Understanding the Product

1. What does the product solve for? Splitwise is designed to address the challenge of managing shared expenses. It simplifies the process of splitting bills and tracking debts among friends, family, or roommates, thereby reducing the complexity and potential conflicts arising from shared financial obligations.
2. What stage is the product in? Early Scaling Stage - Splitwise has raised 20M USD in Series A Funding in April 2021. They have achieved Product-Market Fit with a clear defined use-case and paying customers. The company has not revealed any user data (DAU/MAU/Paying customers) till date.
3. What are the key features of the product?
   

• Easy Expense Entry: Splitwise simplifies adding expenses with a user-friendly interface, users can swiftly add a new expense by inputting the cost amount, selecting the payer and the payees. Users can also add a note and attach receipts to their expenses. This feature streamlines the process of recording shared expenses.
• Effortless Group Management: This feature allows users to create groups for various events or purposes and add members effortlessly from their contact list.
• Simplifying Debts: Splitwise excels in simplifying complex debt situations among groups. It automatically calculates who owes whom and how much, providing a clear, concise summary of individual payments.
• Payment Integration: While Splitwise itself does not handle financial transactions, it integrates with 3rd party payment platforms, enabling users to settle their balances directly through the app.
• Notifications and Reminders: The app sends notifications for new expenses added or when it's time to settle up, ensuring that users stay informed and debts are settled in a timely manner.

Understanding the User and their JTBD

ICP 1 - Aditya Arora || The Flatmate

Demographic Background→ Aditya is a 23 year old software engineer, born and brought up in Mumbai. He recently completed his Bachelor of Computer Science Degree from IIT Bombay.

He’s has grown up in a nuclear family with his Mom and Dad, both of whom work in Govt services - IT department.

Professional Background→

Aditya is an SDE-1 at Adobe. He got this job as a campus placement during his graduation year and has been working remotely from home. Aditya currently draws about 22LPA as salary.

He is now going to be promoted to SDE-2 and wishes to move to Bangalore to be closer to the company’s leadership and work with his colleagues from the office.

Personal and Social Context→

Aditya has grown up with his school friends in the city of Mumbai and they continue to be his closest friends. He engages and interacts with them the most. He’s not dating anyone at the moment.

In terms of social engagement activities, he enjoys living in a metropolitan city like Mumbai as it offers him a chance to enjoy the rich nightlife of the city, enjoy it’s cultural attractions and attend the many socio-cultural events the city hosts from standup comedy shows to art exhibitions and gaming competitions.

Additionally, Aditya enjoys watching serious drama shows on Netflix and also spends time gaming on his PS5. He’s not a big fan of Instagram and considers it a distraction. Although he’ll often scroll through Twitter to read more engaging content that enriches his mind.

Psychographic Context→

While Aditya has enjoyed his time working from home and living with his parents, he’s now looking forward to the next stage of his life and to move to a new city and setup an independent life there. He’s eager to explore the new city, the chance to work closely with his colleagues in-person and also to make new friends.

Most importantly, Aditya is excited about living alone with his flatmates (colleagues from Adobe) and all the challenges that will bring his way as he’s always lived with his parents.

ICP 2 - Aarushi Periwal || The Married Couple

Demographic Information →

Aarushi is a 29 year old creative director, she’s been born and brought up in Delhi. Her Dad runs a textile manufacturing family business and her mom is a school teacher.

Professional Background →

Aarushi completed her Masters in Media Studies from MICA - Ahmedabad. Her core skill is creative writing and she’s been working at a global Ad agency - Ogilvy for the past 7 years.

Aarushi currently draws about 24LPA+ as salary and is happy with her income. She is proud of the work she does and is focused on growing in her industry.

Personal and Social Context →

Aarushi has recently gotten married to her long-time partner who also works with her at Ogilvy. The two of them are now moving in to their new home in Mumbai and are excited about building a life together.

In her free time, Aarushi scrolls through Pinterest to browse creative ideas for her work and also home-focused interior design concepts for her new home. She also spends time on Instagram to connect with her friends and be up to date with their social life.

Psychographic Context→

Aarushi is an independent working woman and has high ideals of living a balanced married life with responsibilities shared equally between her husband and herself - household and financial.

