Kanishk Gupta

my case studies

Here is my take on the problem statements which were of particular interest to me. For ease of scanning, these have been structured as follows:

Metrics

Approach

Recommendations

Artefacts

Improving customer awareness and acquisition for smallcase’s innovative stock market investing product

Metrics

Activation Rate increases by 5%(become 15%) from the current value of 10%
Click through rate of the Login CTA button
Click through rate of the spotlight smallcases
# number of impressions of the table vs. homepage page views

Approach

Understanding the Opportunity

Smallcase currently caters to around 30 lakh retail users transacting over 12,500 crore. While it has been gaining traction at a rapid pace, especially among the DIY and market savvy investors, a significant opportunity remains in tapping mutual fund investors (monthly equity SIP inflows ranging from 10,000 to 25000 crore), who would be willing, as well as could be nudged into semi-active form of investing through smallcases for increased returns.

Approach

User journey and identification of pain points

We look at various stages the user goes through while using the product (Discovery, Onboarding and Usage of core product) and identify opportunities for product improvement.

We take in to account 'User Feedback' from Playstore and App Store reviews basis which identify high impact problems which affect large number of users, namely
a. Very limited ways to compare among different small cases
b. Suggestions for smallcases to invest in not in sync with user requirements
c. 1-Day change, XIRR calculation to understand portfolio returns better
d. Better communication of how investing through smallcase is superior to mutual funds

Recommendations

Showcasing smallcase's benefits vis-à-vis mutual funds & DIY investing

On the homepage provide return calculator (SIP & Lumpsum) comparing popular mutual funds returns vs similar themed smallcase returns net of fees
Highlight in a section on the homepage called ‘Why smallcase’ with Pros & Cons such as
a) Hidden costs associated with mutual funds vs. transparency that comes with smallcases,
b) Cost comparison table
c) Lockin period of both
d) Ease of execution
Analyzing the solutions for value vs. effort, we recommend adding a 'Why smallcase' section in homepage

Recommendations

Adding criteria for smallcase comparison

Add a compare smallcase feature where users can select 3-4 smallcases and compare them on parameters such as advisor experience, launch date, total subscribers, risk/return parameters, etc
Add feature of rating of smallcases by users based on relevant criteria
Display upfront along with the smallcase, details such as fund size managed by the advisor, experience, market cap focus, Annualized as well as absolute returns, sector allocation, etc.
Analyzing the solutions for value vs. effort, we recommend displaying smallcase details upfront

Interested to know more?

Detailed
Document

Catapulting Rupeek into next phase of user growth

Started in 2015, Rupeek is India’s leading asset-backed, digital lending fintech platform. Rupeek has digitised the entire process of obtaining secured credit against gold holdings, allowing users to get instant loans at their doorsteps. It currently operates in more than 35 cities and by 2021 has scaled to $1billion of loan disbursals annually.

Metrics

Increase in signups over next 3 month period over the preceding period
Percentage of users opting for different language
Retention rate of users who opt for their preferred language

Approach

Opportunity Sizing & Competition

Consumers hold about $1.5 trillion of gold, mostly in jewellery but gold-backed loans account for only about $150 billion, mostly from street-corner moneylenders and pawnbrokers, with traditional banks making up just 35%. Traditional gold loan companies Mannapuram and Muthoot Finance hold about 70% market share in the organized segment.

Rupeek competes with other fintechs gold loan providers such as IndiaGold (founded in 2020) and Ruptok (founded in 2020). We look at number of mobile app downloads to get a sense of mobile app popularity:
1. Rupeek: 100k +
2. IndiaGold: 1 million +
3. Ruptok: 500+
4. Manappuram Gold loan: 1 million +
5. Muthoot: 1 million +
It is clear that Rupeek lags behind and we could study competitor offerings to enhance our product

Approach

Identifying growth drivers

1. Majority of gold holdings lie with the elder generation and rural population who have received it from their previous generations. They see it as a valued possession passed down from ancestors.

2. Investments in gold and gold products has always fascinated Indian consumers. India also has a vast network of jewelry shops across the country.

