Product managers seeking work-life balance should not pursue the CPO track
Mayur Kamat · Unconventional product lessons from Binance, N26, Google, more | Mayur Kamat (CPO at N26) · May 22, 2025 · at 26:11
Mayur Kamat (CPO at N26) discusses whether pursuing a Chief Product Officer role demands sacrificing work-life balance.
0:00 / 0:49exact quote · 49.7s
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“The moment you start having those conversations, you are probably not on that track. Like you should not be on that track because the moment the word work-life balance comes I think Jeff Bezos has this thing that he hits the word because it means like they're opposing things that need to be balanced, right? It needs to be work-life awesomeness or something like that, where every moment is awesome, whether you're working or you're living. But for some people that comes naturally because that's how they ride. And those people should absolutely pursue it because it would be incredibly fulfilling. And the things that are challenging would also feel not as onerous. Whereas for everything else, it would feel like a sacrifice. It would feel like something you need to balance. And then you would, again, even if you're great at it, you're not going to have fun doing it. And at some point you will not be great at it.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Mayur Kamat
Binance CEO CZ managed 55 direct reports in a two-layer organization
“CZ, the founder and CEO at one point had like 55 direct reports. And his direct reports had about the similar ones. So for a large portion of the history of the company, there was just one level between the individual employees and the CEO, right?”
Tech executives earn 90% of career compensation in their final five years
“If you're truly on a track to become like a, an executive someday or found your own company and make it successful, you will find that the compensation is so much backloaded. That you would make 90% of your compensation in the last five years of your career.”
A fully booked calendar is a badge of shame, not honor
“A full calendar is a badge of shame, not a badge of honor.”
Founder DNA actively prevents tech giants from succeeding in misaligned product categories
“I have this premise that certain companies can never succeed at certain type of products, right? Like Microsoft with mobile or Google with social or Facebook with enterprise, right? It's just the DNA of the founder actively acts against you succeeding there.”