Brand + Product + Strategy
Building
Fintech
From Zero
Brand + Product + Strategy
Building
Fintech
From Zero
Role
Product & Visual Designer (Founding Team)
Year
Nov 2018 – Oct 2019
Sector
Fintech
Overview
205 users after two years. The instinct was to pivot. Instead, we did the research
205 users after two years. The instinct was to pivot. Instead, we did the research
DINN 1.0 launched in 2017 and had 205 users by early 2019. The business context: Actinver's average client was 54 years old. More than half of AUM held by clients over 60. The millennial segment was a real and unaddressed opportunity. DINN was Actinver's answer.
As part of the founding team, I was involved from research through brand definition, product conceptualization, and launch — designing the brand, the identity system, and the first versions of the product.
Research
Every request ended up in one person's email. The system was the person
Every request ended up in one person's email. The system was the person
The assumption: young people don't invest because they don't have money, prefer to spend it, or think it's too complicated. That hypothesis was wrong.
72% of young Mexicans 18–35 already save. Of those, 68% keep money in a bank account. Only 32% invest. And 70% said they don't know enough about investing to start. The barrier wasn't money or interest. It was an understanding problem.
Competitive benchmark of 24 fintechs (14 global, 10 Mexican): almost every competitor communicated in functional territory — rates, features, security badges. Nobody had claimed the emotional space.
Core Decisions
Don't build for investors. Build for savers who don't know they can invest
Don't build for investors. Build for savers who don't know they can invest
Own the emotional territory no competitor was claiming
Brand House built around: Purpose — Create the habit of investing. Territory — Simplicity. Personality — Mentor.
Tagline: "Que tu dinero crezca contigo."
Design the behavioral change, not just the product
Used BJ Fogg's Behavior Model: Motivation (show they're already close to investing) + Ability (100% digital, no minimum, 3 actions max) + Trigger (campaigns tied to specific moments).
Three non-negotiable product attributes from research:
No minimum investment, no fees, intuitive enough to use without instructions.
Outcome
Breakeven exceeded by +5%. 220K users. +127% revenue YoY
Breakeven exceeded by +5%. 220K users. +127% revenue YoY
The pilot ran Oct–Dec 2019 — no paid marketing. The financial model projected breakeven by September 2022. DINN exceeded that target ahead of schedule.
220K+
Users in 4 years — from 205 at launch
Reflection
The most important work happened before any design tool was opened
The most important work happened before any design tool was opened
Every decision that came after (the brand, the product, the acquisition strategy, the board pitch) traced back to what we learned in those 35 interviews and 500+ surveys.
DINN 1.0 failed not because the product was poorly built, but because it was built on assumptions that hadn't been tested.
Behavioral design is product design.
Wrong hypotheses are expensive. Research isn't.
Overview
205 users after two years. The instinct was to pivot. Instead, we did the research
DINN 1.0 launched in 2017 and had 205 users by early 2019. The business context: Actinver's average client was 54 years old. More than half of AUM held by clients over 60. The millennial segment was a real and unaddressed opportunity. DINN was Actinver's answer.
As part of the founding team, I was involved from research through brand definition, product conceptualization, and launch — designing the brand, the identity system, and the first versions of the product.
Research
Every request ended up in one person's email. The system was the person
The assumption: young people don't invest because they don't have money, prefer to spend it, or think it's too complicated. That hypothesis was wrong.
72% of young Mexicans 18–35 already save. Of those, 68% keep money in a bank account. Only 32% invest. And 70% said they don't know enough about investing to start. The barrier wasn't money or interest. It was an understanding problem.
Competitive benchmark of 24 fintechs (14 global, 10 Mexican): almost every competitor communicated in functional territory — rates, features, security badges. Nobody had claimed the emotional space.
Core Decisions
Don't build for investors. Build for savers who don't know they can invest
Own the emotional territory no competitor was claiming
Brand House built around: Purpose — Create the habit of investing. Territory — Simplicity. Personality — Mentor.
Tagline: "Que tu dinero crezca contigo."
Design the behavioral change, not just the product
Used BJ Fogg's Behavior Model: Motivation (show they're already close to investing) + Ability (100% digital, no minimum, 3 actions max) + Trigger (campaigns tied to specific moments).
Three non-negotiable product attributes from research:
No minimum investment, no fees, intuitive enough to use without instructions.
Outcome
Breakeven exceeded by +5%. 220K users. +127% revenue YoY
The pilot ran Oct–Dec 2019 — no paid marketing. The financial model projected breakeven by September 2022. DINN exceeded that target ahead of schedule.
220K+
Users in 4 years — from 205 at launch
Reflection
The most important work happened before any design tool was opened
Every decision that came after (the brand, the product, the acquisition strategy, the board pitch) traced back to what we learned in those 35 interviews and 500+ surveys.
DINN 1.0 failed not because the product was poorly built, but because it was built on assumptions that hadn't been tested.
Behavioral design is product design.
Wrong hypotheses are expensive. Research isn't.
Impact
220K+
Users in 4 years — from 205 at launch to institutional scale
+5%
Breakeven exceeded ahead of schedule vs. board-approved financial model
+60%
AUM growth YoY — from proof-of-concept to institutional scale
+127%
Revenue growth H1 2022 → H1 2023 — the product economics started working
+164%
LTV grew YoY — users stayed, funded more, and compounded value over time