Fintech
B2B2C
White label
Helping venues find the right event opportunities faster
Mending bonds between hotels and planners while scaling an intelligence powerhouse for better product market fit.
Role
Design lead, Researcher, Design ops
Team
4 → 2 Product designers, 2 Researches, Content designer, Business Analyst
Timeline
Jan - Jun 2022 (5 months)
Tasks
Pitching, Prototyping, Interaction design, Research
Tools
Figma, LucidChart, UserTesting, Asana
Expense management is stressful for small business owners. They often track purchases manually (toss receipts in a box) and hope they don’t get audited during tax season. I worked on a scalable, white-label solution that financial institutions could purchase to serve businesses with 2-25 employees. I led mobile-first design, helped run and synthesize 60+ user interviews, and owned design ops for a shrinking team that lost a manager.
GA
Launched on schedule under reduced team
+1500
Financial institution adopters
4.7 stars
Rating on App Store in Q3 2026
Context
Expense management is a painful but necessary part of managing a small or medium business. Business owners (SMBs) don’t do it out of passion, they do it because they don’t want to be audited by the IRS. They operate on tight timelines and often wear multiple hats.
The state of expense management
Hoarding receipts for seven years
Multiple boxes of receipts from potentially multiple employees.
Overwhelming tax + audit anxiety
Owners aren’t accountants and are afraid of making mistakes.
Abandoned by the primary service provider
The #1 platform pivoted to support venture capital.
The small-to-medium business owner
We needed to account for (heh) SMBS of different sizes and maturity levels but mostly focused on businesses with 2-25 employees.
"I just quit my job and put everything into this. I need it to be successful."
SMB owner, early stage
"I want to grow my business and scale to other regions."
SMB owner, growth stage
The problem
How might we simplify expense management so SMBs with minimal time have visibility and confidence around tracking finances correctly?
*Without restructuring the current workflow
The solution needed to be simple enough to replace the manual process of throwing receipts into boxes, but scalable for businesses with multiple employees.
Process
We conducted +60 interviews with participants across the country. We needed a pool as diverse as our target user base, from side hustle owners to multi region growth stage companies, everyone has different needs. Researchers took the lead while I jumped in on the screening survey, participant selection, interviews and synthesis.
Study breakdown
Takeaway 1
SMBs want a relationship, not just a tool
SMBs expect expense tools to complement their core financial needs: running the company, maximizing earning and avoiding risk
How our competitors position themselves
Takeaway 2
Roles scale with growth
As SMBs grow in size and revenue, expense management roles are allocated to new people.
Takeaway 3
Manual entry causes delays
Employees often procrastinate when filing expense reports that require manual entry.
Takeaway 4
Accountants influence platform selection
They serve as the key partner for taxes and audits. SMBs are motivated emotionally to use the same platform.
These findings were used to segment features into different role types, and most helpfully guided in-product content and marketing. This was white label design work that would be sold by financial institutions across the country
Key Decisions
Mobile first for users often on-the-go
SMB owners and employees aren't always sitting at desks when they need to submit expenses. Shipping to mobile was prioritized over desktop.
Scoped partial approval out of MVP
We wanted to give admins the ability to send follow up questions instead of outright denying a report is a crucial feature as a part of MVP. Simplifying the user journey and back end proved too complex for initial release.
Batch notifications
I created a system to track notifications across the app, email, and push notifications across different scenarios. Daily batches allowed users track and prioritize actions across multiple open reports without being inundated.
Zoom in: Leadership + Impact
Stepping into a lead role for the first time
Final designs
I left before the app reached GA but not before the core expense report flow was finalized for mobile and desktop.
In-app receipt storage and expense management
Real time expense management and reporting with card controls and customizable workflows
Outcomes
GA
Launched on schedule in Q2 2022 under reduced team
+1500
Financial institutions adopted SpendTrack post-launch
4.7 stars
on App Store
Unfortunately I don't have much data from this project- I was early in my career and didn't know to advocate for access to them. I *can* speak to the scale of what shipped, a mobile-first, white-label expense platform across two OS environments and multiple institution configurations, delivered on time by a team that was half the size it started as.
Lessons learned
DesignOps is how the sausage truly gets made
Once my manager and senior designers left, it was up to me to make sure things were on track. Our kanban board became equally as important as Figma.
Scope decisions are design decisions
Knowing when to protect scope and when to cut it is one of the most useful things a designer can do for a team under pressure.
Credits 🎬
I owe so much to my former design manager. She was the first person to give me a chance at the start of my career and trained me so that when she left, I was able to deliver under pressure. I’m also incredibly thankful for the exposure my content designer, researchers and other UXers gave me, and the product management team for trusting my calls so early in my career.
Other work
AI Design
Beta testing
Product strategy
Saving hotels days of work with AI powered form filling
View →
B2C
Acquisition
Integrations
Building bridges between newly acquired teams and users
View →
Fintech
B2B2C
White label
Helping small business owners through the toughest time of year (tax season)
How SpendTrack helped +1,500 financial institutions reach the business owner who wears every hat.
