How three weeks of research turned an information website into an app first-timers would actually invest with

Low trust, low knowledge

Research made it concrete: 86% of surveyed users had never invested in a mutual fund, and 49% considered limited financial knowledge a hindrance. Yet 82% were somewhat willing to invest if given proper guidance, the opportunity was real, but so was the confidence gap.

Users needed support at every step

People wanted help throughout the investment process, researched thoroughly before committing money, and preferred short video tutorials and live chat over email. Because money was involved, they expected extra security and authentication.

We were outsiders to finance

Coming from a non-finance background, the team had limited knowledge of the financial world, we had to become literate in mutual funds before we could design for them.

A crowded, uneven landscape

Local and international platforms each offered fragments of the experience, but no single product combined education, research, and investing in one approachable package.

A three-week intensive research sprint

We educated ourselves on markets and mutual funds, ran a stakeholder discovery workshop, carried out 10+ user interviews, surveyed ~450 participants, and mapped local and international competitors feature by feature.

Synthesizing insights into direction

We defined business goals, framed our 'how might we', and built three distinct personas, from experienced investors to complete beginners. Empathy maps and two mapped journeys (onboarding and first investment) surfaced pain points and emotional lows across every phase.

Prioritizing ruthlessly

We consolidated all requirements and sorted them with the impact-effort method, quick wins, big bets, fill-ins, and money pits, keeping scope focused on what would genuinely move users toward their first investment.

Ideating under time pressure

Facing a tight timeline, an extensive moodboard gave quick visual direction, and detailed user flows created a structured blueprint of every path, from guest-mode exploration to sign-up, fund discovery, and investment.

Wireframes, tested early

We built and tested core screens, dashboard, market, fund detail, portfolio, academy. Feedback drove concrete changes: a portfolio summary card, restructured tiles, removing the watchlist, and a quick-access navigation drawer.

Design refinement on an atomic design system

We built an atomic design system, components, modals, inputs, iconography, and applied it to high-fidelity designs across the dashboard, market, fund details, help center, and the full portfolio experience with fund progress, dividends, and transaction history.

Prototyping and usability testing

We connected the designs into an interactive prototype and validated it with moderated usability testing on goal-oriented tasks: register, self-educate, complete KYC, find and invest in a fund, and compare two funds.

Closing the loop on feedback

Testing shipped clear improvements: editable dashboard quicklinks, a verified badge confirming KYC status, and a help icon on every page after users struggled to find support.

A complete, research-backed mobile investment platform for learning, research, and mutual-fund investing.

An experience shaped by 450+ survey participants, 10+ interviews, three personas, two mapped journeys, and moderated usability testing

every major decision traceable to a user insight.

Built for hesitant first-timers

guided onboarding, a built-in academy with video tutorials, risk profiling, fund comparison, coachmarks, and an always-visible help center.

Validated and iterated

testing confirmed a user-friendly, visually pleasing experience, and every key piece of feedback was incorporated.

A scalable atomic design system to keep the product consistent as it grows.