Transparency, innovation, and global impact: Why I joined Wise

"What ultimately drew me in was the opportunity to work on solving a problem that has never been solved before.”

Surendra Chaplot (He/Him)

Product Lead

Can you share your journey into Product?

My career began while I was still studying. Alone with a group of over-ambitious teenagers, we decided to make a Bollywood feature film. I ended up starting a production house and leading a 200-person crew. While this had nothing to do with product management, it taught me how to build something from scratch and solve countless problems along the way. The movie was an absolute disaster, but it did launch the careers of a few stars. After a series of other failed ventures—including attempts to build a magazine and a greeting card company—I figured it was time to get a 'real' job. I then luckily landed a product role at a small start up.

I spent the next five years working across India, Indonesia, and Singapore, building internet products. Eventually, I wanted to move to Europe and started exploring opportunities there. That's when I came across Wise, a company I hadn’t heard of before. As I learned more about Wise, I felt it could be the perfect fit for me. The more I went through the interviews, the more confident I became that this was the right role. What ultimately drew me in was the chance to work on solving a global problem that had never been solved before. And based on my interviews, I could tell I’d have the opportunity to collaborate with some truly incredible people.

What does a typical day look like for you as a Product Director?

As a Product Lead at Wise, no two days are ever the same. Over the past seven years, I’ve had the privilege of growing alongside the company, and while I’ve always been focused on building products that make a real impact, I haven’t always been a Product Lead. Now, I look after the Global Product Tribe, a group of teams building Wise Account – the best international account for consumers in over 50 countries to hold, spend, send, and receive money – and Wise Business – the all-in-one solution for freelancers and small and medium-sized businesses to manage payments, receivables, and their overall finances.

Each day brings new challenges, but my journey at Wise has been a rewarding one, constantly learning and collaborating with an incredibly talented team to help people manage their money across borders with ease.

The most rewarding part of my job is people. Both the people who use Wise and the people I get to work with to build these products. It’s incredibly inspiring every time I meet customers who share their deeply personal stories about how much Wise has helped them—not just in terms of the money they've saved, but also in critical moments when Wise made a real difference. These stories remind me of the real impact we’re having on people's lives, and it’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about my work.

How would you describe the product culture at Wise?

In my view, there are two main ways a PM can have an impact:

Deeply understanding the problem we need to solve for our customers. The best PMs do this with limited information, seamlessly combining insights gathered from talking to customers with data from various sources.
Helping teams ship solutions quickly. Once the problem is clear, the best PMs make decisive choices, enabling teams to move forward without hesitation.

At Wise, we empower our teams so they can move fast and make the right decisions for our customers. Alongside this, product teams are also accountable for creating tangible impact. Every quarter, we publish a mission update to our customers showcasing what we have shipped for them. For me, this is the best way to measure success as a PM. The best ones ensure they have something to share in every update. This level of transparency and responsibility creates a unique and results-driven culture that truly sets Wise apart.

What’s the most exciting product or feature you’ve worked on?

The assets product, particularly the interest product, is one of the most exciting. We're tackling the lack of transparency and fairness in how traditional banks handle customer deposits. Banks profit off your money but offer little or no return. At Wise, we believe that’s unfair, so we’ve built a product that provides transparency and value.

With our asset product, customers can see exactly where their money is going, how much it’s earning, and what the Wise fee is. Every day, the earnings from deposits are added to your balance, and you can access your funds anytime. It’s a game-changer—one of the first of its kind—that challenges traditional banking and offers real fairness and transparency.

What advice would you give for potential applicants considering a role in Product Management at Wise?

Be transparent and authentic. It's important to clearly communicate the value you can bring to the team and reflect on what you can personally bring to help the team perform better.

Be open to introspection. Acknowledge your mistakes, reflect on what went wrong, and consider what you could have done differently. One of the biggest mistakes people make is focusing too much on how great their product ideas sound, rather than digging into the details of how the team is actually shipping and delivering value.

List #1

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Transparency, innovation, and global impact: Why I joined Wise

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