Wage.Win.Repeat
A head-to-head investment game where Gen Z beginners learn confident decision-making through competition
Impact
Discovered user motivations extend far beyond financial gain—community, gamification, and instant gratification drive engagement
Research
Design
ROLE
Product Designer
& UX Researcher
TYPE
0→1 Core Loop
TIMELINE
May 2025 – Feb 2026
(Public Launch)
TEAM
Founder/PO, Designers,
Engineers, Marketing
TOOLS
Figma · Maze
My Contributions 0→1
→
Conducted primary research, surveys, interviews, competitor usability, card sorting, concept testing, for the second iteration.
→
Led the end-to-end redesign of core user flows.
→
Established Wage’s brand standards within the design system.
Overview
What if investing felt more like playing fantasy sports than studying for an exam?
Gen Z starts investing at 19, 6 years earlier than Millennials¹. Yet 55% still haven't started², and among those who do engage with investing, 80% quit within the first two years³. Early entry hasn't guaranteed sustained participation. While the opportunity is clear, something breaks in the moment beginners need to decide.
¹ ² Charles Schwab Modern Wealth Survey, 2024
³ Bloomberg Intelligence, 2025
01. CHALLENGE & Outcome
What We Learned, What We Changed
01
Challenge
Solution
01
The Paper Trading Paradox
Fake money removes fear, but it also removes meaning: beginners “randomly pick” and walk away feeling like they learned nothing.
Emotional Stakes, Not Financial Risk
We introduce head‑to‑head matches with real opponents so that users feel real emotional stakes and a reason to care, without putting actual money at risk.
02
Decision Outsourcing
When they feel unsure, novices look for someone to copy - parents, friends, or news - because they don’t have a clear way to make their own decisions.
Social Signals for Confidence
We surface opponents’ picks and simple social context so beginners can compare, reflect, and gradually build confidence in their own choices instead of blindly copying.
03
The Delayed Learning Gap
Existing apps separate “learning” from “doing”: users memorize assets or terms before playing, then struggle to recall any of it during a 60‑second game.
A Continuous Action Loop
We bring “Bookmarked Assets” directly into the game UI so users can act on what interests them in the moment, without the cognitive load of memorizing before they play.
Three core behavioral challenges and the product decisions we made to address them.
00. CONTEXT
Methods at a Glance
Research Overview
To validate these challenges and design solutions, I conducted mixed-methods research comparing how beginners think versus how experienced investors actually decide.
00. Research Phase 1
How Big Is the “Ready, Set, Freeze” Problem?
Are Gen Z actually struggling to start, or is this just a few anecdotes?
What I did – Survey (N=30, ages 19–28)
I ran a survey with 30 Gen Z participants recruited via Discord communities, university networks, and personal referrals. I measured whether they invest today, how soon they plan to start, and what’s holding them back.
Q1.
Current investment experience (N=30)
53%
Have never invested
(16/30)
Q3.
Future investment plans among non-investors (N=16)
No Plan
12.5%
88%
of non-investors
Plans to invest
(14/16)
In next 1 years
25%
In next 5 years
62.5%
Q5.
Top barriers to starting to invest among non‑investors (N=16)
I don’t know where to begin
I don’t have the time or mental energy
Financial terms feel overwhelming
I’m worried I’ll lose money
I don’t have anyone to talk to
12
11
10
8
6
Gen Z doesn’t lack motivation; they’re stuck in an intent–action gap. Many want to invest and see it as important, but when it’s time to click “Buy”, the process feels confusing, risky, and isolating.
Research Phase 1
What Actually Happens in Today's "Beginner" Apps?
What do Gen Z beginners actually do when they try existing investing games?
What I did – Competitive analysis + usability (N=5)
While waiting for access to our own pilot, I analyzed three investing games (including Profit.com, TradingGame, Bloom) and two fantasy‑sports‑style apps (StadiumLive, PrizePicks).
← Learning outside the game
Learning inside the game →
Solo
StadiumLive
PrizePicks
TradingGame
Bloom
Profit.com
Wage
Social
Investing apps silo learning
Profit.com, Bloom, TradingGame hide education in Explore‑style tabs that beginners ignored while actually playing.
Fantasy sports embed it
StadiumLive & PrizePicks put stats and context directly inside every pick. Learning and doing are one action.
Wage bridges the gap
It uses post‑match debriefs, visible rivals, and lightweight prompts during play to turn each match into both a game and a lesson.
