Challenges
Having just a business model and a few feature ideas, a discovery and strategy engagement was recommended to validate ideas, plan a product roadmap, and develop a proof of concept strong enough to appeal to investors for early stage fundraising. With only 4 weeks budgeted for the project a strategy was designed to quickly validate ideas and create excitement with a stunning proof of concept.
Approach
Because the intent of the engagement was to produce a product concept that not only provided value but also captured the attention of investors, we needed to be budget conscious at every turn. By conducting a 3 day ideation workshop that focused mainly on producing a feature list for the MVP, I needed to guide the product owner to make decisions quickly.
Outcome
To demonstrate my strong understanding of product design and build trust that I had a full understanding of Nena's business model, I needed to be very active in the workshop. By proposing strong feature concepts and identifying additional revenue streams early on, I built a great rapport with the client that lead to more control in the product design process.
Discovery
By identifying a few key demographic groups and potential use cases, we were able to move right into concept and feature ideation. We made the assumption that younger users were less likely to be loyal to their banks and credit card companies. This lead us to a decision to target two key demographic groups. Since the product concept hinges on recommending better cards continually, we made another assumption that older user types were more likely be loyal to banks and card providers and less likely to switch. We were looking to target user types that don't mind switching cards to benefit themselves.
Ideation
During the brainstorming exercises we identified concepts to not only build revenue but also provide value to users. In just 3 days, we had identified opportunities and crafted a prioritized feature list of the strongest concepts.
The overarching concept was a credit card recommendation engine that make your cards work for you. The monetization strategy for Nena was to leverage credit card referrals for every major bank. A similar revenue model to Credit Karma and other card recommendations applications, Nena was looking to cash in on referral dollars. The differentiator was the underlying goal to change the way people think about using credit cards. By demystifying rewards and points systems provided by banks, fuels companies, and even department stores. By analyzing a user's spending, Nena would offer card usage recommendations that would help users understand which cards to use for each expenditure to earn the most rewards.
Positioning
We also created a nicely designed pitch deck template that to help with fundraising efforts.
Product Concept
