Fingoo Finance Buddy Tool
Fingoo Finance Buddy Tool
Fingoo Finance
Buddy Tool
English
Timeline
1 Years + (Present)
Role
Product Designer
Team
1x Designer, 6x Devs
Domain
Finance, e-Learning
Timeline
1 Years + (Present)
Role
Product Designer
Team
1x Designer, 6x Devs
Domain
Finance, e-Learning
Tools & Stack
Figma
FigJam
Notion
Gemini
All project data & decisions documented here are my own. AI assistance was only used for structure and clarity.
All project data & decisions documented here are my own. AI assistance was only used for structure and clarity.
01Business Context & Competitive Landscape
The opportunity was a visible gap: no dedicated, personalized platform existed where everyday people — particularly those new to investing — could both learn about personal finance and directly ask questions about specific stocks or market events in plain language. While established transaction platforms like 토스증권 (Toss) and 카카오페이증권 (Kakao Pay Securities) dominate the Korean market, and apps like Robinhood provide basic in-app education globally, they remain largely passive or assume prior financial literacy. Furthermore, while platforms like Duolingo have mastered gamification for language learning, this model had never been effectively translated to financial education for beginners.01Business Context & Competitive Landscape
The opportunity was a visible gap: no dedicated, personalized platform existed where everyday people — particularly those new to investing — could both learn about personal finance and directly ask questions about specific stocks or market events in plain language. While established transaction platforms like 토스증권 (Toss) and 카카오페이증권 (Kakao Pay Securities) dominate the Korean market, and apps like Robinhood provide basic in-app education globally, they remain largely passive or assume prior financial literacy. Furthermore, while platforms like Duolingo have mastered gamification for language learning, this model had never been effectively translated to financial education for beginners.Fingoo set out to fill this gap — an interactive AI finance buddy that surfaces only what matters, in a format anyone can navigate. The name says it all: FIN (finance) + GOO (friend in Korean). A personal companion, not just another trading platform.
Fingoo set out to fill this gap — an interactive AI finance buddy that surfaces only what matters, in a format anyone can navigate. The name says it all: FIN (finance) + GOO (friend in Korean). A personal companion, not just another trading platform.
02Problem
The business tension was real: serving beginners meant sacrificing the depth that experienced investors expect, while going too deep would alienate the exact user segment the product was built for. Success was defined by daily active usage, retention, and app store ranking , not transaction volume.02Problem
The business tension was real: serving beginners meant sacrificing the depth that experienced investors expect, while going too deep would alienate the exact user segment the product was built for. Success was defined by daily active usage, retention, and app store ranking , not transaction volume.Business Problem
No product combined accessible financial education with a conversational AI for real-time stock analysis. The market was full of complex tools built for experienced investors.User Problem
Beginners faced high barriers: overwhelming platforms, specialist jargon, and no way to ask follow-up questions or get personalized guidance.Business Problem
No product combined accessible financial education with a conversational AI for real-time stock analysis. The market was full of complex tools built for experienced investors.User Problem
Beginners faced high barriers: overwhelming platforms, specialist jargon, and no way to ask follow-up questions or get personalized guidance.The assumption we got wrong
Session replay data and early drop-off analytics from our initial launch revealed that a vast majority of new users abandoned the chart comparison tools within the first minute. Chart comparison was not the core need — conversation and education were. This data-driven discovery directly shaped the pivot into v2 and v3.The assumption we got wrong
Session replay data and early drop-off analytics from our initial launch revealed that a vast majority of new users abandoned the chart comparison tools within the first minute. Chart comparison was not the core need — conversation and education were. This data-driven discovery directly shaped the pivot into v2 and v3.03My Role
As the sole product designer on a 7-person team (1 designer, 6 engineers), I owned end-to-end design across all three major versions, drawing on over 5 years of experience across FinTech, IoT, and SaaS. Every direction — from the IA to the visual system to the mascot — was mine to define and defend.01Full UX and UI design across iOS, Android, and web
02Design system creation and maintenance (from v2 onwards)
03Information architecture and internationalization strategy
04Visual language, mascot design, and motion direction
05SNS promotional content for launch campaigns
06Direct collaboration with engineers on feasibility and sprint scoping
03My Role
