WEALTHERY
Handcrafted for rebels. Modern finance, stripped of jargon — built for first-time Indian investors.
Role
Lead UX Designer
Duration
Oct – Dec 2024
Tools
Figma · Dark UI · Data Viz
Type
Fintech App
ok so… *investing apps are kind of a mess.*
You open Groww. You see 47 numbers. You close Groww.
The jargon is unhinged. CAGR? P/E ratio? NAV? These terms appear on the first screen — and there's no way to ask what they mean without feeling stupid.
Onboarding teaches you nothing. You set up an account in 9 steps and still don't know what to do next.
The dashboard is a wall. Numbers everywhere, hierarchy nowhere. First-time investors freeze and leave.
Three types of people. *None of them understood.*
Aisha · 24
Software engineer, first salary in hand
"I have money to invest. I have no idea what to do with it."
Need: An app that explains things without making her feel behind.
Ravi · 31
Married, planning a family
"My dad invested in FDs. I think I should do more — I just don't know what 'more' means."
Need: Goal-led framing, not product-led. Start with the why.
Tier-3 user · 28
Mobile-only, dual-language, distrustful of finance apps
"Every app feels like it's trying to trick me. Why would I trust this one?"
Need: Transparency, mother-tongue copy, no dark patterns anywhere near money.
The barrier wasn't access. *It was comprehension.*
Interviews with first-time and would-be investors revealed that terms treated as basic by existing platforms (SIP, NAV, expense ratio) were genuine comprehension barriers — and users often abandoned onboarding rather than admit confusion.
First-time investors interviewed
Could define 'NAV' without checking
Abandoned onboarding mid-flow on existing apps
Apps audited end-to-end
"I felt stupid for not knowing what those words meant. So I just closed the app instead of asking."
— Interview participant, Bengaluru
Confidence before complexity.
Tap any financial term to get a plain-language explanation in context. No help articles. No leaving the screen.
Defer every advanced option until the user has completed at least one transaction. Confidence first, configuration later.
Not account balance, not portfolio size — milestones around what the user now understands.
A chart without a baseline is just decoration. Every data viz includes the question it answers.
Every screen earned its place.
Research: Opens with reassurance, not numbers.
Research: Smallest possible first transaction. Inline 'what this means' on every term.
Research: Tap any term. Definition appears in place. No new screen.
Research: Goal-led, not product-led. The product follows the why.
*90% completion on first trade.*
Completed their first trade on the redesigned flow vs. 41% baseline
Could correctly define NAV after one tap-explain interaction
Average usability score post-iteration (out of 5)
Participants abandoned mid-onboarding in the final round
"First time I felt like an app was on my side with money."
"I didn't need to ask anyone what anything meant. That's a first."
"The 'what this means' button is everything. Every finance app should have it."
What this project *actually taught me.*
Don't front-load education
Original onboarding had an optional 'learn the basics' module. Almost nobody used it. Education works only at the moment it's needed.
Jargon is a barrier, not a feature
Every word that requires a definition the user doesn't have is a wall — even if removing it makes the product look 'less serious.'
Mobile-only first, not desktop-first
Tier-3 city users rely exclusively on smartphones. Designing desktop-first and 'making it responsive' is the wrong direction.
Trust is built in micro-moments
Inline explanations weren't a feature. They were the trust mechanism. Without them, every other design decision would have failed.
"Let's build the future of wealth — designed for the rebels, the starters, and the ones who just wanted to beat inflation."