Eliminating debt & overdraft fees

ROLE

Product Designer

Visual Designer

COLLABORATORS

Founder

Product Manager

SKILLS

Challenge

Help improve core MVP flows to the product and direction.

I worked with Founder Max Klein and project manager Josh Puckett to scope out key flows to create an app that helps people manage and pay off debt more effectively. With a tight turnaround to ship an MVP feature, here are my findings from research that helped inform my decision-making.

Job Market Post-Pandemic

In January 2021, everything was still greatly impacted by COVID-19. Layoffs hit hardest for young people and people of color, making this the intended audience for OttoPay.

Job Market Post-Pandemic

In January 2021, everything was still greatly impacted by COVID-19. Layoffs hit hardest for young people and people of color, making this the intended audience for OttoPay.

Irregular Payment Schedule

OttoPay is serving folks who have fluid streams of income, not the typical 9-to-5ers, where paychecks fluctuate on a weekly basis.

Irregular Payment Schedule

OttoPay is serving folks who have fluid streams of income, not the typical 9-to-5ers, where paychecks fluctuate on a weekly basis.

Unhappy Paths

From a business perspective, how often can OttoPay cover bills before the customer is unable to continue services? How can I design a fintech app that handles the uncomfortable conversations gracefully during a time of uncertainty?

Unhappy Paths

SOLUTION

Deliver a thoughtful and empathetic MVP to debt management and repayment.

Help improve core MVP flows to the product and direction.

OttoPay’s initial focus is to pay down debt by identifying recurring expenses and to cover bills interest-free. Here are the primary features I focused on for recurring expenses:

Debt Automation

OttoPay covers all recurring expenses interest-free on the customer's behalf to eliminate overdraft and late fees. In turn, Ottopay creates a personalized repayment strategy optimized for customers' ambiguous income flow.

Additionally, OttoPay will gently notify the customer when payments don’t go through and when app services discontinue.

Credit Monitoring

OttoPay offers credit monitoring services to help identify holistic financial health. That includes providing customers with an overview of the previous months and an analysis of recurring expense changes.

IMPACT

Aided in raising $4.5 M in seed round funding.

Help improve core MVP flows to the product and direction.

Influenced product roadmap to build key offerings and built the initial iOS end-to-end app designs for debt management, aiding in the company's raising $4.5M million in seed round funding.

Acquired by J.G. Wentworth in 2024.

Help improve core MVP flows to the product and direction.

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