From hidden gem to market leader: strategic UX transformation of an Investment Product
From hidden gem to market leader: strategic UX transformation of an Investment Product
🚀 Impact Highlights
When a promising investment product launched on mobile with minimal traction, I led a strategic design intervention that transformed user discovery and contextual placement. Through data-driven analysis and cross-functional collaboration over 8 weeks, we achieved 160%+ growth in mobile subscriptions (August→September), catapulting the mobile app from last place to the #1 acquisition channel, surpassing both the web-based Home Broker platform and direct specialist recommendations while expanding total market size rather than cannibalizing existing channels.
🚀 Impact Highlights
When a promising investment product launched on mobile with minimal traction, I led a strategic design intervention that transformed user discovery and contextual placement. Through data-driven analysis and cross-functional collaboration over 8 weeks, we achieved 160%+ growth in mobile subscriptions (August→September), catapulting the mobile app from last place to the #1 acquisition channel, surpassing both the web-based Home Broker platform and direct specialist recommendations while expanding total market size rather than cannibalizing existing channels.
Project Summary
Project Summary
What: Strategic optimization of mobile app subscription funnel and contextual discovery for investment management product
For Whom: Retail investors seeking hands-off, professionally managed investment solutions
When: Mid-2024, 8-week optimization sprint following product launch on mobile platform
How: Data-driven mobile UX strategy, cross-squad collaboration, rapid experimentation framework
Why: Transform underperforming mobile channel to compete with leading web platform and specialist recommendations
The investment product enables users to invest in diversified stock portfolios with professional oversight—combining expert curation with automated execution for busy professionals and beginner-to-intermediate investors who want professional portfolio management without requiring deep financial expertise or active trading.
What: Strategic optimization of mobile app subscription funnel and contextual discovery for investment management product
For Whom: Retail investors seeking hands-off, professionally managed investment solutions
When: Mid-2024, 8-week optimization sprint following product launch on mobile platform
How: Data-driven mobile UX strategy, cross-squad collaboration, rapid experimentation framework
Why: Transform underperforming mobile channel to compete with leading web platform and specialist recommendations
The investment product enables users to invest in diversified stock portfolios with professional oversight—combining expert curation with automated execution for busy professionals and beginner-to-intermediate investors who want professional portfolio management without requiring deep financial expertise or active trading.
What: AI-powered investment mentor with three specialized conversational agents designed to guide beginners through psychological and educational barriers to investing.
For Whom: First-time investors globally struggling with fear, complexity, and lack of trusted guidance, representing 15% of all US investors who started in 2020 alone (Bankrate, 2025).
When: 48-hour rapid prototyping during Alura's AI + Design + Code intensive program.
How: Multi-agent architecture with smart routing, real-time Brazilian market data integration, and anxiety-first conversation design.
Why: To transform the 79% who find investing intimidating (NerdWallet, 2024) by providing fear-reducing, educational guidance that builds autonomous decision-making confidence.
The Business Challenge
The Business Challenge
A well-designed investment product was significantly underperforming on mobile despite strong value proposition. When the product launched on the mobile app in July 2024, the company had established acquisition channels with concerning performance gaps:
Historical Performance (Pre-Mobile Product Launch):
Specialist recommendations: Over 500 monthly subscriptions initially, declining by more than 50% over two months
Web-based Home Broker platform: Over 350 monthly subscriptions initially, declining by approximately 60% over two months
Mobile app: Product launched July 2024 with minimal initial traction
The mobile gap represented both opportunity and risk for a digital-first financial services company. While existing channels showed declining performance, mobile—the fastest-growing user touchpoint—was barely registering. Initial data revealed friction points specific to the mobile experience: 50% of users abandoned on the first informational screen, and the product was buried in 7th position within low-traffic areas of the app.
A well-designed investment product was significantly underperforming on mobile despite strong value proposition. When the product launched on the mobile app in July 2024, the company had established acquisition channels with concerning performance gaps:
Historical Performance (Pre-Mobile Product Launch):
Specialist recommendations: Over 500 monthly subscriptions initially, declining by more than 50% over two months
Web-based Home Broker platform: Over 350 monthly subscriptions initially, declining by approximately 60% over two months
Mobile app: Product launched July 2024 with minimal initial traction
The mobile gap represented both opportunity and risk for a digital-first financial services company. While existing channels showed declining performance, mobile—the fastest-growing user touchpoint—was barely registering. Initial data revealed friction points specific to the mobile experience: 50% of users abandoned on the first informational screen, and the product was buried in 7th position within low-traffic areas of the app.
