ZoneSage
Overview
Objective: To create a product that simplifies financial management for short-term rental owners by eliminating the hassle of tracking expenses and reducing errors.
Team: Tara Kumawat (Dev), Sanjeet Kumar (Dev), Indu Saini (Contract UI/UX) , Ankit Agarwal (CTO), Dylan Williams (CEO),
Role: Co-Founder, Head of Product
Tools Used: Jira, Figma, Adobe Suite, Webflow, Posthog, Notion, Excel, Google Analytics
My Process
I led the end-to-end design and product strategy for ZoneSage, focusing on simplifying financial management for short-term rental owners. My process involved user research to identify pain points, defining key features, and iterating based on feedback to ensure an intuitive and effective solution. By balancing user needs with business goals, I created a scalable product that streamlines financial tracking and decision-making.
Product Research: From Findings to Validation
Identifying the Gaps in Legacy Accounting Software
Short-term rental (STR) owners often rely on traditional accounting tools that are too complex and not tailored to their needs. Many existing solutions include irrelevant data, leading to costly financial oversights, missed savings, and manual errors. Through extensive research and outreach, we uncovered a growing demand for a streamlined, automated solution designed specifically for STR operators.
Validating market Interest
📩 500+ Cold Emails
📞 70+ Cold Calls
💬 30+ Social DMs
To validate this demand, we conducted direct outreach to STR hosts and property managers. The overwhelming response confirmed that many operators struggle with time-consuming expense tracking, unclear financial reporting, and the lack of automation in existing tools.
Leveraging Community Insights for Product Strategy
Through our research, we discovered that Facebook groups are the primary online community for short-term rental hosts. This insight shaped our go-to-market strategy, leading to the development of a 1,500+ member community that serves as both a research tool and a customer acquisition channel.
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP):
Research revealed that hosts managing more than 10 properties typically employ full-time accountants, whereas smaller-scale operators (1-10 properties) represent 60% of the market and often lack the time or expertise for manual bookkeeping.
ICP:
Age: 35-65
Properties: 1-10
Location: USA
Needs: Not a full-time job, too busy to manage finances manually, values automation and simplicity
Addressing the Market Gap: A Specialized Financial Solution for STR Hosts
Our research revealed that users were dissatisfied with existing accounting software, using only a small fraction of its features. Expense tracking was often time-consuming and prone to errors. Based on these insights, we prioritized developing a specialized platform designed to automate expense tracking, minimize errors, and cater specifically to the needs of short-term rental owners.
Product Development: Building Version 1 (V1)
Led design/dev sprints in collaboration with the UI/UX designer and development team, prioritizing fast development and iterative processes to create the V1 initial design. Oversaw all UI/UX efforts, focusing on translating high-fidelity design docs into developer-ready sprints.
First Dashboard
Enhancing Dashboard Interaction
Iterated on the design with the UI/UX designer to address user needs, streamlining Profit & Loss (P&L) reports for improved usability. Refined formatting to align with accountants' workflows, enhancing accuracy and efficiency.
Streamlined Reports
In collaboration with the UI/UX designer, who designed the dashboard, I worked closely with the development team, focusing on defining category implementation and hover indicators to enhance user interaction and streamline data organization.
Transaction Input Pop Up
Transaction Page
Improving Transaction Accuracy and Data Categorization Alerts
While testing bank linking and transaction pulls with my personal account, I identified two key issues: untracked one-off transactions from other cards and difficulty categorizing data or assigning it to properties. To address these, I incorporated transaction pop-ups for manual entry and notification alerts to flag missing data, enhancing data integrity and user awareness.
Product Development: Building Version 2 (V2)
Led the development of Version 2, managing design and strategy while integrating user feedback. Introduced PMS integration, a user-requested must-have, to enhance functionality and improve the overall experience.
Customizable Dashboard
Customizable Data Display: Adapting to Diverse Business Needs
Faced with diverse feedback on data display preferences and the importance of specific metrics for different businesses, I enhanced user control by introducing customizable data views. This allowed users to tailor their experience to their unique needs while addressing varying workflows. Collaborated with developers to maintain a default setting with essential data, balancing personalization with usability to cater to a broad user demographic.
New UI and Redesign for Data Visualization Widgets
Integrated forecasting data from Property Management Systems to enhance predictions and determine optimal data representation and calculations.
Direct Manual Transaction Input
Streamlined manual transaction entry by allowing users to input directly, bypassing the pop-up. This adjustment significantly reduced the time users spend on data entry.
Outcomes
Current Users:
28 active hosts
Improvement:
Out of the 13 hosts who participated in the survey 92% reported improvements in both time savings and accuracy of expense tracking.
Main Constraints Faced:
Users sought Property Management System (PMS) integration, but direct API connections with major platforms faced stringent requirements, impeding effective data collection. This limitation restricted our ability to expand feature offerings.
Solution Implemented:
Through consultations with industry peers, a third-party API was adopted to enable the desired PMS integration. This solution facilitated advanced data graphing and initiated the development of predictive analytics to provide deeper insights for users.
Reflecting on Building ZoneSage:
Working on ZoneSage taught me the unique challenges of designing for a fintech product, where adding intentional friction is sometimes necessary. This was a departure from traditional UI/UX principles, where simplification is often the priority. Balancing these constraints while maintaining usability was a critical learning experience.
I also learned the importance of fast iterations, as constant feedback often opened new doors but also required removing features we had invested significant effort into. This iterative process highlighted that obvious answers aren't always right, forcing us to question assumptions and adapt quickly.
Another key takeaway was understanding the nuances of data usage. I discovered that just because data indicates strong performance in one context doesn't guarantee success elsewhere. Lumping data together without considering context often led to mismatches in user expectations and performance, reinforcing the importance of tailoring data to specific scenarios.
