Advising Ziina from a five-person seed team to a $30M-funded payments company
Advising Ziina from a five-person seed team to a $30M-funded payments company
Advising Ziina from a five-person seed team to a $30M-funded payments company
Advising Ziina from a five-person seed team to a $30M-funded payments company
Through Ligature, the design VC I co-founded, we invested in Ziina’s seed round in 2021. Since 2021, I have advised Ziina for five years, working with founding designer Anton Badashov and the team in monthly creative reviews on product strategy, growth and design hiring.
Through Ligature, the design VC I co-founded, we invested in Ziina’s seed round in 2021. Since 2021, I have advised Ziina for five years, working with founding designer Anton Badashov and the team in monthly creative reviews on product strategy, growth and design hiring.
Through Ligature, the design VC I co-founded, we invested in Ziina’s seed round in 2021. Since 2021, I have advised Ziina for five years, working with founding designer Anton Badashov and the team in monthly creative reviews on product strategy, growth and design hiring.
Through Ligature, the design VC I co-founded, we invested in Ziina’s seed round in 2021. Since 2021, I have advised Ziina for five years, working with founding designer Anton Badashov and the team in monthly creative reviews on product strategy, growth and design hiring.
A five-person team with a mission of financial freedom.
Ziina means beauty or ornament in Arabic, and the team believed design could change people’s lives for the better. When we invested, Ziina was five people, Anton was its first designer, and the team was building its first peer-to-peer payments app from scratch while working through complex regulation.
A five-person team with a mission of financial freedom.
Ziina means beauty or ornament in Arabic, and the team believed design could change people’s lives for the better. When we invested, Ziina was five people, Anton was its first designer, and the team was building its first peer-to-peer payments app from scratch while working through complex regulation.
A five-person team with a mission of financial freedom.
Ziina means beauty or ornament in Arabic, and the team believed design could change people’s lives for the better. When we invested, Ziina was five people, Anton was its first designer, and the team was building its first peer-to-peer payments app from scratch while working through complex regulation.
Connect a two-year vision to bets you can measure.
In our reviews we zoomed out to a two-year view, then back to the next six to twelve months, tying each big bet to a measurable short-term outcome. That shaped Ziina’s product design strategy and the order the roadmap was built in.
Connect a two-year vision to bets you can measure.
In our reviews we zoomed out to a two-year view, then back to the next six to twelve months, tying each big bet to a measurable short-term outcome. That shaped Ziina’s product design strategy and the order the roadmap was built in.
Connect a two-year vision to bets you can measure.
In our reviews we zoomed out to a two-year view, then back to the next six to twelve months, tying each big bet to a measurable short-term outcome. That shaped Ziina’s product design strategy and the order the roadmap was built in.
Clarity over features.
In Dubai, about 90% of residents are expats, so the consumer app was kept to three jobs: receive money, send money and see your transactions. The craft went into type, colour and a few emotional moments, like the 3D artwork.
Clarity over features.
In Dubai, about 90% of residents are expats, so the consumer app was kept to three jobs: receive money, send money and see your transactions. The craft went into type, colour and a few emotional moments, like the 3D artwork.
Clarity over features.
In Dubai, about 90% of residents are expats, so the consumer app was kept to three jobs: receive money, send money and see your transactions. The craft went into type, colour and a few emotional moments, like the 3D artwork.
Follow the workaround.
Research showed small businesses copying invoices out of their bank app and into WhatsApp or Instagram. That insight became Ziiboard, a keyboard for iOS and Android that creates and shares invoices inside any conversation, and Ziina’s first big product-led growth hit.
Follow the workaround.
Research showed small businesses copying invoices out of their bank app and into WhatsApp or Instagram. That insight became Ziiboard, a keyboard for iOS and Android that creates and shares invoices inside any conversation, and Ziina’s first big product-led growth hit.
Follow the workaround.
Research showed small businesses copying invoices out of their bank app and into WhatsApp or Instagram. That insight became Ziiboard, a keyboard for iOS and Android that creates and shares invoices inside any conversation, and Ziina’s first big product-led growth hit.
Growth loops, designed like any other screen.
Drawing on what I learned designing early Square and Cash App, we treated referral and sharing flows as core product. We worked through copy, incentives and the moment of sharing, grounded in why people act. Alongside the product, I worked with Anton on hiring: who thrives on a small team, and how to pair gut feel with an objective skills assessment.
Growth loops, designed like any other screen.
Drawing on what I learned designing early Square and Cash App, we treated referral and sharing flows as core product. We worked through copy, incentives and the moment of sharing, grounded in why people act. Alongside the product, I worked with Anton on hiring: who thrives on a small team, and how to pair gut feel with an objective skills assessment.
Growth loops, designed like any other screen.
Drawing on what I learned designing early Square and Cash App, we treated referral and sharing flows as core product. We worked through copy, incentives and the moment of sharing, grounded in why people act. Alongside the product, I worked with Anton on hiring: who thrives on a small team, and how to pair gut feel with an objective skills assessment.
From a peer-to-peer app to payments for small businesses.
Ziina now offers payment links, gateways, APIs, QR codes, NFC cards and Tap-to-Pay. Its growth loops drove 34% month-on-month customer growth, annual revenue grew more than 10x over five years, and in September 2024 Ziina raised a $22M Series A led by Altos Ventures, bringing total funding to $30M. In its latest round, Ziina was valued at $450M. Its design has won a Red Dot Design Award and UX Design Awards.¹
From a peer-to-peer app to payments for small businesses.
Ziina now offers payment links, gateways, APIs, QR codes, NFC cards and Tap-to-Pay. Its growth loops drove 34% month-on-month customer growth, annual revenue grew more than 10x over five years, and in September 2024 Ziina raised a $22M Series A led by Altos Ventures, bringing total funding to $30M. In its latest round, Ziina was valued at $450M. Its design has won a Red Dot Design Award and UX Design Awards.¹
From a peer-to-peer app to payments for small businesses.
Ziina now offers payment links, gateways, APIs, QR codes, NFC cards and Tap-to-Pay. Its growth loops drove 34% month-on-month customer growth, annual revenue grew more than 10x over five years, and in September 2024 Ziina raised a $22M Series A led by Altos Ventures, bringing total funding to $30M. In its latest round, Ziina was valued at $450M. Its design has won a Red Dot Design Award and UX Design Awards.¹
Client
Ziina
Ziina
Ziina
Mediums
Advising
Advising
Advising
Roles
Design Advisor
Investor, via Ligature
Design Advisor
Investor, via Ligature
Design Advisor
Investor, via Ligature
Collaborators
Anton Badashov
Anton Badashov
Anton Badashov