💡 The real challenge wasn't product-market fit—it was mobile-specific discoverability and user context optimization in a declining overall market, where users had investment interest but weren't encountering the solution through the mobile channel when they needed it most.
💡 The real challenge wasn't product-market fit—it was mobile-specific discoverability and user context optimization in a declining overall market, where users had investment interest but weren't encountering the solution through the mobile channel when they needed it most.
My Role & Strategic Approach
My Role & Strategic Approach
Role: Lead Product Designer for transactional experiences
Duration: 8 weeks (July-September 2024)
Stakeholders: Variable Income squad, Showcase team, Marketing, Technology teams
Key Tools: Google Analytics, Figma, cross-functional workshop facilitation
I took ownership of the entire subscription funnel optimization, requiring cross-squad collaboration and stakeholder negotiation with multiple product teams who owned critical user touchpoints. My approach centered on understanding user behavior patterns and building consensus across teams—facilitating stakeholder workshops, analyzing user flow data, and designing targeted interventions based on effort vs. impact prioritization.
Strategic methodology: Established baseline metrics, implemented rapid experimentation cycles, and created a framework for measuring each intervention independently. Key success factor: Building compelling business cases to secure buy-in from teams that owned high-traffic areas where we needed to implement changes.
Role: Lead Product Designer for transactional experiences
Duration: 8 weeks (July-September 2024)
Stakeholders: Variable Income squad, Showcase team, Marketing, Technology teams
Key Tools: Google Analytics, Figma, cross-functional workshop facilitation
I took ownership of the entire subscription funnel optimization, requiring cross-squad collaboration and stakeholder negotiation with multiple product teams who owned critical user touchpoints. My approach centered on understanding user behavior patterns and building consensus across teams—facilitating stakeholder workshops, analyzing user flow data, and designing targeted interventions based on effort vs. impact prioritization.
Strategic methodology: Established baseline metrics, implemented rapid experimentation cycles, and created a framework for measuring each intervention independently. Key success factor: Building compelling business cases to secure buy-in from teams that owned high-traffic areas where we needed to implement changes.
Key Design Decisions
Key Design Decisions
🎯 Strategic Repositioning in High-Intent Areas
Moved the product shortcut from 7th to 3rd position within the investment section through cross-team negotiation and stakeholder alignment. Since our team didn't own these high-traffic pages, I had to build compelling business cases and negotiate with other product squads to secure better positioning. This wasn't just about visibility—it was about contextual relevance and organizational influence. Users in this section already demonstrated investment intent, making it the perfect discovery moment for automated solutions.
⚡ Friction Reduction Through Flow Simplification
Eliminated the intermediate informational landing page that caused 50% drop-off. Users reaching this point already had intent—they needed immediate value demonstration through portfolio performance data, not more educational content. Direct routing to portfolio selection increased engagement by over 200%.
🎪 Contextual Communication in Stock Showcase
Added a strategic trigger within the individual stock recommendation area through collaborative negotiation with the Showcase squad. Since this high-converting area was owned by another team, I had to demonstrate clear value proposition and secure buy-in for including our automated portfolio messaging. This created a narrative bridge between manual stock picking and professional portfolio management, becoming responsible for 75%+ of mobile subscriptions.
📊 Data-Driven Iteration Framework
Established weekly tracking and rapid experimentation cycles with clear success metrics. Each intervention was measured independently, allowing us to compound successful changes while maintaining agility for quick pivots when needed.
🎯 Strategic Repositioning in High-Intent Areas
Moved the product shortcut from 7th to 3rd position within the investment section through cross-team negotiation and stakeholder alignment. Since our team didn't own these high-traffic pages, I had to build compelling business cases and negotiate with other product squads to secure better positioning. This wasn't just about visibility—it was about contextual relevance and organizational influence. Users in this section already demonstrated investment intent, making it the perfect discovery moment for automated solutions.
