Using product led growth to transform shared expenses into a strategic growth engine

2025 · Finanzguru
Introduction
As Lead Product Designer, I owned the end to end design of Split and delivered the MVP in under three months, enabling viral growth, six figure adoption and a 4.8 App Store rating. The result was a simple, intuitive cost splitting experience that integrated seamlessly with Finanzguru and fuelled organic adoption.
Problem Statement
Sharing expenses is very common, but competitor tools are clunky, ad-driven and disconnected from real financial activity. Our data highlighted strong demand for integrated cost sharing, and its absence contributed to user churn.
Goal
MY ROLE
Lead Product Designer
MY contribution
User Research
Visual design
Interaction design
Prototyping
Marketing communication
Stakeholder management
TIMELINE
6 months
Apr–Oct 2025
TEAM
Product Design
Development
Product Management
Data
GET tHE APP
Key features
Adding expenses automatically
🚩 Challenge: Manually entering expenses is time-consuming and easy to forget.

🚀 Outcome: We integrated Split with Finanzguru to let users share their transactions directly without typing.
Settle up instantly
🚩 Challenge: Competitor apps add friction because users must ask for payment details and enter them manually, slowing down repayments.

🚀 Outcome: By linking Split with Finanzguru, users can initiate transfers with pre-filled details and send money instantly.
Custom split rules
🚀 Outcome: We introduced flexible split options (custom, even, percentage, shares) and smart autofill. Users can also save their preferred mode as the default.
Design Process
I owned the full design process for Split, defining the user experience through research and prioritisation. I shipped the MVP in under three months and spent another two implementing users' feedback. The result was viral early growth and consistently positive reviews across iOS and Android, with a 4.8 star rating.
01—RESEARCH
I validated demand early through a fakedoor test
🧠 Key learning: The fakedoor experiment revealed a double digit click through rate and a meaningful share of users willing to create a group, confirming clear interest and demand for shared finances before any development began.
02—USER TESTING
I conducted usability interviews to identify gaps and opportunities
🧠 “Users want…”
  • ...a clear separation of personal vs. shared expenses in stats and insights.
  • ...automatic syncing of shared expenses with real bank transactions is a key unmet need.
  • ...reduced social friction of chasing others for payments is crucial for adoption.
03—DEFINING THE MVP SCOPE
After reviewing the competitive landscape, I defined the MVP scope together with PM and engineering.
🚩 Challenge: We had limited time before the summer travel season and needed to launch with enough differentiation to stand out from competitors, while still keeping the scope realistic for an MVP.

🚀 Outcome: I translated user feedback, pain points and desires into jobs to be done that shaped which features were essential for the first release.
04—LAUNCHING THE MVP
We launched the MVP in under 4 months from start.
🚀 Outcome: Early positive feedback and quick adoption in the first few weeks.
05—collecting user feedback
I developed a framework for prioritising user feedback after launch.
🚀 Outcome: We organised user feedback by desirability, implementation velocity, and expected conversion impact.
06—implementing improvements
I focused on shipping the features with the highest user desirability, conversion potential, and fastest delivery path.
🚀 Outcome: This resulted in a reduction of support tickets, an increase in WAU/MAU, and higher ratings in both the App Store and Play Store.
Outcome
Strong Viral Growth
Split achieved a viral coefficient, indicating strong organic spread through group invitations.
6-Digit User Adoption
The app attracted a large user base within a very short period after launch, driven primarily by organic sharing and low-friction onboarding.
Excellent User Reviews
Split achieved 4.8 stars on the App Store, reflecting high satisfaction with the clarity, speed and simplicity of the UX.
Other Projects