As the sole product designer on a 7-person team (1 designer, 6 engineers), I owned end-to-end design across all three major versions, drawing on over 5 years of experience across FinTech, IoT, and SaaS. Every direction — from the IA to the visual system to the mascot — was mine to define and defend.01Full UX and UI design across iOS, Android, and web
02Design system creation and maintenance (from v2 onwards)
03Information architecture and internationalization strategy
04Visual language, mascot design, and motion direction
05SNS promotional content for launch campaigns
06Direct collaboration with engineers on feasibility and sprint scoping
04 Direction
We replaced the passive chart comparison tool with a chat-first AI interface where users could ask anything about stocks or finance in plain language — then layered a full gamified learning system on top, turning a utility into a daily-habit app. This was not a feature addition. It was a fundamental reframe of what the product was for: from a tool you visit with a question, to a platform you return to every day.04 Direction
We replaced the passive chart comparison tool with a chat-first AI interface where users could ask anything about stocks or finance in plain language — then layered a full gamified learning system on top, turning a utility into a daily-habit app. This was not a feature addition. It was a fundamental reframe of what the product was for: from a tool you visit with a question, to a platform you return to every day.05Impact
Fingoo became the only product in the Korean market combining conversational AI-driven stock analysis with structured financial education in a single, beginner-accessible interface. Beyond the numbers: the product's most significant strategic impact was proving that a finance app could drive daily habit behavior through education and gamification — a model that now shapes the v4 roadmap.05Impact
Fingoo became the only product in the Korean market combining conversational AI-driven stock analysis with structured financial education in a single, beginner-accessible interface. Beyond the numbers: the product's most significant strategic impact was proving that a finance app could drive daily habit behavior through education and gamification — a model that now shapes the v4 roadmap.#66#66 FinanceKorea App Store ranking
4×MAU GrowthThousands to tens of thousands post-v3
3Major VersionsPassive utility → daily habit platform
#66#66 FinanceKorea App Store ranking
4×MAU GrowthThousands to tens of thousands post-v3
3Major VersionsPassive utility → daily habit platform
06Approach and Rationale
Session replay data showed chart tool abandonment within the first minute. The underlying issue was that beginners couldn't form the right questions — they needed a blank canvas to ask anything, not a structured comparison view that assumed prior knowledge. A chat interface lowered the barrier to zero. The Duolingo model — structured chapters, streak systems, leaderboards — had proven daily habit formation in language learning but had never been applied to finance. The hypothesis: if learning is broken into digestible chapters with quizzes and rewards, users would return even when they had no immediate investment question to ask.06Approach and Rationale
Session replay data showed chart tool abandonment within the first minute. The underlying issue was that beginners couldn't form the right questions — they needed a blank canvas to ask anything, not a structured comparison view that assumed prior knowledge. A chat interface lowered the barrier to zero. The Duolingo model — structured chapters, streak systems, leaderboards — had proven daily habit formation in language learning but had never been applied to finance. The hypothesis: if learning is broken into digestible chapters with quizzes and rewards, users would return even when they had no immediate investment question to ask.Design System
Here's some info on the design system.01 Typography: Pretendard — optimized for Latin/Hangul harmony, critical for bilingual financial content
02Primary color: Aqua Spray #6CCAAF — approachable, fresh, used for CTAs and the mascot
03Primary text: Carbon/Jet #333333 — high legibility across dark and light contexts
04Pixel art rationale: chosen over 2D/3D to instantly signal gamification and lower cognitive intimidation
Design System
Here's some info on the design system.01 Typography: Pretendard — optimized for Latin/Hangul harmony, critical for bilingual financial content
02Primary color: Aqua Spray #6CCAAF — approachable, fresh, used for CTAs and the mascot
03Primary text: Carbon/Jet #333333 — high legibility across dark and light contexts
04Pixel art rationale: chosen over 2D/3D to instantly signal gamification and lower cognitive intimidation
07Final Solution
v3 ships with both the chat feature and chart feature active — the chart tool was not replaced but integrated alongside the conversational interface, serving advanced users while beginners enter through chat and learning.07Final Solution
v3 ships with both the chat feature and chart feature active — the chart tool was not replaced but integrated alongside the conversational interface, serving advanced users while beginners enter through chat and learning.
