Why every fintech mission statement and product roadmap is basically identical
Originally posted November 28, 2021
Original tweet thread:
Full post:
Every consumer fintech IPO emphasizes products / features in these 5 areas:
Spending (checking, debit)
Saving (auto-save, HYS)
Borrowing (loans, credit)
Investing (stocks, crypto)
Protecting (insurance, liability protection)
All that's different is ordering.
It wasn't always this way.
Pre-2014, consumer fintech S-1s didn't even have mission statements.
@GreenDotBank ('10) never said "mission" in S-1 & only talks "vision" for benefits plan.
@LendingClub ('14) maybe 1st w/ mission statement but specific to investing & credit.
Fast forward to 2021 & every consumer fintech now has a broad mission statement & showcases how they follow the universal product roadmap.
Take a look at 5 of 2021's biggest IPOs for consumer fintech & let's see what we can decipher from their mission & product roadmap
Pop quiz: Match the company with the mission statement!
Bonus points for knowing your own company's mission statement.
Company:
A. Robinhood
B. Affirm
C. Coinbase
D. SoFi
E. Nubank
Mission Statement:
1. Building Honest Financial Products That Improve Lives
2. Democratize Finance for All
3. Fight Complexity to Empower People in Their Daily Lives
4. Create An Open Financial System For The World
5. Help Our Members Achieve Financial Independence to Realize Their Ambitions
#1 @Affirm (Jan '21)
Mission: "Building Honest Financial Products That Improve Lives"
"Building": Build vs. buy focus "Honest": So they charge fees but it's transparent "Financial Products": Products not features "Improve Lives": biking can literally improve your life
Affirm's mission reps transparent builder nature but is generic.
The product roadmap feels like a Super App wannabe but love the drive!
Borrowing (BNPL Q2 '12)
Saving (HYS Q2 '20)
Spending (Debit+ Q4 '21?)
Investing (Crypto Q4 '21?)
Insurance (FDIC Q4 '21?)
#2 @Coinbase (Apr '21)
Mission: "Create An Open Financial System For The World"
"Create": AKA open to M&A + building to bring into existence "Open Financial System": They're web2 enabling web3 & DeFi "For the World": Global by nature
Coinbase's mission reps global fintech OS but is nonspecific.
The product roadmap did hard risky stuff first but still missing easy savings product.
Investing (crypto Q4 '12)
Insurance (Q2 '14)
Spend (CB Card Q4 '20)
Borrowing (Margin Q3 '21)
Saving (???)
#3 @SoFi (Jun '21)
Mission: "Help Our Members Achieve Financial Independence In Order to Realize Their Ambitions"
"Help Our Members": Member-first "Achieve Financial Independence": teamwork makes the dreamwork "To Realize Their Ambitions": bold goals for members
SoFi's mission is both a mouthful & still so general but is member-focused.
The product roadmap was all loans for a while but now does everything (maybe too quickly).
Borrowing (Q2 '11)
Insurance (Q4 '16)
Spending (Q1 '19)
Saving (Q1 '19)
Investing (Q1 '19)
#4 @RobinhoodApp (Jul '21)
Mission: "Democratize Finance For All"
"Democratize": Easy (maybe too easy) to access since it's free. Maybe a hint into a web3 focus in future? "Finance": Love the specificity "For All": Because meme trading should be for everyone
Robinhood's mission reps access & fintech but pretty general.
The product roadmap started on risky side but got back to basics eventually.
Investing (Q4'14)
Borrowing (Margin Q4'14)
Insurance (SIPC Q4'14)
Spending (Cash Mgmt Q4'19)
Saving (Cash Mgmt Q4'19)
#5 @Nubank (TBD '22)
Mission: "Fight Complexity to Empower People In Their Daily Lives"
"Fight Complexity": Classic KISS - Keep it simple, stupid "Empower People": Member-focused "In Their Daily Lives": Everyday people, daily usage
Nubank's mission is so broad it doesn't mention Finance!
But the product roadmap is laser-focused on their "5 financial seasons"*:
Borrowing (Credit Q3'14)
Spending (NuConta Q4'17)
Saving (Q4'17)
Investing (Q3'20)
Insurance (Q4'20)
*But what is 5th season?
So what's the right order?
4 yrs ago, I'd tell you the only way was to follow member journey. Fix core banking for spend, help build > $500 in savings, solve short-term borrowing issue, then offer curated investing & insurance. Run product order once, then expand offering.
Capturing the primary banking relationship was hard, but if you did, you had the funding source so getting additional product adoption was easier. Lower risk, lower CAC & more natural alignment with member journey since you have a better sense of overall financial health.
Now I think there's at least two more paths to succeed.
#1: Vertical fintechs
New fintech infra makes it possible for vertical subject matter experts to run fintechs that offer specialized paths for a subset of members (e.g. creators, freelancers, affinity groups).
#2: Specialized full product lifecycle fintechs
The proliferation of fintech is normalizing a distributed financial life overall, but desire to consolidate on product basis. Fintechs can offer full lifecycle for 1 product (e.g. secured, partial unsecured, rewards credit)