Onboarding User Journey Analysis

Activation Metrics

What are activation metrics?

An activation metric is essentially a measure that gauges a specific user action or a set of actions within a given timeframe, signifying the user's initial meaningful interaction with a product. This metric is pivotal in assessing the early value a user derives from the product, which is a critical predictor of their deeper engagement and likelihood to continue using the product.

Put simply, it refers to the critical actions that a user takes soon after their initial sign-up or first use, which indicate the extent of the product's value to them and their potential to become a long-term, engaged user.

What are some possible activation metrics for Splitwise?

Activation Metric 1 → 10 Expenses added in 7 days’ time.
Rationale → Foundational action leading to user investment driving behaviour change

• Expense addition is the primary/foundational action that a user needs to perform in Splitwise, as the core value proposition of the app (simplifying shared expense calculations) can only be realised once expenses are added.
• Adding a minimum of 10 expenses on Splitwise indicates a user investment in the app as they now have their expense log on Splitwise. This investment increases the likelihood of the user returning and continuing to engage with the product, as they now have their personal data added to it.
  

Activation Metric 2 → 3 Groups created within 7 days’ time.
Rationale → Primary app for expense tracking across social groups

• A typical user has minimum 3 distinct social groups (family/house members, friends, work) across which they have shared expenses.
• If the user is creating 3 or more groups on Splitwise it indicates that they have intent to use Splitwise as the primary app to track their shared expenses across their social groups.
  

Activation Metric 3 → 15 Friends added in 7 days’ time.

Rationale → User investment incentivises repeat usage

• Syncing their contact list and adding friends on splitwise is the first and biggest sign of commitment from the user to use the app.
• Once users have invested in customising or adding their details to an app, they are more likely to become regular users, forming a habit around the product.
• A typical user would have recurring shared expenses with about 10-15 people from their social circles. Adding them as friends on the app incentivises the user to use the app for tracking their shared expenses.
  

Activation Metric 4 → 2 Settlements in 30 days’ time

Rationale →Splitwise becomes source of truth between members

• The end goal of tracking shared expenses is to settle accounts.
• Post account settlement, the shared expenses with the contact/group are archived in the app and also no longer Top of Mind for the user.
• Therefore, if a user settles 2 or more accounts within 30 day’s period - it indicates that the user is using Splitwise to track their shared expenses
• It also indicates that Splitwise acts as a source of truth between all members for account settlement updates.

Key Product Metrics To Track

Acquisition Metrics

1. Total number of impressions on app listing (iOS + Android): - Daily/Weekly/Monthly
2. • Definition: This metric tracks the total number of times the app’s listing has been viewed on the app stores (both iOS and Android).
   • Calculation Formula: Typically, this data is directly provided by the app stores in their analytics dashboard. There is no manual calculation needed. It's a direct measurement.
3. Total number of App Downloads (iOS + Android): - Daily/Weekly/Monthly
4. • Definition: This metric measures the total number of times the Splitwise app has been downloaded from the iOS App Store and Android Google Play Store.
   • Calculation Formula: Similar to impressions, this data is provided by the app stores.
5. Impressions to Download Conversion Rate:
6. • Definition: This metric calculates the percentage of users who download Splitwise after viewing the app page on the app stores. It is a key indicator of how effectively the app listing (including screenshots, description, reviews) converts potential users.
   • Calculation Formula: Total Downloads/Total Impressions X 100

