Revolut Refer-a-Friend: Diagnose the Funnel and Plan Improvements for the CEO

As product owner for Revolut's refer-a-friend program, you get a request from the CEO, who is about to leave on vacation: make the program better. How do you proceed, and what improvements would you propose? ```hint Agree on "better" before the CEO leaves Improving the program could mean more sign-ups, cheaper customers or customers who stay. Pin down which one with the CEO before the vacation starts, then follow a single referral from invitation to a verified, actively used account to see where it breaks. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - What does the CEO most want from the program: more new customers, a lower cost per acquired customer, or customers who stay active and fund their accounts? - Which markets are in scope, and is the reward currently paid only to the referrer or to both the referrer and the friend? - What may I change while the CEO is away (copy, flows, experiments), and what needs sign-off, such as reward amounts or terms? - What should be ready when the CEO returns: a plan, experiment results, or shipped changes? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Turning a vague request into a measurable goal, plus a working plan for the period when the CEO is unavailable - A referral funnel specific to a financial app (invitation, sign-up, identity verification, first qualifying use, reward, retention) with the drop-off points diagnosed - Referrer and invitee segments with concrete pain points, and improvements prioritized by impact and effort - Referral economics and quality: reward cost per retained customer compared with other channels, and controls against reward abuse - Success metrics with guardrails, and constraints such as financial-promotion rules that differ by market ### Follow-up Questions - Referral sign-ups jump after a reward increase, but most new accounts never pass identity verification. What do you do? - How would you stop people from creating fake accounts to collect referral rewards? - The CEO returns and asks for one change to ship this week. Which one, and why?