Role
Product designer, Researcher, Design ops
Team
4 → 2 Product designers, 2 Researches, Content designer, Business Analyst
Timeline
Jan - Jun 2022 (5 months)
Tasks
Interviews + Surveys, Visual design, Notification strategy, Prototyping
Tools
Figma, LucidChart, UserTesting, Asana
Expense management is stressful for small business owners. They often track purchases manually (toss receipts in a box) and live with the fear of being audited during tax season. I worked on a scalable, white-label solution that financial institutions could purchase to serve businesses with 2-25 employees. I led mobile-first design, helped run and synthesize 60+ user interviews, and owned design ops for a shrinking team that lost a manager.
GA
Launched on schedule under reduced team
+1500
Financial institution adopters
4.7 stars
Rating on App Store in Q3 2026
Context
Expense management is a painful but necessary part of managing a small or medium business. Business owners (SMBs) don’t do it out of passion, they do it because they don’t want to be audited by the IRS. They operate on tight timelines and often wear multiple hats.
The state of expense management
Hoarding receipts for seven years
Multiple boxes of receipts from potentially multiple employees.
Overwhelming tax + audit anxiety
Owners aren’t accountants and are afraid of making mistakes.
Abandoned by the primary service provider
The #1 platform pivoted to support venture capital.
The small-to-medium business owner
We needed to account for (heh) SMBS of different sizes and maturity levels but mostly focused on businesses with 2-25 employees.
"I just quit my job and put everything into this. I need it to be successful."
SMB owner, early stage
"I want to grow my business and scale to other regions."
SMB owner, growth stage
The Problem
How might we simplify expense management so SMBs with minimal time have visibility and confidence around tracking finances correctly?
*Without restructuring the current workflow
The solution needed to be simple enough to replace the manual process of throwing receipts into boxes, but scalable for businesses with multiple employees.
Generative Research
We conducted +60 interviews with participants across the country. We needed a pool as diverse as our target user base, from side hustle owners to multi region growth stage companies, everyone has different needs. Researchers took the lead while I jumped in on the screening survey, participant selection, interviews and synthesis.
Study breakdown
Takeaway 1
SMBs want a relationship, not just a tool
SMBs expect expense tools to complement their core financial needs: running the company, maximizing earning and avoiding risk
How our competitors position themselves
Takeaway 2
Roles scale with growth
As SMBs grow in size and revenue, expense management roles are allocated to new people.
Takeaway 3
Manual entry causes delays
Employees often procrastinate when filing expense reports that require manual entry.
Takeaway 4
Accountants influence platform selection
They serve as the key partner for taxes and audits. SMBs are motivated emotionally to use the same platform.
These findings were used to segment features into different role types, and most helpfully guided in-product content and marketing. This was white label design work that would be sold by financial institutions across the country
Key Decisions
Mobile first for users often on-the-go
SMB owners and employees aren't always sitting at desks when they need to submit expenses. Shipping to mobile was prioritized over desktop.
Scoped partial approval out of MVP
We wanted to give admins the ability to send follow up questions instead of outright denying a report is a crucial feature as a part of MVP. Simplifying the user journey and back end proved too complex for initial release.
Batch notifications
I created a system to track notifications across the app, email, and push notifications across different scenarios. Daily batches allowed users track and prioritize actions across multiple open reports without being inundated.
Zoom in: Leadership + Impact
Stepping into a lead role for the first time
Final designs
I left before the app reached GA but not before the core expense report flow was finalized for mobile and desktop.
In-app receipt storage and expense management
Real time expense management and reporting with card controls and customizable workflows
Outcomes
GA
Launched on schedule in Q2 2022 under reduced team
+1500
Financial institutions adopted SpendTrack post-launch
4.7 stars
on App Store
Unfortunately I don't have much data from this project- I was early in my career and didn't know to advocate for access to them. I *can* speak to the scale of what shipped, a mobile-first, white-label expense platform across two OS environments and multiple institution configurations, delivered on time by a team that was half the size it started as.
Lessons learned
DesignOps is how the sausage truly gets made
Once my manager and senior designers left, it was up to me to make sure things were on track. Our kanban board became equally as important as Figma.
Scope decisions are design decisions
Knowing when to protect scope and when to cut it is one of the most useful things a designer can do for a team under pressure.
Credits 🎬
I owe so much to my former design manager. She was the first person to give me a chance at the start of my career and trained me so that when she left, I was able to deliver under pressure. I’m also incredibly thankful for the exposure my content designer, researchers and other UXers gave me, and the product management team for trusting my calls so early in my career.
