I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Cleo (United Kingdom) (New York, NY)
Interview
Extremely shady company with a deeply unprofessional interview process. Candidates are essentially asked to do free consulting work under the guise of an interview. After putting in significant effort, the hiring manager didn’t even have the basic courtesy to acknowledge the work. Instead, the conversation turned into an attempt to extract more ideas, including pushing into areas that felt confidential and inappropriate.
This wasn’t an interview, it felt like a one-sided information grab.
In hindsight, the numerous typos and lack of attention to detail on their website should have been a clear warning sign. Given their history of regulatory issues, this kind of behavior seems consistent rather than surprising. I would strongly advise others to stay away.
Other Product Manager interview reviews for Cleo (United Kingdom)
I interviewed at Cleo (United Kingdom) (London, England)
Interview
First interview was case interview, standard Go to Market case. Interviewer was fine, didnt speak much as it was largely a case. After the interview the recruiter did not get in touch at all with reject/accept which was unprofessional but par for the course these days.
I applied online. I interviewed at Cleo (United Kingdom)
Interview
From outside-in, all the negative reviews from employees check out. It's a third-world (UK) predatory lender using AI as an acquisition gimmick. The fee schedule for their cash advance should be reviewed by American consumer rights agencies - no idea how any engineers can tolerate working on such a questionable product. Interview was a tedious three-month slog (problems solving, take homes etc.) - completely inappropriate for a mediocre shop of this caliber. If you are American, do not interview with Cleo unless all you are looking for is third-world compensation; this is not the finance x AI play. They are just fishing for AI valuation multiples for a crap lending biz (lol). Literally any mid American company is a better time investment. Good luck.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How can you help us increase fees on consumers without them noticing?