The process started off reasonable: initial interview with the hiring manager for a Senior PM role, followed by a conversation with the COO. The interviews focused on my fintech background, trading platform experience, portfolio management knowledge, and questions about how I would approach rebalancing, model management, trading workflows, and integrations. Everything aligned with my background. They then requested a very detailed take-home case study to design a trading insights dashboard, which I completed and submitted. This was a fully developed PRD tailored directly to their posted role and platform maturity. They initially stated there would be a follow-up meeting to present my solution. Instead, they completely ghosted me with zero acknowledgement or feedback. Unfortunately, this is starting to feel like a disturbing trend with companies who recruit qualified candidates to submit in-depth product work, only to extract free ideas without any real intention of hiring. It becomes free consulting for a team that appears to lack the internal product expertise to solve these problems themselves. The case was not used for fair evaluation, but rather to source ideas from candidates who have stronger fintech and domain expertise than their existing leadership team. Worse, the compensation they offered was far below market for the scope of responsibility and seniority required. The company only has a small handful of clients, limited proven product-market fit, and a very uncertain long-term outlook. Based on my experience, this is not a place I would recommend for serious product leaders who value transparency, respect for candidates' time, or a stable business model.