The Challenge
Help people answer life’s big financial questions, starting with first-time home buyers. Prior to SmartAsset, financial calculators were complicated, required information users did not have readily available, used financial jargon and did a poor job of explaining trade-offs or guiding decision-making.
The Solution
User interviews with first-time home buyers to learn about their needs and how best to help them understand the decision-making process when buying a home. Moderated and unmoderated usability tests to validate ease of use and user understanding of recommendations. An Agile UX process to build and launch the product in three months as part of the Y-Combinator accelerator program.
THE OUTCOME
A web application that asks a minimum of questions users can answer off the top of their heads. With this information, the product displayed dynamic text to deliver recommendations with easy to understand explanations and interactive data visualizations to help users learn about financial trade-offs.
The Impact
A product launch resulting in positive press and a $1.5mm fundraising round.
[SmartAsset] is one of the best done sites I’ve seen and I wish I had had this site when I purchased my house.
Robert Scoble
What is great about [SmartAsset] is its usability. It is simple, looks good and you don’t spend a second trying to figure out where to click.
Thom Rogers, Hoop.com
How Much House Can I Afford?
By answering only six questions, SmartAsset can advise users how much home they can afford, if it is better to buy or rent, compare tax implications based on location and much more.
Right from the homepage SmartAsset dazzles with its good looks. In fact, while I was using I couldn’t help but think that it looked like an interactive infographic.
Dean Sherwin, AppStorm.com