How might we simplify cash flow management for small business owners?
My Role
- Lead Product Designer
- UI Developer: built interactive web prototype for testing utilizing AngularJS
- Workshop Co-Facilitator
Work Type
- Agency work
Team Members
- Internal: Lane Goldstone (Engagement Lead / PM), Lara Fedoroff (Engagement Lead / PM)
- Kabbage external core: David Snitkof (Head of Data), Troy Deus (Head of Product), Laquisha Milner (PM), Casey Hobbs (Product), Adison Ragsdale (Mobile Lead), Michelle Monaco (Customer Loyalty & insights), Geof Alexander (Head of Product + Partner Delivery)
Introduction
Kabbage was created in 2011 and was one of the first companies to leverage technology to offer small businesses flexible lines of credit that they could get approved for in as little as 10 minutes.
Kabbage enlisted our help to diversify their product suite beyond just lending, seeking to identify other potential services that could be beneficial to their customers.
Sprint One: Foundations.
Facilitating company-wide ideation workshops
Internal Team Workshops
During the beginning of our engagement, my team and I guided Kabbage through various design thinking workshops. Core stakeholders included Kabbage’s CEO, CPO, and CTO. Together, we worked to clarify their goals with Cash Flow as a Service.
Sprint Two: Talking to SBO’s.
When we go out and talk to real people
Finding patterns through user research (Jobs to be done)
We conducted a round of research fieldwork with small business owners to develop a holistic understanding of how they handle their finances.
We listened for patterns of use to identify their challenges and understand how Kabbage could fit into their overall financial workflow.
We spoke to over 15 SBO’s, 
gathering data on their cash flow patterns and pain points 
to identify key attributes that drove behavior. 
From that, we developed attribute models 
of customer archetypes.
From our research, we identified four core types: 1) the simple solopreneur service business (I sell my time), 2) the complex, project-based service business (I assemble people and materials to do work), 3) the project-based installation service business (I buy stuff and install or improve it), and 4) the recurring revenue service business (I manage people or things to do work).
Research takeaways and patterns found.
We found that customers needed help with:
Covering chunky expenses
Trying to handle random, unexpected expenses is often a daunting experience for SBOs
Preparing for slow times
Unanticipated periods of business slowdown could kill a business
Seeing the big picture
SBOs longed for a birds-eye view of their cash flow, leaving more time for their true love – their business.
After our research, I helped craft a product opportunities document sketching a vision for a potential central hub .
Sprint Three: Design
Designing and refining features based on user needs
Iteration One
In the first phase of designs, we tested out multiple prototypes with a variety of users.
Iteration Two
We then iterated to include customer feedback, and created a coded live site for users to test.
The final task was creating an easy-to-use mobile native app experience .
The Results
17
Percent increase in overall business since project start
1
Amount Kabbage sold for after the launch of their CFAAS product suite
“By far the best team I’ve ever worked with”
Head of Kabbage Lending
Final Thoughts
Building CFAAS was an initiative that took more than a year and it would not have been possible with the amazing support from a variety of folks on the Kabbage team.
The contributions made by our team sparked the development of three additional products for Kabbage, a pivotal advancement that ultimately paved the way for the company’s successful acquisition of $1b by American Express.