v1
Pre-Feb 2025v1
Pre-Feb 2025
v2
Sep 2025v2
Sep 2025v3
Mar 2026v3
Mar 2026
08 — Outcomes: What Worked
A list of pointers that worked.014× MAU growth — from initial thousands to tens of thousands post-v3
02#66 Finance category ranking on the Korea App Store
03Learning system (chapters + quizzes) saw genuine adoption — the structured curriculum successfully drove return visits in a way pure chat did not
04v4 is in active development — a clear signal that the platform found product-market fit
Limitations & Second-Order Effects
A list of things that we realised.01Retention normalized after the week 1 v3 spike — initial launch enthusiasm didn't fully sustain, though an active user base remains
02The design system was built mid-product (v2), so had to be built on a quicker basis
03Some designed features (e.g. chat history renaming) were cut to hit sprint deadlines
08 — Outcomes: What Worked
A list of pointers that worked.014× MAU growth — from initial thousands to tens of thousands post-v3
02#66 Finance category ranking on the Korea App Store
03Learning system (chapters + quizzes) saw genuine adoption — the structured curriculum successfully drove return visits in a way pure chat did not
04v4 is in active development — a clear signal that the platform found product-market fit
Limitations & Second-Order Effects
A list of things that we realised.01Retention normalized after the week 1 v3 spike — initial launch enthusiasm didn't fully sustain, though an active user base remains
02The design system was built mid-product (v2), so had to be built on a quicker basis
03Some designed features (e.g. chat history renaming) were cut to hit sprint deadlines
09 — Reflections: What I'd Do Differently
Design Systems Day One: Building the design system mid-product (v2) created massive retrofitting costs. Once established it accelerated v3 development — but the lesson is clear: establish token and component architecture from the start. Research Timing: Push for structured user research upfront to surface wrong assumptions before they're built into code. We lost time on v1 chart comparisons that beginners didn't actually want.What I Learned
Ship and Learn: Being the sole designer on a fast-moving team means learning to ship directionally right, then refine. Small mistakes caught early are much cheaper than waiting for a perfect release. Scope Discipline: Not everything designed makes it to production. Knowing when to cut features to hit a sprint deadline without losing core design intent is critical.09 — Reflections: What I'd Do Differently
Design Systems Day One: Building the design system mid-product (v2) created massive retrofitting costs. Once established it accelerated v3 development — but the lesson is clear: establish token and component architecture from the start. Research Timing: Push for structured user research upfront to surface wrong assumptions before they're built into code. We lost time on v1 chart comparisons that beginners didn't actually want.What I Learned
Ship and Learn: Being the sole designer on a fast-moving team means learning to ship directionally right, then refine. Small mistakes caught early are much cheaper than waiting for a perfect release. Scope Discipline: Not everything designed makes it to production. Knowing when to cut features to hit a sprint deadline without losing core design intent is critical.The biggest lesson from Fingoo: the product that ships is rarely the one you designed. The willingness to invalidate v1 assumptions with real data — and rebuild around what users actually needed — is what turned a utility into a platform. That instinct is more valuable than any individual design decision.
The biggest lesson from Fingoo: the product that ships is rarely the one you designed. The willingness to invalidate v1 assumptions with real data — and rebuild around what users actually needed — is what turned a utility into a platform. That instinct is more valuable than any individual design decision.