People, Process, and Progress: Observations from Many Conversations
Whenever I start a new journey, I find myself reflecting on my professional experiences and what they’ve taught me. Hosting the Fintech Growth Talk and connecting with many ideas, innovations and experts has provided an opportunity to think about what led me here.
I’ve found that my career is driven by a common passion and purpose over the years. I love helping others. Whether it’s to grow online or in-person communities or facilitating consumers and commercial enterprises alike figure out what they need and how to get it, making the lives of others better in some way has been the driving force behind most of my career decisions.
And as the world continues to evolve, with innovative new technologies to connect and conduct commerce, I’ve found that three aspects are common to all successful ventures:
- People
- Process
- Progress
It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about developing new ways to pay for basic goods and services like food and housing, more commercialized discretionary spending, or other types of financial engagements. These three aspects play core roles in creating products that make a difference in people’s lives.
People
This is the core to any success or failure of a product or service. It doesn’t matter how innovative your technology is. People need to be at the center of everything you do. If your product doesn’t in some way improve people’s lives, it will likely fail. If your product doesn’t solve people’s problems, it will likely fail. If your product doesn’t consider people’s needs — be they material, emotional, psychological, or whatever — it will likely fail.
Process
Often, startups will have a vision of the future where their product or service is widely used and loved. And that’s a great place to start.
But too often, they fail to truly consider what the process is to get there. Or what processes and experiences the customers need to go through to incorporate a product or service into their lives. Some common process-oriented questions that need to be answered include:
- How does the product work and what is required to participate? Does it require a government ID? Do customers need to have a bank account already?
- What is the cost of participating? Is it absolutely free? Or are there other outside fees, such as data or SMS fees? I’ve seen product managers scratching their heads, wondering why no one is using their product, only to learn that customers need to pay something to another entity in order to use the product, effectively dissuading them from using it.
- What is required to build an ecosystem? What are the parts needed? For Fintechs, do they work with banks, online or brick and mortar retailers, or someone else altogether? Who needs to connect and collaborate to keep the ecosystem functional?
How long will a transaction or process take? Will this product deliver value in real-time? What is the customer’s expectation and how will this product help manage their expectations? It could be something as simple as an account transfer, but even that can vary broadly across countries and communities.
Progress
Any innovation must focus on creating value for its users and not just investors. But the most compelling technologies will also have the potential to impact society positively.
When planning out a long-term product roadmap, it’s important to consider the big picture benefit. Will the solution empower more people to be financially independent? Is it improving social conditions? Is it enabling more people to participate in the economy than before?
I strongly believe that the best, most successful products — particularly in payments and fintech where I’ve worked for many years — are those with a grander, socially-driven goal. That doesn’t mean the business developing the solution or their shareholders shouldn’t make money, of course. But the most compelling and interesting products grow the pie rather than take a larger slice of it.
