Diagnose, rank and solve the top problems in a digital rotating savings circle app

MoneyFellows runs money circles online. It digitizes the rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA), an informal arrangement people have long organized among themselves offline, and aims to make finding and managing a circle more trustworthy and more convenient. Each circle combines saving and borrowing: - A member's score determines which circles they can search for and join. - Once a circle starts, every member pays the same installment each month for a fixed number of months. - Each month one member receives the total the other members paid in, and the payout rotates until every member has had theirs. The app helps people find trusted circles, track and automate their payments, and build up their score. Because circles are digital, open slots are always available, whether someone wants to save or needs money urgently. The main features are: - Several ways to pay, such as salary deduction, credit card and cash collection. - A fixed payout date for every member, with no delays. - Guaranteed circles: if a member stops paying, the platform replaces their slot. - Extra benefits for employees of the platform's corporate partners. - A scoring system that members build over time to unlock larger payouts and earlier slots. Your task: 1. Identify three to five issues with the app. 2. Prioritize them and choose the one you would tackle first. 3. You do not have the app's data, so use stated assumptions to identify and solve the issue. 4. Present your findings and explain how you arrived at your solution. ```hint Follow one member through a circle Trace a member from sign-up and a first score, through finding and joining a circle, paying each month, receiving a payout and finishing, and note where trust, cost or convenience breaks down for savers and for people who need money early. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Which outcome matters most to the business right now: attracting new members, filling and starting circles quickly, on-time payments, or revenue per circle? - Should the issues include the business model, such as the default risk the platform takes on by guaranteeing every circle, or only the member-facing app experience? - Which markets does the app mainly serve, and how many members join through corporate partners and pay by salary deduction? - What evidence can I assume exists: app-store reviews, support tickets, funnel analytics or payment and default data? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A clear account of how a circle creates value and risk for members and for the platform, given before any issue is listed - Three to five issues across the member's lifecycle, each tied to a stated assumption and a way to check it - Explicit prioritization criteria and a clear choice of which issue to tackle first - A solution for that issue with success metrics, guardrails and a plan to validate it - The risks the solution creates, especially for losses the platform absorbs under its guarantee ### Follow-up Questions - If you could pull real data for one week, what would you look at first to confirm your top issue, and what result would change your priority? - How would your fix change the platform's exposure when a member stops paying partway through a circle? - How would you decide which members get earlier slots so that a circle stays fair to everyone and safe for the platform?