Onboarding Metrics

1. Download to Signup Conversion Rate:
2. • Definition: This metric measures the percentage of users who sign up for Splitwise after downloading the app. It indicates the effectiveness of the signup process.
   • Calculation Formula - This metric is tracked by counting the number of users who complete the signup process, typically marked by clicking the 'Done' on the signup page, and dividing it by the total number of app downloads in the same period.
3. Percentage of Users That Complete the In-App Features Walkthrough:
4. • Definition: Measures the percentage of users who complete the in-app feature walkthrough of Splitwise, indicating user intent in learning about the app’s features.
   • Calculation Formula:This metric is calculated by dividing the number of users who reach the final screen of the in-app tour by the total number of users who completed signup.
5. Total Number of Users That Complete In-App Tour - Daily/Weekly/Monthly:
6. • Definition: Counts the total number of users who complete the in-app tour over a given time frame (daily, weekly, or monthly).
   • Calculation: Simply count the number of users who reach the last screen of the in-app tour within the specified time period.
7. Percentage of Users That Sync Their Contacts:
8. • Definition: This metric calculates the proportion of users who sync at least one contact from their device with Splitwise, indicative of their commitment to use the app for shared expense tracking.
   • Calculation Formula: To calculate this, divide the number of users who sync their contacts after the in-app tour by the total number of users who complete the in-app tour.
9. Average Number of Synced Contacts per User:
10. • Definition: This metric assesses the average number of contacts a user syncs with Splitwise, providing insights into the user's social engagement within the app and the extent of their expense-sharing network.
    • Calculation Formula: This is calculated by dividing the total number of contacts synced across all users by the number of users who have synced at least one contact.
11. Average Time Taken to Add an Expense by a User:
12. • Definition: This metric measures the user-friendliness of the expense addition feature by calculating the average time a user spends to add an expense.
    • Calculation Formula: To calculate this, we record the time from when a user clicks 'Add Expense' to when they click 'Save Expense' for each expense addition. Then, divide the total time spent by all users by the total number of expenses added.
13. Average Number of Clicks per Expense Addition:
14. • Definition: This metric helps understand the efficiency of the expense addition process by calculating the average number of clicks a user makes to add an expense.
    • Calculation Formula: Track the total number of clicks made by users from starting the expense addition process to successfully saving an expense, then divide this number by the total number of expenses added.

Engagement Metrics

1. Average Number of Expenses Added per User (Daily/Weekly/Monthly):
2. • Definition: This metric tracks the average frequency with which users add expenses on Splitwise.
   • Calculation Formula: Total expenses added/ Total number of active users. This can be segmented into daily, weekly, and monthly metrics to understand user interaction patterns.
3. Average Number of App Launches per User (Daily/Weekly/Monthly):
4. • Definition: Measures the average frequency of a user opening the Splitwise app.
   • Calculation Formula: Total App Launches per user /Total Number of Active Users per user. This can also be segmented into daily, weekly, and monthly metrics to understand user interaction patterns.
5. Average Time Spent per Session per User (Daily/Weekly/Monthly):
6. • Definition: Assesses the average duration a user spends on the app per session.
   • Calculation Formula: Total Time Spent on App per user / Total Number of Sessions per user
   • This metric can provide insights into how engaging and useful the app is for users.

Retention Metrics

1. D1 Retention:
2. • Definition: D1 retention measures the percentage of users who return to the app one day after their first use or sign-up.
   • Significance: It is a key indicator of the initial impression the app makes on users and the immediate value they derive from it.
3. D7 Retention:
4. • Definition: D7 retention tracks the percentage of users who come back to the app seven days after their first use or sign-up.
   • Significance: This metric helps assess whether the app continues to provide value to users over a week, indicating a deeper interest or habit formation.
5. D30 Retention:
6. • Definition: D30 retention measures the percentage of users who return to the app thirty days after their first use or sign-up.
   • Significance: It shows the app's ability to retain users in the longer term, reflecting sustained user engagement and the product's fit in the users’ daily life or routine.

Monetisation Metrics

1. Percentage of Paying Users
2. • Definition: This metric measures the proportion of active users who are paying for the Splitwise Pro Plan.
   • Calculation: Total number of paid plan users/ Total number of users
3. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR):
4. • Definition: MRR is the total predictable revenue generated by subscribers every month.
   • Calculation: ARPU ×Total Number of Monthly Subscribers
5. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR):
6. • Definition: Similar to MRR, ARR is the yearly predictable revenue from your subscribers.
   • Calculation: MRR×12
7. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU):
8. • Definition: ARPU measures the average revenue generated per user.
   • Calculation: ARPU=Total Revenue/Total Number of Users
9. Churn Rate:
10. • Definition: The percentage of subscribers who cancel their subscription within a certain time period - Daily/Weekly/Momthly
    • Calculation: Lost customers at end of time period / Total customers at the start of time period X100

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