# I've Always Wanted to Kn... ! [ rw-book-cover] (https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1592990461517389824/iln8hi1f.jpg) URL: https://twitter.com/lennysan/status/1866520360637833232 Author: @lennysan on Twitter  ## AI-Generated Summary None ## Highlights > I've always wanted to know which companies create the best product managers. I finally have answers. > I teamed up with [GotLiveData](https://twitter.com/GotLiveData) to see which companies’ PM alumni go on to see: > 1. The most promotions > 2. The fastest immediate promotion > 3. The fastest rise to leadership roles (e.g. to VP, CPO, Head of Product) > 4. The highest rate of becoming CPOs and Heads of Product > 5. The highest rate of becoming the first PM at another company > 6. The highest rate of becoming founders > Out of this, we triangulated a list of top 10 companies that create the biggest inflections in the careers of their PM alumni. Here's the list: > 1. [RevolutApp](https://twitter.com/RevolutApp) > 2. [n26](https://twitter.com/n26) > 3. [eBay](https://twitter.com/eBay) > 4. [Plaid](https://twitter.com/Plaid) > 5. [Intercom](https://twitter.com/Intercom) > 6. [Intuit](https://twitter.com/Intuit) > 7. [LinkedIn](https://twitter.com/LinkedIn) > 8. [PalantirTech](https://twitter.com/PalantirTech) > 9. [Deel](https://twitter.com/Deel) > 10. [Discord](https://twitter.com/Discord) > Here's the full post with all of the data and analysis: https://t.co/BJVB3gVlFK > My biggest surprises and takeaways: > 1. The top two companies are based in Europe! One in London, one in Berlin. Go Europe! > 2. Fintech is dominant—5 out of the top 10 companies! Did not expect that. It’s probably no coincidence that the PayPal mafia has been so successful. One explanation, shared by my buddy Dennis Yang (PM at Chime), is that fintech nurtures strong product leaders because fintech work is on hard mode—lots of risk/fraud vectors, difficult stakeholders (e.g. compliance, regulations), and endless complicated tradeoffs. Another explanation could be that fintech PMs leave to join other fintech companies or start fintech startups, and since they know that space well, they’re more likely to thrive. > 3. We have a new set of startup mafias: Palantir, Plaid, N26, Ramp, Intercom, Revolut, Duolingo, Uber, Notion, and Coinbase. The standout company is Palantir, where almost a quarter of Palantir PMs went on to start their own company. Almost a fifth of Plaid PM alumni went on to start a company, which is also incredible. Of older and larger companies, LinkedIn, Google, Intuit, and eBay made it into the top 15. Impressive! Props to LinkedIn for being the most founder-friendly big company. > 4. FAANG companies lag behind. eBay, Intuit, and LinkedIn are far ahead of companies like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Meta, and Amazon in these lists. One explanation is that PMs at FAANG companies learn how to operate well within that specific company and are less successful elsewhere. Another explanation is that the best PMs at FAANG companies are happy and don’t leave, and so we don’t see their trajectories in the data. > 5. There are an equal number of B2B and B2C in the top 10. You can do great no matter which direction your career goes. > Notable mentions: > 1. [TryRamp](https://twitter.com/TryRamp) (~800 employees, founded 2019): Particularly strong at creating founders—which is extra impressive since it’s so young. > - Ranked 3rd at founder rate > - Ranked 5th at first PM rate > - Ranked 10th at time-to-next-promotion after leaving > 2. [Nubank](https://twitter.com/Nubank) (~7,000 employees, founded 2013): Strong all around but not ranked highest on any specific dimension. > - Ranked 6th at Head of Product rate > - Ranked 7th at first PM rate > - Ranked 8th at fastest risers > - Ranked 9th at fastest promotion > 3. [NotionHQ](https://twitter.com/NotionHQ) (~500 employees, founded 2013): Especially strong at creating first PMs at other companies. > - Ranked 2nd at first PM > - Ranked 4th at CPO rate > Don't miss the full post with tons more: https://t.co/BJVB3gVlFK >  >  ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lennysan/status/1866520360637833232)) > [GotLiveData](https://twitter.com/GotLiveData) Big thank you to [saltzman_jason](https://twitter.com/saltzman_jason) for sharing this incredible data with us and helping with the analysis 🙏 ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lennysan/status/1866520845101019424)) > In case you're wondering why you don't see a company you expect, here are a few limitations with the analysis, and our plans for follow-up deep dives. > Please let us know what we may have missed or gotten wrong. >  >  ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/lennysan/status/1866522581203128755))