Lizanne D'Souza knows product and Fintech. She’s run product teams in both emerging and developed markets over the past 20 years, and most recently at Flutterwave. Product strategy is an elusive yet critical piece of startup success. Lizanne has spent many years honing her strategic thinking skills within the payments industry. Today we have the pleasure of uncovering some of the gems she’s picked up along the way.
Q: Tell me about your background, how did you get into product?
My journey with product kicked off at BMO Financial Group in North America. I started out in corporate strategy then moved into a product role in payments because I saw that as a growth driver for the bank. Back then, we were looking to expand the bank’s share in new payment channels like debit cards and contactless payments. The thing that appealed to me about working in product was that it gave exposure across a wide range of areas from strategy, operations, sales, finance, investor relations etc.
Q: From your experience over the years, what are some of the key product principles that you still rely on today?
Thinking about the customer above all else. Forget about the sales, the marketing, the financial targets etc. – think about how you’re going to help the customer and solve a problem for them. Once you really understand and know how to do this, you figure out how to monetize the solution (and if it's worth monetizing!).
Another principle that I adhere to is simplicity. “Less is always more!” We tend to overcomplicate things as humans, and oftentimes, the deeper the customization the more difficult it is to monetize. A great product is a simple and elegant solution that can cut across multiple use cases.
Q: How would you define strategy?
Strategy to me is about making choices. Good strategy isn’t about picking the 20 things you can be good at, but identifying a small number of opportunities you're well suited for - either because of a gap in the market that no one is paying attention to, or a unique capability or asset that you have that others don’t. Strategy is about being able to say “no” to a lot of things because you know the 2 to 3 things that you have said “yes” to, will get you to where you want to be.
Q: What’s your go to framework for strategic thinking?
I tend to stay away from SWOT because in most situations anything could fit in those four boxes. To me, it tends to come down to 3 things: customer, competitor, and internal capabilities. How do these 3 things stack up to help you answer the question on why you should or shouldn’t invest in certain areas or activities.
Q: Can you share an example of a time when you applied the three C’s (if I can call them that)?
Right now, I’m looking at the remittances opportunities within Africa for the organisation I’m working with. We’re trying to understand if we should enter a new market or stick with where we are.
Here are some questions we’re asking across the 3 C’s:
Customers: What is the size of the opportunity for customers? What are some of the pain points they face today in receiving remittances? What do senders experience when sending money to this market?
Competitors: Who are the competitors already doing this? How are they doing? Are they profitable? Is it a white space?
Capabilities: Do we know the language? Are we able to find senders for this market? How will we reach the unbanked in these markets? Will digital channels suffice or will we need to develop physical networks?
Q: We’ve heard of many Africa based startups closing shop in the recent year. How big a role do you think strategy plays in startup failure?
Strategy plays a significant role. There’s been a trend in the not so distant past when investment was flowing to simply get out there, do something and “see what sticks.” The reality is that sustainable growth depends on having a clear understanding of who your target market is, what you are solving for and figuring out what your competitive advantage is that gives you the “right to play.” And while figuring out your strategy is half the battle, execution is also important. All too often, startups get distracted with a new product launch by a competitor or the next big trend and fail to stay the course and realise the returns. While being open to change and pivoting when needed is important, it has to be for the right reasons with well thought through strategic intent.
Q: What advice would you give to fintechs to avoid premature expansion into new geographical regions?
Know your market. Africa is a vast and diverse geography. It’s easy at a global level to generalise across the continent, but efficient and effective returns from geographic expansion mean you’ve got to go deep in your understanding of that market. If a market looks and feels the same, you’re likely missing something, no matter what the industry. A key success factor is recognizing what elements of your product can scale with standardisation and what needs to be tweaked to be successful in that market. This is especially pertinent in Africa as infrastructure and regulations are still highly fragmented - geographic expansion on a whim often leads to significant losses.
Q: What advice would you give to fintechs struggling with low user retention?
Low user retention means there is likely something off with your product. What you’re selling is not what you’re delivering. A good place to start is observing users through the onboarding journey, and then identifying their first interaction or transaction with your product and how that goes. If the first experience is a “wow,” chances are the user will come back and try other services. If it’s not, that’s what you need to fix first. Often, the first thing a user tries with your product isn’t the most obvious interaction you’ve built for.
Q: How would you advise fintechs to go about balancing between regulatory compliance and product validation?
One way I’ve seen work really well is forging partnerships that allow you to ride on regulatory approvals of another ecosystem player. This allows you to test out your own solution, without the burden of seeking regulatory approval on your own. Even beyond the validation phase, partnerships can work to your advantage in this region - the opportunities are vast and you can’t solve everything at once: partnerships help you bridge gaps so you can focus on the areas that truly matter to you.
Q: What advice would you give founders looking to understand their customers better?
Invest days if not weeks, clear your schedule, and observe and watch your customers day to day. This is the most valuable thing you could do to help inform your product roadmap.
That’s the difference between amazing, off the bat PMF and constant iteration to get to PMF. Time with the customer.
Q: How do you handle customer interactions in such a way that you don’t bias the feedback shared?
What I’ve found is that people are very open to being understood. Make it clear to the customer that you are just trying to understand them so that you can help, not sell them something or gather secret information.
Q: In a region where cash transactions are still prevalent, how do you encourage adoption of digital payment solutions and build trust among users who may be sceptical of digital platforms?
You need to put yourself in their shoes. Account for their education level, income level etc. I’ve found that framing the product in the customer’s context helps. E.g. “I know you don’t have a lot of money and you don’t want to get robbed on your way home.” Could work as a means of convincing a customer to store their funds digitally.
Q: I can see how framing is helpful, but getting people to change behaviour is tricky - what strategies have you seen working in your career with respect to converting users from cash to digital payments?
The battle to digitise cash is a two-sided coin! It takes convincing consumers AND merchants to drive digital payment adoption. Sometimes you are too heavily focused on the consumer or the merchant side, and the results just aren’t there. There isn’t a silver bullet in my view; organisations that win are those who are consistent and relentless in their approach, working on both the consumer and merchant to drive digital payments. Seismic shifters like COVID undoubtedly have a role to play… I guess the trick is being able to foresee the next big wave - one thing I see in Africa is an explosion of the youth bracket and the tremendous purchasing potential they will collectively have in a few years. If you’re able to figure out how to capture Gen Z’s hearts and minds (they will be our future consumers and merchants), you’re very well placed!
By Edwin Maganjo, Verdant Frontiers Fintech Fund
At Verdant Frontiers Fintech Fund, we not only invest in start-ups, but we leverage our decades of entrepreneurial experience to help our portfolio companies accelerate PMF. Reach out to us here if you would like to learn more.
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