Blast-FinTech (Savings/Investing)
Product Manager and Director of Project Manager (2015-2018)
Blast: The Banking App That Leveled Up Saving for Gamers
Gamers, Meet Your Bank—A Savings & Investing Platform Built for the Digital Age
If life is a game, why shouldn’t saving money feel like one? That was the core idea behind Blast, a next-gen banking and investing app designed by the founding team behind Acorns. Built for Millennials and Gen Z gamers, Blast combined the instant gratification, customization, and challenge-based engagement of gaming with a full-featured mobile banking experience. No monthly fees, early direct deposit, seamless peer-to-peer transfers, cash-back rewards, and even game-based savings missions—Blast turned leveling up your bank account into a game itself.
At its core, Blast was built to eliminate financial stress while playing into the digital habits and expectations of modern gamers. Whether it was earning cash back in the rewards marketplace, completing gaming challenges for bonuses, or seamlessly investing savings into stocks via Acorns, every aspect of the app was designed to feel familiar, rewarding, and frictionless. With integrations across Epic, Steam, Wells Fargo, PayPal, Plaid, and more, it wasn’t just another fintech app—it was a banking experience tailored to a generation raised on customization, digital rewards, and social connection.
Gamification Meets Banking: The Features That Made Blast Stand Out
Blast wasn’t just about throwing financial tools into an app—it was about crafting a money experience that fit seamlessly into how gamers think, play, and interact. Every feature was built around gaming mechanics that made saving effortless and rewarding:
- Instant Gratification → Instant Cash Back: Shop at popular merchants and get rewarded instantly with cash-back bonuses.
- Challenge Mentality → Built-in Missions: Complete financial tasks (pay a bill, set up direct deposit, refer a friend) to earn redeemable points.
- Simplicity & High Quality → Intuitive UX: No clunky menus, no overcomplicated features—just clean, easy-to-use tools built for mobile-first users.
- Social & Shareable → Seamless P2P Payments: Blast worked with major payment apps, letting users send money to friends on Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, and more.
- Gaming Integration → Save While You Play: Link your Epic or Steam accounts and earn cash-back rewards for completing in-game missions.
- Smart Investing → Acorns Integration: Convert your gaming-earned savings into stock investments, because even loot drops can turn into long-term gains.
My Role: Architecting the Ultimate Gamer Banking Experience
As Product Manager & Project Manager, I led product UX, design, and roadmap development, ensuring Blast wasn’t just functional—it was fun, frictionless, and deeply engaging. I worked with stakeholders, architects, and data engineers to define technical specs, designed journey maps and business requirements, and managed an agile kanban development team to bring the vision to life. On the backend, I collaborated with the BI team to build Looker Studio dashboards for tracking user behavior and financial performance. On the business side, I partnered with marketing and biz dev teams to craft go-to-market, acquisition, and channel sales strategies. I also worked with an IP consultant to identify, document, and apply for patents, protecting Blast’s unique approach to gamified savings and investing.
The Scoreboard: How Blast Performed & Where It Landed
- $5M run rate at launch, leveling off at $1.5M as user acquisition scaled.
- Successfully positioned as a unique fintech offering that merged gaming culture with financial wellness.
- Acquired by another company, validating its potential and paving the way for its next evolution.
Blast wasn’t just another savings app—it was a game-changing approach to banking for digital-first, gaming-native generations. By tapping into what makes gamers tick—challenges, rewards, competition, and community—we turned financial management into something engaging, rewarding, and actually fun.
