Davi Shamá - Product Designer

Challenge

Zippi is a startup founded at MIT and backed by Y Combinator and Tiger Global. It started as a fintech with a mission to help gig workers thrive in Brazil by offering a weekly credit card.

In late 2021, Zippi attempted a Series A funding round, but the response was not favorable. The feedback was clear and helped us recognize the need for improvements to the product.

Backed by

Business goals

01. Establish a clear path to positive cash flow

02. Increase autonomy by reducing third-party dependencies

03. Improve scalability for growth and expansion

04. Differentiate the product from competitors

Research

We started with data. Some users were using the card in a curious way. We used this emergent behavior — patterns and “hacks” that appear organically within a engaged subset of the community — to drive our solution. Take a look.

Data Analysis

We gathered data and started analyzing it. We were surprised and curious about a certain behavior, which presented a great opportunity for us to learn and understand more.

Data insights

People were using the card in their own credit card machines (that they own because of their SMB) and in other payment apps. And some of them were pretty consistent, using the whole limit every week. We wanted to know why.

User interview

I conducted in-depth interviews with users to understand the “why's”behind their behaviors. Then we mapped their pain points and identified opportunities to inform product design decisions. Image: me and the product manager with Maria, a Zippi client at her business place.

User interview insights

We learned that people were using their SMB credit card machines to 'cash out' the limit and use the money for other purposes, such as paying suppliers that offer discounts for cash or do not accept credit cards.

Benchmark

We analyzed our competitors' products and their business models, interactions, and user flows. This helped us identify opportunities and better understand how the users we interviewed use them.

Strategy

We drafted a solution based on what we learned from the user interviews. Next step was to test it and launch a pilot program with users. The initial solution was as follows:

01. Eliminate the need for physical cards

02. Instantaneous transfers within the app

03. Direct transfer to the final destination, no intermediaries

04. Competitive 3% fee — lower than other alternatives

Ideation& Validation

As a product team, we brainstormed and refined our design through ideation sessions, iterating on the flow, copy, and how it would fit into the current product experience.

We then conducted user testing to gather feedback from existing clients.

Solution

We learned a lot from the user testing sessions regarding the flow, usability, copy, and interactions. We continuously iterate along the way after each interview.

Next, it was time for pilot testing. We refined our proposal and design and selected clients to participate.

Releases& Conclusion

The pilot was successful and yielded positive indicators in terms of usage, default rate, and revenue. We then decided to launch it in batches to prevent potential errors and gain insights as we progressed.

The project proved to be a success and phase out physical cards.

Following this achievement, Zippi secured a Series A funding round led by Tiger Capital.

Team <3

Senior Product Manager — Ludmilla Pontremolez

Senior Product Designer — Davi Shamá

Senior Full Stack Engineer — Italo Tabatinga

Full Stack Engineer — Ruy Barrichelo