Pluto: Building a Fintech Platform from MVP to Multi-Asset Ecosystem
Pluto is a fintech app with a mission to simplify saving and investing for young Indians.
It started with a single, simple flow for digital gold, but over several months, it evolved into a multi-asset platform and a full-fledged growth engine.
This case study details my end-to-end work in designing both the core app's asset universe and the marketing website that supported its growth.
Pluto Money
6 Months
Product Designer
The Challanges 🎯
Our initial challenge was to launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) quickly with a simple digital gold flow. As the app gained traction, the challenge grew exponentially. We faced a dual problem:
In-App Growth: Users wanted more than just gold. We needed to expand our asset universe with new products like Silver, Pluto Plus (P2P lending), and Pluto Fixed (fixed returns). Each of these came with complex vendor integrations and unique UX challenges.
External Growth: Our website was a static placeholder with no SEO foundation. We needed to transform it into a primary acquisition channel that could drive organic traffic and keep pace with the app's rapid product evolution.
The core challenge was to build a cohesive, scalable system that connected the in-app product and its external marketing presence, all while maintaining a consistent and simple user experience.
Phase 1: The MVP Foundation (App & Website)
Initial Gold Flow: I designed Pluto's first-ever in-app flow for digital gold, focusing on a minimal, goal-based experience to onboard first-time investors.
Website Launch: Simultaneously, I designed and shipped Pluto’s first marketing website in Framer. This MVP provided an initial web presence that matched the app's early aesthetic and acted as a foundation for future growth.
Phase 2: Expanding the Asset Universe
Once the MVP was live, the focus shifted to in-app expansion. I led the design for integrating new asset classes.
Standardized Flow: To prevent a fragmented experience, I designed a modular, 3-step purchase flow (Amount → Tenure → Confirm) that was adaptable for all new assets.
Partner Integration: I collaborated with external vendors (like Landbox for P2P) to understand technical constraints and design user-friendly flows for complex products like Pluto Plus and Pluto Fixed.
Unified Portfolio: I redesigned the Goal Overview screen to provide a unified view of all assets, showing how a user’s investments in Gold, Silver, and P2P combined to achieve their financial goals.
Phase 3: Building the Growth Engine (SEO)
As the app’s features grew, I turned the website into a growth asset.
SEO Framework: I built a scalable SEO framework in Framer, creating programmatic templates and topic clusters to drive organic traffic.
Website Redesign: As the app's visual identity matured, I led a full website redesign to align with the new aesthetic. I ensured the modular components were updated to reflect the new brand and could be modified in less than one day for future product changes.
Key UX Improvements & Features ⭐
Unified Purchase Flow: A single, standardized 3-step flow for all asset types (Gold, Silver, P2P, Fixed).
Modular Web Design System: A reusable component-based system in Framer for rapid website updates and SEO scalability.
Holistic Portfolio View: A redesigned Goal Overview screen that provided a clear, combined view of a user's progress across multiple assets.
Design for Trust: The design used consistent visual language and transparent information (e.g., clear APRs, partner logos) to build user trust across both the app and website.
Impact & Outcome ⭐
My work on both the app and the website had a significant, combined impact on Pluto's growth.
🚀 Top Acquisition Channel: The website became the top acquisition channel, achieving 1M+ impressions and 230K clicks.
Product Diversification: The app successfully expanded to 5+ assets, providing users with more investment choices and increasing user retention.
Reduced CAC: The scalable SEO framework led to 20K+ organic visits/month, reducing paid Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) by 25%.
Operational Efficiency: The modular design systems in both the app and website reduced design and development overhead for new product and feature launches.
