My Impact At

FID

ELITY

Fidelity eMoney

Strategic market expansion for Incentive financial wellness platform
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Project Brief

During Wharton, I had the opportunity to consult on Fidelity's financial wellness app, eMoney. The project was to determine a new market opportunity for the Incentive product while identifying product gaps, go-to-market strategy, and the appropriate roadmap for implementation.

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Deliverables

Comprehensive market analysis across 5 segments, strategic recommendation for university student expansion, detailed go-to-market strategy with pricing framework, and 18-month product roadmap with feature prioritization and engineering estimates.

Market Opportunity Analysis
Evaluating market segments for Incentive expansion
CHALLENGE
Fidelity's eMoney Incentive product had established product-market fit with employer-sponsored financial wellness programs, but growth required expanding beyond the initial market. The challenge: identify the highest-potential adjacent market segment among 5 candidates (Employers, Students, Institutional, D2C, Self-employed) without diluting resources or compromising core value proposition.
APPROACH
Developed comprehensive market evaluation framework analyzing each segment across Impact (market size, revenue potential) and Feasibility (go-to-market complexity, existing asset leverage, competitive landscape). Conducted primary research with 50+ stakeholders including students, university administrators, financial aid offices, and competitive teardowns of Mint, Wally, Payactiv, and Spring.
IMPACT
Identified university students as optimal next market: HIGH impact + MEDIUM feasibility
Average ARR opportunity: $28,000 per mid-size institution, $46,400 per large institution
Quantified $22.4M TAM targeting 1,590 schools (5,000-19,999 students: $14M; >20,000 students: $8.4M)
Validated white space—competitive analysis showed no apps focused on student-specific financial journeys
$22.4M
TOTAL TAM
1,159
TARGET SCHOOLS
4.5M
TOTAL ENROLLMENT
Go-to-Market Strategy & Pricing
Building scalable university partnership model
CHALLENGE
University partnerships require navigating complex multi-stakeholder decision-making processes involving financial aid offices, IT departments, student affairs, and endowment managers. Traditional enterprise SaaS sales motions (6-12 month cycles, RFPs, procurement) would be too slow for startup-style growth targets. Pricing models needed to balance university budget constraints with Fidelity's revenue requirements while incentivizing student adoption.
APPROACH
Designed dual-customer GTM strategy addressing both university payers (financial aid offices, student affairs) and student end-users. Recommended partnership model with financial institutions (banks, credit unions) funding wellness programs at universities to create three-way value exchange. Developed subscription-based pricing tied to student population size with tiered engagement metrics.
IMPACT
Market Segmentation: Target schools with dedicated budgets and large populations—more willing to spend and comparable acquisition effort across sizes
Reduced sales cycle from 12 months to 6 months through financial institution co-selling
Pricing Strategy: Universities with dedicated budgets less price sensitive than donation/sponsorship-reliant schools
Created partnership framework with credit unions seeking student acquisition
July 2022
PILOT LAUNCH
10 schools Oct
PHASE 2
Dec 2022
GA LAUNCH
Product Gaps & Implementation Roadmap
Adapting employer product for student needs
CHALLENGE
Incentive was purpose-built for employer-sponsored retirement planning and financial wellness. Student financial journeys are fundamentally different: managing student loans, navigating first credit cards, budgeting on variable part-time income, and planning for post-graduation transitions. The existing product had significant gaps in content, features, and user experience design for 18-24 year-old users accustomed to mobile-first, social-influenced experiences.
APPROACH
Conducted gap analysis comparing employer product features against student needs identified through Jobs-to-be-Done interviews. Prioritized feature roadmap using MoSCoW framework (Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, Won't Have). Designed 18-month implementation roadmap balancing student-specific features with leveraging existing platform capabilities to minimize engineering investment.
IMPACT
Identified 5 student-focused features validated through user feedback: student-centric resources, semester fund forecasting, configurable framework, budgeting, automated reporting
Student needs: Budgeting, Debt Management, Investing & Taxes guidance, Mortgage planning
University needs: Customizable, Actionable, Low Cost, White-Labeled, Training Tool capabilities
Development sizing: 1 X-Small, 3 Medium, 1 Small feature—balanced scope for MVP launch
5 Validated
MVP FEATURES
1 XS, 3 Med, 1 Sm
DEV SIZING
Dual-customer
USER NEEDS

Engineering delightful solutions to problems that matter.

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