From Insight to Habit
Repositioning a struggling PFM app into a habit-forming savings platform while managing a product pivot during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Outcome focus: repeat engagement, retention loops, behavioural activation
The challenge
Yolt had reached 1M users but faced existential challenges. The business model was not working. Open Banking connections were unstable 15 months post-launch. The product was entirely dependent on third parties. There was no owned core. The marketplace model was not driving sustainable revenue.
The company decided to pivot from aggregator to smart money platform in Q4 2019. Then COVID-19 hit during the Q1 2020 validation phase. Consumer spending behaviour changed dramatically overnight. Groceries up, travel down, deliveries up. The pivot had to adapt within the pivot.
The opportunity
I identified an underserved segment: the Stretched user. People within plus or minus 5% of net neutral cashflow each month. 12M in France, 10M in Italy, similar proportions in the UK. Young adults and young families. Lacking a savings buffer. Wanting financial security but unsure how to achieve it.
The pattern was clear. 82% think it is important to save for a rainy day. Only 32% have a 3-month buffer. Users said: "I know I should save. I know how to save. I just cannot save." This was a behaviour change problem, not an information problem. A gap between intention and habit.
The approach
1. Jobs-to-Be-Done framework
I defined three core jobs: Manage Money, Free Up Money, Reach Big Money Goals. The focus was progress toward goals with less anxiety. Not budgeting. Not tracking. The JTBD lens anchored product decisions and prioritisation.
2. Behavioural science application
I built habit loops at multiple frequencies. Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. Small wins, frequent rewards. Lowering effort, increasing motivation, providing timely triggers. The Aha Moment: first meaningful savings success within the first month.
3. Product strategy shift
From aggregation-only to owned account plus card for primary relationship. The Yolt account and debit card created ownership. Users could split money into variable spending (Yolt) and fixed expenses (connected accounts). No longer passive aggregation.
4. Activation design
Weekly challenges as the core engagement mechanism. Money Jars with boosters: round-ups, cashbacks, windfalls. The product was designed for activation, not just insight.
5. Real-time adaptation
I monitored and responded to COVID spending pattern changes. Behaviour can change. Jobs To Be Done remain stable. That principle held. The product had to adapt to new contexts while staying true to the core jobs.
The solution: Yolt 2.0
A habit-forming savings platform. Yolt account and debit card for variable daily expenses. Weekly challenges to build saving habits. Money Jar concept with multiple boosters. Personalised recommendations based on user behaviour and goals. The North Star: consistent progress toward user-defined savings goals.
North Star
Consistent progress toward user-defined savings goals
The execution
Six months from beta to full launch, despite pandemic disruption.
External validation
This shift in thinking and tone was reflected externally, including how the product was talked about and experienced.
"Unleashing the lizard brain within to outsmart dubious money decisions."LBB Online
Key insights
Behaviour can change, but Jobs To Be Done remain stable. COVID validated this. Spending patterns shifted. Travel collapsed. Groceries and deliveries surged. The core jobs did not. Users still wanted to manage money, free up money, and reach big goals. The product had to adapt to new contexts while staying true to that frame.
Pivoting during a pandemic required clarity on what was fixed and what was flexible. The JTBD framework gave that. Features and flows could change. The jobs did not.
The impact
Transformed retention from feature engagement to customer success metrics. Established a repeatable framework for product-market fit validation. Created primary relationship ownership versus passive aggregation. A product that people returned to, not just checked once.
My leverage points
I stopped optimising the dashboard and instead optimised the first month experience around small goal wins.
The dashboard was useful but not sticky. The first month determined whether people came back. I shifted effort to onboarding, goal-setting, and early wins.
Why this mattered: First meaningful savings success became the Aha Moment we could design for.
I chose fewer initiatives with clearer behavioural signal, rather than more features with unclear value.
The roadmap had many ideas. I cut to the ones that showed up in habit loops and retention curves.
Why this mattered: Focus allowed the team to move fast and learn from real behaviour.
I defined a North Star that all teams could influence, and used it to prioritise experiments.
Consistent progress toward savings goals. Product, design, and marketing could all point to it. Experiments were judged by whether they moved that needle.
Why this mattered: One metric created alignment and reduced parallel work.
Outcome signals
- What changed in user behaviourPeople returned to the app for progress, not just to check balances. Daily and weekly rhythms strengthened.
- What changed in team behaviourProduct, design, and marketing spoke the same language and aligned on outcomes. Experiments were judged by behavioural signal.
- What changed in leadership confidenceLeadership had confidence that the product could drive retention, not just adoption.
Takeaways
- Strategic product leadership during crisis and uncertainty
- Behavioural science application at scale in fintech
- Rapid execution with validated learning: 6 months from beta to full launch
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Get in touchThis case has been lightly anonymised and adapted for publication.