even Chief Product Officer. Many of our clients who originally reached out to find Product Managers with FinTech experience are now building full product leadership teams.
When you engage a FinTech product hiring partner, you're not just filling seats—you’re building a talent pipeline that supports scale, agility, and transformation.
Common Product Hiring Mistakes FinTech Companies Should Avoid
1. Job spec confusion
Often, we see job descriptions ask for a Product Manager, but then list backlog grooming, sprint planning, and Jira ticket writing as the primary responsibilities. This leads to mismatched applicants and disappointing interviews.
2. Misalignment with business stage
Startups sometimes try to hire a PO too early, when they really need a PM to build strategy. Conversely, scale-ups sometimes under-hire by bringing in a PO when a strategic Head of Product is needed.
3. Skipping stakeholder input
Hiring in a silo rarely works. If your product touches sales, compliance, marketing, and engineering. Make sure all stakeholders feed into the hiring process. The right role needs to work cross-functionally.
What a Mis-Hire Really Costs in FinTech Product Recruitment
Hiring the wrong person for a critical Product role can cost your FinTech business more than just salary. It delays delivery, damages morale, and causes lost market share.
We’ve worked with FinTech leaders who said, “We hired a Product Owner when we really needed a Product Manager, and now our roadmap is six months behind.”
Situations like this are common among firms that skip role scoping or work with generalist agencies instead of a FinTech product recruitment specialist.
If you're asking yourself, “Why can’t I find a good Product Manager?” — the answer could lie in your process, not the talent pool.
Key Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Product Manager or Product Owner
To avoid these pitfalls, here are a few questions to ask:
- What is the primary problem this person will solve?
- Do we need strategic direction or delivery focus?
- How technical does this person need to be?
- What’s our product maturity?
- Who will they report to and work closely with?
Answering these honestly will help you shape the role and attract the right candidates.
Structuring Your Hiring Process to Attract the Right Product Talent
To attract and retain top product talent in FinTech, you need more than just a job ad; you need a hiring process that works.
We advise clients looking to hire Product Managers in London or Product Owners in New York to:
- Start with clarity: Are you hiring for strategy or delivery?
- Use correct titles: Avoid mismatches like calling a PM a PO.
- Set success metrics: Define what success looks like at 30, 60, and 90 days.
- Involve stakeholders: PMs and POs need buy-in from tech, ops, and commercial.
- Partner with specialists: A trusted FinTech product recruitment agency can accelerate timelines and deliver culturally aligned hires.
This approach works whether you’re hiring a Product Manager to lead digital transformation or building a team during Series A.
How Harrington Starr Helps FinTech Companies Hire Top Product Talent
At Harrington Starr, we work with FinTech companies across London and New York to clarify roles, benchmark talent, and hire with confidence.
Whether you’re:
- Building your first product team
- Scaling from MVP to enterprise
- Looking for interim delivery support
…we can help you hire the right Product Manager or Product Owner to fit your goals.
We take the time to understand your business model, team structure and growth plans, then connect you with candidates who can make a real commercial impact.
It’s Not One or the Other, It’s About Fit
In FinTech, speed and precision matter. Hiring the wrong product role can lead to costly setbacks. But with the right hire, whether it’s a visionary Product Manager or an execution-focused Product Owner, you accelerate progress, increase customer satisfaction, and build a product that wins in your market.
Still unsure who you need?
Let’s talk. We’ll help you scope the role, define the responsibilities, and access FinTech’s top product talent.
Why FinTech Businesses Trust Harrington Starr to Build High-Performing Product Teams
When FinTech companies search for a product recruitment agency in London or a FinTech staffing partner in New York, they’re not looking for CVs, they’re looking for results. That’s exactly what Harrington Starr delivers.
We are a specialist FinTech recruitment agency with over a decade of experience helping businesses hire Product Managers, Product Owners, and transformation leaders who make a measurable commercial impact. Whether you’re:
- Scaling your first product team post-funding
- Hiring a Product Owner to improve Agile delivery
- Replacing a mis-hire who’s slowing down your roadmap
…our team knows how to scope the right role, benchmark it against the market, and connect you with high-performing candidates who understand the complexity of financial technology products.
With offices in London and New York, we provide local expertise and global reach. Our clients trust us to find talent that not only fits the spec—but fits the mission.
If you’re searching for:
- How to hire a Product Manager in FinTech
- FinTech product recruitment agency
- Hiring a Product Owner for a scale-up
- Product management staffing for financial services
…Harrington Starr is the search result that leads to hiring success.
Are you ready to build a product team that delivers? Get in touch with our expert FinTech product recruitment team today.