3. Transactions related to gold requires trust from customers. They would listen to their relatives & friends and take feedback before engaging with gold related service providers

Recommendations

Rural users feel uncomfortable with an English UI or mobile app

Introduce different languages on the mobile app for customers to choose as per tier preference
In app blogs/ articles educating customers about gold monetisation through loans and comparison with other loan options
Introduce tutorial for app navigation for new users

New avenues of growth in investments in gold and allied processes

Introduce purchase of Digital gold/ Gold ETF/ Gold bonds etc.
Introduce purchase of gold coins with home delivery.
Introduce loans against digital gold purchased

Recommendations

Partnership with gold jewelry sellers

Make trusted jewelry shops as outlets to enable online loans or as collection centre
Advertise in jewelry shops

Referrals through distributors, financial advisors & village level influencers

Create local champions who spread knowledge and promote Rupeek through distribution of merchandise , gifts etc.
Conduct workshops educating rural people on how they can monetize their gold, benefits vis-a-vis unorganized lending
Engage finance influencers on Youtube, Twitter, etc. to promote Rupeek with special codes for attractive discounts on processing fee/ interest rates etc.
Engage finance influencers on Youtube, Twitter, etc. to promote Rupeek with special codes for attractive discounts on processing fee/ interest rates etc.

Interested to know more?

Detailed
Document

Improve the pricing page of Postman (SaaS based API development and management Indian unicorn)

Increase sign ups at the pricing page: People visit the pricing page but drop off at sign up even for the free plan.

Metrics

Percentage of users opting for support call, for users shown modified pricing page (test) vs the old page (control).
Conversion rate for sign ups after sales call received (to test if sales support leads to higher sign ups)

Approach

Analyzing data

We have been consistently rated better than peers in the industry, however our signups have remained flattish despite higher yoy visits on the website’s pricing page during the last 6 months. Hence, a significant opportunity is lost between website visit and conversion.

We believe the problem is not with the pricing or the product. We suspect, lack of a key UI feature and associated backend support is responsible for the lack of conversion of website visits into sign ups.

Approach

Identifying user needs

Customers are interested in the product however, before signing up or buying any of the plans they want to get their queries resolved (maybe regarding suitable plans, add on features, etc.)

Currently the Contact Sales button is located at the bottom of the website, and directs to a form filling page. However, users might need a quicker addressal of their queries either telephonic or email.

Recommendations

Simplifying contacting sales team

Currently contacting sales is a cumbersome process and possibly results in lost sales. We intend to simplify this by providing contact details upfront. Plan is to add 'Contact Us' toll free number.
Introduce Live Chat with sales support on the pricing page.
Add Customer Feedback success stories to the page for emphasis on the user benefits. Additionally add case studies of how Postman has been useful for customers.
Based on value vs. effort analysis, we prioritize adding 'Contact Us' toll free number as our primary actionable item.

Interested to know more?

Detailed
Document

My Product Observations

How Apna created LinkedIn for Blue Collar worker

Apna is a digital hiring startup in India that connects millions of blue-collar workers to employers. It boasts of 2 crore plus users, 2 lakh plus employers and 50 lakhs plus jobs, all within 2 years of incorporation.

Apna app has redesigned languages and uses a mix of English and local language. People see English as a very aspirational language but are not fully comfortable with it, at the same time using local language helps them communicate with confidence.
Apna also builds a digital profile and give the job-seeker a personal website along with a visiting card. The idea of having a visiting card itself is aspirational.
Apna also utilizes communities where people can share their work and also speak to other workers with similar skillsets. This helps build trust and confidence.
Apna uses algorithm which shows jobs posted by employers to right people with right skills and vice versa.

Why was Canva successful in disrupting the graphic design market

Canva provides graphic design software as a service; it is an online collaborative platform dedicated to people who aren’t graphic designers and don’t have funds to hire one. Canva has more than 60 million monthly active users across 190 countries.

Canva created easy to use and intuitive design tools competing with Adobe's offering which was a much more complicated and expensive software to do similar things, and required months of training.
It utilized a SaaS based model as compared to its legacy competitors which were stuck on on-premise deployment. This resulted in reduced costs and maintenance, faster upgrades and better customer service.
It added “teams” capabilities so employees within organizations could work together on projects. It purchased stock photo libraries and also provided the ability to make video content.

Education

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my case studies

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My Product Observations