Beyond the Hype: A Look Back at Our First Runa Product Event

Earlier this month, we turned our London HQ into something more than just an office, it became a space for real product talk. No buzzwords. No fluff. Just sharp insights and honest conversation at our first-ever Runa Product Event.

After July’s tech-forward gathering, this time we invited the product community in for a fresh kind of exchange. The theme, Beyond the Hype: What really matters in B2B Fintech product development.

It wasn’t about chasing trends. It was about building what lasts: designing responsibly, leading with empathy, and delivering value that sticks. And the response? Electric. A packed room, thoughtful questions, and conversations that kept going long after the last talk.

Here’s what stood out.

The Talks

Foodtech → Fintech: What’s Different vs What Stays the Same
Meghna Vadapalli, Senior Product Manager @ Runa

Meghna opened the night by charting her path from food delivery to digital payouts. Turns out, navigating a three-sided ecosystem and building API-first products crosses industry lines, and brings crucial learnings with it.

Her take? Domain changes can stretch you, but the fundamentals of product thinking stay strong.

Key takeaway: Switching industries isn’t starting over. It’s building on what works, and being brave enough to adapt what doesn’t.

Designing for B2B vs B2C: Providing Value Without Dark Patterns
Antoniya Kuneva, Senior Product Designer @ Runa

Next, Antoniya zoomed in on the ethical edges of design, especially the divide between B2C tricks and B2B trust.

In a world where clarity builds loyalty, she unpacked why dark patterns don’t belong in our toolkit, and how Runa prioritises partnership over quick wins.

Key takeaway: B2B users aren’t just end-points. They’re decision-makers. Partners. Respect goes further than any pop-up ever could.

Don’t Leave Empathy Behind: Bridging Strategy and Real Use Cases
Lina Kandinova, Lead Product Manager @ Runa

Lina closed the evening with a grounded reminder: Empathy isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a product imperative.

Through lived examples from Runa, she showed how understanding real constraints leads to sharper strategy, faster pivots, and fewer product misfires.

Key takeaway: In high-stakes ecosystems, empathy is your edge.

Q&A, Pizza and the Good Stuff

Our audience didn’t hold back, bringing thoughtful, sharp questions that sparked lively back-and-forths on trade-offs, roadmap bets, and what it actually takes to ship.

And yes, we ended with the classics: pizza, drinks, and the kind of conversations that stretch long past the agenda.

Big thanks to everyone who stayed late to swap stories and make this first event what it was.

What’s Next?

We’re just getting started. Runa was built on open conversations, about what’s working, what’s shifting, and what needs a rethink in digital payouts and B2B product development.

This won’t be our last event. Not even close.

Got a topic you’re itching to unpack? A challenge you want on the table? Drop it in the comments.

And if you’re curious about what’s next, follow us on LinkedIn. Can’t wait to see you at our next event!