BUDGETLY
End-to-end MVP experience for an early stage fintech startup
Role
Freelance UI/UX Designer
Team
UI/UX Designer · 2 Founders · 1 Engineer
Platform
Desktop, Mobile
Budgetly is an early stage startup that allows users of diverse financial backgrounds to take charge of their finances. This project involved leading design of their end-to-end MVP.
$60k
pre-seed funding raised using my prototypes
0 to 1
end-to-end MVP, desktop and mobile
PROBLEM SPACE
In an evolving economy, people lack accessible tools to meaningfully track and understand their finances
The challenge
Create a finance tracking experience with unique capabilities across other personal finance platforms in the US.
The audience
Financial awareness across all demographics, particularly young adults who are just beginning to manage their own money.
The opportunity
Meaningfully differentiate from established budgeting apps through market research, whitespace opportunities, and launch-ready design.
STRATEGY
The Approach
Creating an MVP
As an early-stage startup in the personal finance space, the team needed a product that could meaningfully differentiate from established budgeting apps.
I approached this by conducting market research, identifying whitespace opportunities, and translating those insights into focused ideation, interactive prototypes, and launch-ready designs.
RESEARCH
User Journey Mapping
Journey mapping surfaced emotional friction across the existing flow, highlighting accessibility gaps and visually dense touch points that increased cognitive load.
Critical issue - Sign up flow creates friction with upfront payment requirement (biggest drop-off risk)
Major strength - Dashboard UI and data visualization are excellent - the product's strongest selling point
Quick win - Add social login options and move payment collection after trial to reduce signup friction
RESEARCH
Competitive Analysis
I conducted a competitive analysis to identify market trends, uncover opportunities, and define how Budgetly could differentiate from established players across Mint, NerdWallet, PocketGuard, and Personal Capital.
RESEARCH
SWOT Analysis
I conducted a SWOT analysis to clarify Budgetly's strengths, vulnerabilities, and positioning within the competitive landscape.
Strengths
Clear understanding of target base with prior research on wants and pain points. Easy-to-understand sections, strong branding, comprehensive budgeting and spending history with graphics. Free to sign up with low friction.
Strengths
Needs expansion into investment feature analytics. Automated savings not yet available. Value prop screens need to be built out to show users the breakdown of the app.
Opportunities
Wide target base with strong potential for younger demographics. Financial awareness is increasingly important. Illustrations of personal data help users visualize and adjust spending habits.
Threats
Established competitors like Mint and NerdWallet already have strong user bases. Emerging privacy concerns (GDPR/CCPA). Personal finance apps tend to look similar - the UI needs to stand out.
RESEARCH
Qualitative Interviews
I conducted peer interviews to understand how individuals currently track and manage their finances. These conversations surfaced recurring pain points and behavioral patterns that directly informed the design direction.
College Student, Early 20s
"I have issues keeping track of my finances in college. I don't fully know how much I am spending until my parents send me my bill..."
Young working Adult, Mid-20s
"I'm more financially aware than I have ever been since I got laid off due to Covid. I really try to control my spending, especially through my credit card. I don't have a finance-tracking app at the moment, but I use my bank's personal app."
Working Adult, Mid-40s
"As a working adult, I have to say I am not as careful with my spending as I should be. I wish I was more financially responsible. I usually just check my bank statement and make sure my spending isn't too excessive."
FINAL DESIGNS
Desktop and Mobile Experience
End-to-end MVP design across desktop and mobile — covering Overview, Budget, Wallet, and Trends.
Overview
Desktop
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Mobile
Budget
Desktop
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Mobile
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Wallet
Desktop
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Mobile
Trends + Net Worth
Desktop
Mobile
OUTCOME
Outcome
Pre-seed funding raised
$60k
Pre-seed funding raised
A few months after the project concluded, the founders shared that they had successfully raised a pre-seed round using the prototypes I designed in their investor demos.
Seeing the designs contribute directly to fundraising validated both the product vision and the design process we established.