⚡ Friction Reduction Through Flow Simplification
Eliminated the intermediate informational landing page that caused 50% drop-off. Users reaching this point already had intent—they needed immediate value demonstration through portfolio performance data, not more educational content. Direct routing to portfolio selection increased engagement by over 200%.
🎪 Contextual Communication in Stock Showcase
Added a strategic trigger within the individual stock recommendation area through collaborative negotiation with the Showcase squad. Since this high-converting area was owned by another team, I had to demonstrate clear value proposition and secure buy-in for including our automated portfolio messaging. This created a narrative bridge between manual stock picking and professional portfolio management, becoming responsible for 75%+ of mobile subscriptions.
📊 Data-Driven Iteration Framework
Established weekly tracking and rapid experimentation cycles with clear success metrics. Each intervention was measured independently, allowing us to compound successful changes while maintaining agility for quick pivots when needed.
Disclaimer: The following visuals were designed by me and serve solely as illustrative mockups. They do not represent actual screens from the company’s internal products or user interfaces. For confidentiality reasons, all visuals have been recreated to simulate the original design logic without exposing proprietary information.
Disclaimer: The following visuals were designed by me and serve solely as illustrative mockups. They do not represent actual screens from the company’s internal products or user interfaces. For confidentiality reasons, all visuals have been recreated to simulate the original design logic without exposing proprietary information.
Validation & Results
Validation & Results
Quantified Growth Metrics:
Mobile optimization impact: August → September 160%+ growth in monthly subscriptions
Channel transformation: 8-week sprint from optimization start to market leadership
Competitive achievement: Mobile app surpassed both Home Broker and specialist recommendation channels
Market leadership: Mobile became majority market share holder, outperforming established channels
Market Expansion, Not Cannibalization: Critical analysis revealed that mobile growth represented genuine market expansion rather than redistribution. Tracking performance across all channels during optimization period:
August vs September Performance:
Mobile app: Substantial growth while other channels remained stable
Specialist recommendations: Maintained consistent performance (~250 subscriptions)
Home Broker: Maintained consistent performance (~170 subscriptions)
Total market grew by over 100% during optimization period—proving the intervention unlocked latent demand rather than stealing from existing channels. This indicates successful identification and capture of underserved user segments who previously weren't engaging with any acquisition channel.
Cross-Functional Success: Success led to adoption of similar contextual discovery principles across other investment products and established a framework for cross-squad collaboration on complex user journeys. Weekly optimization cycles became standard practice for the investment products team.
Quantified Growth Metrics:
Mobile optimization impact: August → September 160%+ growth in monthly subscriptions
Channel transformation: 8-week sprint from optimization start to market leadership
Competitive achievement: Mobile app surpassed both Home Broker and specialist recommendation channels
Market leadership: Mobile became majority market share holder, outperforming established channels
Market Expansion, Not Cannibalization: Critical analysis revealed that mobile growth represented genuine market expansion rather than redistribution. Tracking performance across all channels during optimization period:
August vs September Performance:
Mobile app: Substantial growth while other channels remained stable
Specialist recommendations: Maintained consistent performance (~250 subscriptions)
Home Broker: Maintained consistent performance (~170 subscriptions)
Total market grew by over 100% during optimization period—proving the intervention unlocked latent demand rather than stealing from existing channels. This indicates successful identification and capture of underserved user segments who previously weren't engaging with any acquisition channel.
Cross-Functional Success: Success led to adoption of similar contextual discovery principles across other investment products and established a framework for cross-squad collaboration on complex user journeys. Weekly optimization cycles became standard practice for the investment products team.
What I Learned
What I Learned
Market Expansion Beats Channel Competition
The most valuable insight was discovering that well-designed mobile experiences can grow total market size rather than just redistributing existing customers. The substantial market growth during our 8-week optimization while maintaining other channels' stability proved that strategic mobile optimization unlocks previously underserved user segments who weren't engaging through any existing channel.
Context Beats Visibility Every Time.
The most impactful change wasn't moving from 7th to 3rd position—it was the contextual showcase placement that captured 75% of subscriptions. Timing and relevance matter more than prominence in product discovery, especially for complex financial products where user intent and context are crucial.
Cross-Squad Collaboration Multiplies Design Impact
Working across multiple product teams didn't just solve the immediate problem—it created a framework for future optimizations and established design as a strategic function rather than just visual execution. This collaborative approach became a template for other complex product initiatives.
