Phase 2 | MVP
From April 2024.
We started designing the MVP
while we were still on our STWT
STWT (Phase 1) a mandatory step required by SEBI for any trading platform trying to enter the Equities space. This step involves showcasing a very basic version of the app/website which will be used for trading. On approval of the STWT auditor, the same flow would be made using new components and improved UI elements.
Role
Product designer | Team of 2
Project Type
MVP for Indian stocks, from ground up
Duration
February 2023 - March 2024
Problem statement
Aiming to enable users invest in Indian Stocks through clear understanding by simplifying flow, minimizing jargons and increasing discovaribility within the app which in turn brings down the learning curve.
Approach
Insights
Summary
We got a quantitative understanding from the users about their intent, platform choice, decision making, challenges, etc and wanted to further understand these aspects in depth.
Next Steps
We cohorted the respondents into people who already invest in Indian stocks and those don’t invest but plan to invest to understand more about the platform they currently use, how they make buy/sell decisions, the pain-points & challenges they currently face while trading in Indian stocks.
We were able to have insightful conversations with 27 users out of the 92 users that we reached out to and were able to understand their investment experience/journey.
We identified that most of our users are in the early stage of their Indian stocks journey (0-2 years), did affinity mapping to understand the needs of these users to help build the ideal platform to help them invest in Indian stocks.
Affinity mapped
based on the above research
Research
Listens to podcasts
Chooses Mutual funds based on info provided by Groww
Analyst calls
Invests based on friend's advice
Based on News
Follows Youtube channels/ influencers
Based on how stocks performed in the last 5 years
Mails from the current in use platfor
Google
strategies
Based on demand in market, PE Ratio, Cash Flow, Charts, ROE
Invests in FMCG products that he uses/consumes
Invests in large cap because it is more secure and not volatile
Chooses type of business he wants to invest in, after which he does DYOR (Favours tech stocks
Invests on dips
Invests in trending, top bought/ sold stocks
Wants & needs
Need product walkthrough videos
Advice should be with source
Wants advice as to what stocks would be good 1 year down the line based on macro and news
Wants mood of the market
Wants screener or Moneycontrol like info
Needs categorising like smallcase
Charges should be clear
Current experiences
User friendly and has a good referral program (Groww)
Quarterly report of stocks. It is useful in analysis (Upstox & Groww)
Simplicity (Groww)
Widely used (Kite)
Do not understand any of the data (Groww & Kite)
No inferences about the market (Kite)
Watchlist is restrictive, want more (Kite)
The three main screens and the problems
Home page: The decision making starts from here and the variety of stocks listed on the home is not enough, users are tired of seeing the redundant and infamous companies and even seeing unknown and random listed companies is not helping them with the execution of their new trade
Asset page: the information here seems to be monotonous, just numbers is not something that a new user will fairly want to see and perceive, there is no separation of summaries and advance information
Order pad: Confusion seemed to be everyones problem, people who are less aware usually play a safe game. Not everyone is sure of the product under which they are executing and order and what the the different order types, it just goes with the flow of any app they are using to execute thier trade
Design Goals
User stories with respect to personas
I constructed an extensive list of user narratives for each persona. This operation established the foundation for our MVP.
User
As a Trader
Action
I need to to place a trade in less time
Motivation
Seeing an opportunity in the market
Outcome
to meet the potential gain in near future
User
As a Fundamentalist
Action
I need to scan important data
Motivation
To ensure the stock is worth investing
Outcome
So that no other factor is responsible for my loss
User
As a Fundamentalist
Action
I need to acquire knowledge of any unfamiliar sector
Motivation
To make sure if there are any competitive stock in my research
Outcome
So that I am not in regret o0f not knowing about the industry already
User
Action
I need see stocks validated to sell
Motivation
as I am holding it for a while, and hearing its fall
Outcome
So that I dont have to face any loss on my gained profit
Design Goals
To target and to solve.
With all this information we were good to go ahead with our brainstorming sessions.
Usability | Learnability | Accessibility | Simple
Allowing users to discover stocks
How users relate stocks to the brands they use on a daily basis was still very unexplored, hence exploring
User scenario: Any new user is overwhelmed by landing on a stocks app, for them making a decision to invest is a big step but what next? They need something comforting, which engages them with the UI, I will call it a developing interest phase.
Future roadmap: Current flows includes some basic information incentivizing users in this flow is already in funnel along with some quality insights and analysis of the stocks that are being engaged on.
Asset page conversion : 63%
Sectoral stock discovery
Invest in ideas basiclally includes in itself around5-10 sectors like Semiconductors. persident's portfolio, oil & gas etc. allowing all the stocks displayed where they belong.
User scenario: For a fundamentalist it is important to acquire knowledge of sectors they are unfamiliar with, eazing discovery of stocks, Industry wise comparison, starring stocks in watchlist and so on.
Asset page conversion: 78.02%
Add to watchlist conversion : 47.45%
Order execution flow
Order execution flow comes up with complexities, we introduced the minimum order types in our MVP for retail and new users, where there learning curve is not sky rocketing, the future roadmap was to still introduce the advanced order types in a more concise way hence this was our foundation for an all in one order execution flow
User scenario: Around 80% of new and naive users are always overwhelmed with the execution flow, where they just usually go with the flow pressing the safe buttons and placing the order.
Iterations
April 2024 - March 2025
In the span of 11 months there were already 10L+ downloads in which, KYC signups and trade ready users have improved significantly (will talk about it in more detail in phase 3)! There was much more to iterate on our basic foundation, following the data and the features parked for later.
10L+
8L+
Signups
6L+
Trade ready
Designing the whole product from scratch was quite an experience, I have developed great understanding of so many things
An important area of development for me was prototyping. I discovered how fun is rapid iterations based on feedback in addition to creating something that looks clean. I learned something new from every iteration of the prototype, whether it is related to functionality or usability. I embraced the idea that failure in early stages is only a stepping stone to improvement.
My learning approach was significantly aided by collaboration as well. Collaborating with interdisciplinary groups has enhanced my appreciation for diverse viewpoints and abilities. It made me realize how important open communication is and how different perspectives may result in a stronger final product.
Finally, I became more aware of the need to strike a balance between creativity and pragmatism. Though it's simple to become buried in creative concepts, I discovered that maintaining