Other work
AI Design
Beta testing
Product strategy
Saving hotels days of work with AI powered form filling
View →
B2C
Acquisition
Integrations
Building bridges between newly acquired teams and users
View →
Fintech
B2B2C
White label
Helping small business owners through the toughest time of year (tax season)
How SpendTrack helped +1,500 financial institutions reach the business owner who wears every hat.
Role
Product designer
Researcher
Design ops
Team
4 → 2 Product designers
2 Researches
Content designer
Business Analyst
Timeline
Jan - Jun 2022 (5 months)
Tasks
Interviews + surveys
Visual design
Notification strategy
Prototyping
Tools
Figma
LucidChart
UserTesting
Asana
Expense management is stressful for small business owners. They often track purchases manually (toss receipts in a box) and live with the fear of being audited during tax season. I worked on a scalable, white-label solution that financial institutions could purchase to serve businesses with 2-25 employees. I led mobile-first design, helped run and synthesize 60+ user interviews, and owned design ops for a shrinking team that lost a manager.
GA
Launched on schedule under reduced team
+1500
Financial institution adopters
4.7 stars
Rating on App Store in Q3 2026
Context
Expense management is a painful but necessary part of managing a small or medium business. Business owners (SMBs) don’t do it out of passion, they do it because they don’t want to be audited by the IRS. They operate on tight timelines and often wear multiple hats.
The state of expense management
Hoarding receipts for seven years
Multiple boxes of receipts from potentially multiple employees.
Overwhelming tax + audit anxiety
Owners aren’t accountants and are afraid of making mistakes.
Abandoned by the primary service provider
The #1 platform pivoted to support venture capital.
The small-to-medium business owner
We needed to account for (heh) SMBS of different sizes and maturity levels but mostly focused on businesses with 2-25 employees.
"I just quit my job and put everything into this. I need it to be successful."
SMB owner, early stage
"I want to grow my business and scale to other regions."
SMB owner, growth stage
The Problem
How might we simplify expense management so SMBs with minimal time have visibility and confidence around tracking finances correctly?
The solution needed to be simple enough to replace the manual process of throwing receipts into boxes, but scalable for businesses with multiple employees.
Generative Research
Study breakdown
We conducted +60 interviews with participants across the country. We needed a pool as diverse as our target user base, from side hustle owners to multi region growth stage companies, everyone has different needs. Researchers took the lead while I jumped in on the screening survey, participant selection, interviews and synthesis.
Takeaway 1
SMBs want a relationship, not just a tool
SMBs expect expense tools to complement their core financial needs: running the company, maximizing earning and avoiding risk
How our competitors position themselves
Takeaway 2
Roles scale with growth
As SMBs grow in size and revenue, expense management roles are allocated to new people.
Takeaway 3
Manual entry causes delays
Employees often procrastinate when filing expense reports that require manual entry.
Takeaway 4
Accountants influence platform selection
They serve as the key partner for taxes and audits. SMBs are motivated emotionally to use the same platform.
These findings were used to segment features into different role types, and most helpfully guided in-product content and marketing. This was white label design work that would be sold by financial institutions across the country
Key Decisions
Mobile first for users often on-the-go
SMB owners and employees aren't always sitting at desks when they need to submit expenses. Shipping to mobile was prioritized over desktop.
Scoped partial approval out of MVP
We wanted to give admins the ability to send follow up questions instead of outright denying a report is a crucial feature as a part of MVP. Simplifying the user journey and back end proved too complex for initial release.
Batch notifications
I created a system to track notifications across the app, email, and push notifications across different scenarios. Daily batches allowed users track and prioritize actions across multiple open reports without being inundated.
Zoom in: Leadership + Impact
Stepping into a lead role for the first time
Final designs
I left before the app reached GA but not before the core expense report flow was finalized for mobile and desktop.
In-app receipt storage and expense management
Real time expense management and reporting with card controls and customizable workflows
Outcomes
GA
Launched on schedule in Q2 2022 under reduced team
+1500
Financial institutions adopted SpendTrack post-launch
4.7 stars
on App Store
Unfortunately I don't have much data from this project- I was early in my career and didn't know to advocate for access to them. I can speak to the scale of what shipped, a mobile first, white label expense platform across two OS environments and multiple institution configurations, delivered on time by a team that was half the size it started as.
Lessons learned
DesignOps is how the sausage truly gets made
Once my manager and senior designers left, it was up to me to make sure things were on track. Our kanban board became equally as important as Figma.
Scope decisions are design decisions
Knowing when to protect scope and when to cut it is one of the most useful things a designer can do for a team under pressure.
Credits 🎬
I owe so much to my former design manager. She was the first person to give me a chance at the start of my career and trained me so that when she left, I was able to deliver under pressure. I’m also incredibly thankful for the exposure my content designer, researchers and other UXers gave me, and the product management team for trusting my calls so early in my career.
Other work
AI Design
Beta testing
Product strategy
Saving hotels days of work with AI powered form filling
View →
B2C
Acquisition
Integrations
Building bridges between newly acquired teams and users
View →