Angeles Montero
Investly
Investment learning App for first-time investors
Project Overview
Details
Investly is a mobile-first app designed to break down investment barriers for beginners. As my solo Master’s project at LABASAD, I led every phase, from user research to high-fidelity prototypes to create a seamless journey from education to simulated practice and finally real-world investing
Client:
LABASAD Master's project
My Role:
UX/UI Designer
Year:
2025
Scope of work
UX/UI design, App Design, Investment
Mission
To empower beginner investors by providing bite-sized learning and a risk-free sandbox that builds competence and confidence before users commit real capital.
Research & Insights
Research goals
🔵 Understand the emotional barriers and knowledge gaps holding back first-time investors.
🔵 Identify which educational formats and simulation tools inspire continued engagement.
🔵 Validate the minimum set of features needed to instil initial confidence.
Research methods
User Interviews: 9 participants (students, freelancers, entry-level professionals).
Competitive Benchmarking: Reviewed solutions like eToro, Trading 212, Finimize, Bloom.
Usability Testing: Three iterative rounds on Figma prototypes to refine flow and copy.
Key findings
✨ Technical jargon makes users abandon apps immediately.
✨ Fear of financial loss is the #1 deterrent to taking any investing action.
✨ Learners prefer micro-lessons (2–3 minutes each) with immediate feedback.
✨ A virtual trading environment reduces anxiety and encourages exploration.
Personas
✧ Alex Carter (The young professional)
🔵 Needs: Plain‑language lessons, achievements and a clear path to real investing.
🔴 Frustrations: Overwhelmed by technical dashboards and lack of guided transitions.
✧ Michael Fox (The first-time investor)
🔵 Needs: Expert tips, transparent metrics, and reassurance before live investing.
🔴 Frustrations: Anxiety around simulated vs. real market discrepancies.
Problem statement
Through user research, the following key challenges were identified:
🔴 Too much jargon alienates beginners.
🔴 Users are afraid to make mistakes without practice.
🔴 There’s no clear learning path for beginners.
🔴 Motivation drops quickly without short-term rewards.
Solution concept
Investly is built around a two-phase learning journey that mirrors how people naturally build skills:
Learn Phase
✦ Learning flashcards: 7+ micro-lessons broken into thematic clusters.
✦ Quiz Checkpoints: A brief 3-question quiz after every lesson to reinforce understanding before moving on.
✦ Glossary Tooltips: Inline tooltips and a persistent glossary popup whenever a term is tapped.
Simulate Phase
✦ Paper-Money Investment Simulator: Users receive a virtual portfolio seeded with €500 in play money, allowing them to place market and limit orders against near-live market data.
✦ Guided Prompts: Contextual hints appear at critical first actions to coach decision-making without hand-holding.
✦ Performance Dashboard: A simple overview shows users their simulated portfolio value over time and recent investments so they can track progress from learning to doing.
Key features
Plain-Language Onboarding: Glossary popups & example-based explanations.
Personalized Learning Hub: Progress bars, quiz recap, and “Next Up” recommendations.
Real-Market Simulation: Virtual paper money portfolio, real-time price feeds, practice orders.
Gamified Milestones: Achievement Wall, progress streaks, and visual rewards.
Wireframes & prototype
Low-Fidelity Wireframes: Mobile-first flows for onboarding, lessons, quizzes, and simulation—prioritizing clarity and thumb-reach.
High-Fidelity Prototype: Polished in Figma with a friendly color palette, Sora headings, Inter body text, intuitive iconography, and micro-animations that guide user focus.
Measurable impact
+60%
Quiz Accuracy
After iterative content refinements
-45%
Onboarding Drop-Off
Simplifying language & reducing steps
↑ 4.2
NPS
Prototype & achievements motivation
Conclusions & learnings
✦ Simplicity Wins: Eliminating jargon and streamlining flows sharply cut drop-off rates.
✦ Practice Over Theory: A sandbox trading desk gave users the confidence to “learn by doing.”
✦ Clear Milestones Fuel Retention: Visible progress bars and badges kept users returning.
✦ Iterate with Real Users: Early usability tests drove the most impactful improvements.
This solo project underscores my full-stack UX expertise, from deep user research and problem framing to iterative prototyping and data-driven validation, laying the groundwork for future advisor and real-money features.
