Simple was an experiment in banking. Could a bank not be evil?

I got to wear lots of hats at Simple as it transitioned from startup to bonafide offering. Unfortunately, the experiment didn’t last and in 2021, Simple’s parent bank announced they would be shutting it down.

Some highlights:

• Built our first customer personas, along with an awesome board game to go with them, by combining quantitative analysis of user behavior with diary studies + interviews (I gave a talk about our process at Qualtrics’ X4 Experience Summit)
• Partnered with the Financial Health Network and became one of the first financial institutions in America to measure our customers’ financial health with a focus on improving it over time
• Got to learn a lot about behavioral economics and work with Irrational Labs on interventions to help customers increase their savings rate

So, can a bank not be evil? There are plenty of other startups trying to find out. Let’s hope one of them succeeds.