In today’s “beginner” games, learning lives outside the match, so first‑time investors play blind even in content‑rich apps.
Competitor Micro-Usability Testing
Profit.com · N=5 · 10-minute 1v1 match
Then I ran usability sessions with five Gen Z beginners using a feature‑rich competitor that was closest to Wage’s concept.
The goal: could a beginner actually understand what was happening, and make a meaningful decision inside a 10-minute match?
5/5
Advanced tools ignored
"I don't know what this graph means, so I just skipped it."
4/5
Surface-level decisions
"I picked Apple because I recognize the logo."
4/5
Invisible competition
"Wait, I was playing against a person? I would've enjoyed seeing I was crushing them."
The structural gap
What apps assumed
Explore
Learn tools
Feel confident
Decide
What actually happened
Scan surface cues
Click randomly
React to color
Leave
The problem wasn't missing content. It was a disconnect between information and the moment of decision.
02. Research Phase 1
Why Do Beginners Think and Act This Way?
Why do beginners behave like this, and how is that different from how experienced investors actually think?
What I did – 6 in-depth interviews
I interviewed three beginners (0–1 year of experience) and three experienced investors (5+ years), recruited via a university Slack Channel and LinkedIn. I used a semi‑structured guide with questions like:
beginners (0–1 year of experience)
“Walk me through your first investment decision.”
“What do you wish you knew when starting out?”
“How do you decide what to buy now?”
experienced investors (5+ years)
“Walk me through your first investment decision.”
“What do you wish you knew when starting out?”
“How do you decide what to buy now?”
03. Research Phase 1
Does our proposed structure actually feel right to use?
Early testing showed that Wage worked only when play, Explore, and post‑match debrief each had a distinct job in the learning loop.
What I did – 6 in-depth interviews
I interviewed three beginners (0–1 year of experience) and three experienced investors (5+ years), recruited via a university Slack Channel and LinkedIn. I used a semi‑structured guide with questions like:
beginners (0–1 year of experience)
“Walk me through your first investment decision.”
“What do you wish you knew when starting out?”
“How do you decide what to buy now?”
experienced investors (5+ years)
“Walk me through your first investment decision.”
“What do you wish you knew when starting out?”
“How do you decide what to buy now?”
Insight 01
The Paper Trading Paradox
Problem
Safety removes fear — but it also removes meaning. Participants treated paper trading like a toy: they guessed, didn't care about outcomes, and concluded they had learned nothing.
Hypothesis
If users feel real emotional stakes — even without financial risk — they will care about the outcome and engage more deliberately with their decisions.
Solution
Make visible competition the core of the experience. A real opponent, a live HUD, and a timed match create psychological stakes without any financial exposure.
Outcome Design 1
Outcome Design 2
Outcome Design 3
Insight 02
Decision Outsourcing
Problem
Overwhelmed by ambiguity, beginners don't trust their own judgment. Instead of learning to decide, they outsource to parents, friends, or social media — and hope for the best.
Hypothesis
If beginners can see what others are choosing — and how those choices perform — they can compare, reflect, and gradually build their own sense of judgment.
Solution
Provide social signals, not raw data. Show opponent picks and performance so beginners have a reference point, without removing the need to think for themselves.
Outcome Design 1
Outcome Design 2
Outcome Design 3
Insight 03
Isolated Learning and Playing
Problem
Existing apps separate "learning" from "doing." Users memorize assets before playing, then struggle to recall any of it inside a 60-second match.
Hypothesis
If users can carry what they found interesting directly into the game — without memorizing — the gap between exploration and decision collapses.
Solution
Bookmark lets users save assets while browsing freely. Inside the match, bookmarks surface instantly — so intention formed outside the game becomes actionable inside it.
Outcome Design 1
Outcome Design 2
Outcome Design 3
REFLECTION
What I learned as a researcher
As someone with a conservative approach to finance, I initially doubted the value proposition of combining FinTech with gaming mechanics. The target demographic felt distant from my own experience. That bias quietly shaped my early research — I framed Wage as a FinTech tool and wrote questions around literacy and risk, while underexploring the social and gaming motivations behind it.
Usability testing proved me wrong. There were beginners willing to overcome their fear of investing specifically because of the social aspect and competition. It was a pleasant surprise to hear a participant yell “Fuck yeah” out of excitement.
This project reminded me that my job as a researcher isn’t to validate my assumptions. It’s to systematically challenge the problem space.
Work
Creative
Research
About
Resume