Whatnot requires every hire, regardless of role, to complete a prompt-plus-data exercise (e.g., write a PRD from a real data set) and then verbally defend their reasoning to the panel. The verbal defense is the load-bearing part: it's designed to expose Product Theater (Cagan) — candidates who present polished frameworks but whose thinking collapses once pushed on specifics.
Contrast with interview techniques that rely on behavioral stories alone; this forces a real work artifact into the room before judgment is made.