Data-Driven Design Enables Rapid Scaling
By establishing clear baselines and tracking performance across all channels weekly, we could compound successful interventions while proving market expansion rather than cannibalization. This comprehensive measurement approach was crucial for gaining organizational buy-in for continued mobile investment.
Mobile-First Strategy Can Outperform Traditional Channels
This project proved that mobile experiences, when properly optimized, can surpass traditional acquisition channels like web platforms and human specialists. The key was understanding that mobile users represent an underserved market segment with different context, intent patterns, and interaction preferences, requiring platform-specific optimization rather than simply adapting desktop experiences.
This case study demonstrates strategic mobile product optimization, data-driven design methodology, and cross-functional leadership in transforming underperforming mobile channels into market-leading acquisition platforms while expanding total addressable market.
Note on Confidentiality: Due to the strategic and confidential nature of this project, all metrics have been rounded to demonstrate impact while protecting sensitive business information. Visual materials and interface examples have been adapted to showcase design solutions without revealing specific company or product identities.
Market Expansion Beats Channel Competition
The most valuable insight was discovering that well-designed mobile experiences can grow total market size rather than just redistributing existing customers. The substantial market growth during our 8-week optimization while maintaining other channels' stability proved that strategic mobile optimization unlocks previously underserved user segments who weren't engaging through any existing channel.
Context Beats Visibility Every Time.
The most impactful change wasn't moving from 7th to 3rd position—it was the contextual showcase placement that captured 75% of subscriptions. Timing and relevance matter more than prominence in product discovery, especially for complex financial products where user intent and context are crucial.
Cross-Squad Collaboration Multiplies Design Impact
Working across multiple product teams didn't just solve the immediate problem—it created a framework for future optimizations and established design as a strategic function rather than just visual execution. This collaborative approach became a template for other complex product initiatives.
Data-Driven Design Enables Rapid Scaling
By establishing clear baselines and tracking performance across all channels weekly, we could compound successful interventions while proving market expansion rather than cannibalization. This comprehensive measurement approach was crucial for gaining organizational buy-in for continued mobile investment.
Mobile-First Strategy Can Outperform Traditional Channels
This project proved that mobile experiences, when properly optimized, can surpass traditional acquisition channels like web platforms and human specialists. The key was understanding that mobile users represent an underserved market segment with different context, intent patterns, and interaction preferences, requiring platform-specific optimization rather than simply adapting desktop experiences.
This case study demonstrates strategic mobile product optimization, data-driven design methodology, and cross-functional leadership in transforming underperforming mobile channels into market-leading acquisition platforms while expanding total addressable market.
Note on Confidentiality: Due to the strategic and confidential nature of this project, all metrics have been rounded to demonstrate impact while protecting sensitive business information. Visual materials and interface examples have been adapted to showcase design solutions without revealing specific company or product identities.
Let's work together
I'm currently open to remote design opportunities, whether freelance, contract, or full-time. I help teams build high-impact digital products through a mix of strategy, design, and user research, with a strong focus on usability, clarity, and business alignment.
If you're hiring or looking to collaborate, feel free to reach out directly, or connect with me through platforms like Upwork or Contra, whatever works best for you.
📮 Email: mayaralmeid.design@gmail.com
🔗 Hire me on Upwork or Contra
Let’s bring your next idea to life 😉
Let's work together
I'm currently open to remote design opportunities, whether freelance, contract, or full-time. I help teams build high-impact digital products through a mix of strategy, design, and user research, with a strong focus on usability, clarity, and business alignment.
If you're hiring or looking to collaborate, feel free to reach out directly, or connect with me through platforms like Upwork or Contra, whatever works best for you.
📮 Email: mayaralmeid.design@gmail.com
🔗 Hire me on Upwork or Contra
Let’s bring your next idea to life 😉
Let's work together
I'm currently open to remote design opportunities, whether freelance, contract, or full-time. I help teams build high-impact digital products through a mix of strategy, design, and user research, with a strong focus on usability, clarity, and business alignment.
If you're hiring or looking to collaborate, feel free to reach out directly, or connect with me through platforms like Upwork or Contra, whatever works best for you.
📮 Email: mayaralmeid.design@gmail.com
🔗 Hire me on Upwork or Contra
Let’s bring your next idea to life 😉