Who are Qredo?

An enterprise-level digital asset storage and deployment platform which utilises multi-party computation (MPC) technology to remove the need for a traditional private key. This allows trading firms and institutions to easily manage and collaborate across multiple investment funds and wallets in ways not previously possible in the blockchain/crypto space.

My role and responsibilities

In March 2020, as the world entered lockdown, I joined Qredo as their Lead Product Designer.

Over the following months I helped to bring their extremely complex product offering to life, through multiple rounds of design and testing. The aim of this process was to make sense of a completely new way for customers to store their digital assets.

Opportunities and goals of the project

Before starting at Qredo, the team had already done a fair amount of work to identify a proposed market fit, and they'd secured the required funding to commence the design and build of their MVP, which would demonstrate the groundbreaking technology which formed the crux of their USP.

Initial wireframes were already created, detailing the basic structure and flows required to achieve an MVP, and an (aggressive) deadline (linked to funding schedules) was set.
So far, so good.

However, it was during my first stand-up that I knew this project wouldn't be anything like I had experienced before.

First and foremost, the reality of working completely remotely was sinking in (worldwide lockdowns), which meant we were embarking on a (very ambitious) project with a group of people who hadn't all met in person and (spoiler alert) wouldn't do for at least the next 12 - 18 months.

Secondly, in addition to the usual product manager, frontend, backend, and mobile development partners, we also had blockchain engineers and cryptographers. Professions that I hadn't even considered as being a "thing", let alone having worked with.

And finally, the initial deadline for MVP was just 3 months away.

Biggest challenge faced

A deadly deadline.

Don't get me wrong. A team of intelligent and talented self-starters can get a lot done in 3 months. Luckily, the squad assembled at Qredo was just that, a group of ego-free problem solvers who just wanted to get on with things. Some might call this a "dream team", and when I say "some", I mean me.

However, even the Avengers can be overwhelmed by what lies ahead. And with just 12 weeks ahead of us, we were looking down the barrel of a fully featured web app, a companion (native) mobile app and a layer-2 blockchain. All of which were equally reliant on each other for the MVP to be truly viable.

Overcoming that challenge

Quite simply, we were intelligent with our communication and the frequency that switched from "doing" to "reviewing".

There was an understanding that we wouldn't reach the promised land by filling our calendars with meeting after meeting. But similarly, we didn't want to bury ourselves in our work without conversation or appraisal. So, it was agreed that the only fixed meetings would be a daily stand-up (time-limited to 15 minutes) and a weekly - hour-long - review of all progress made.

All remaining time would be left to the individual to manage, with an emphasis on ensuring that everyone felt trusted in their experience and expertise to make the best decisions possible.

Well, all of that and a bunch of early mornings, late nights and weekends.

Spoiler alert: We hit the deadline, just.

The thing I most enjoyed

Having spent my time before joining Qredo at a massive and established banking institution, getting from zero to a live product in such a short space of time was extremely exciting and gratifying.

However, it was working remotely that really won my heart.

Up until the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, Qredo, like almost every other business, was based out of centralised office spaces - one in London and the other in Sofia. Initially, it felt like working from home would be a shot in the arm, but we soon settled into a routine and found a new gear, improving our velocity and productivity.

In the late summer of 2020, hot on the heels of our successful MVP, it was announced that we would transition towards being a remote-first organisation, allowing employees more freedom on where they choose to work from and opening up the talent pool that we would be hiring from during an upcoming scaling effort.

Before I left Qredo, I was leading a team spread across four countries and three time zones. Previously, I would have seen this as a logistical nightmare, but the benefits hugely outweighed the drawbacks as we were able to bring together a collection of people with hugely different backgrounds and points of view, increasing the opportunity for better and more creative divergent thinking - a valuable attribute of a successful design team.

Outcome and learnings

One of the most overused sayings in product development is "nothing's impossible", usually as a precursor to "if only we had more time/resources/money etc".

In those early days at Qredo, everything was possible. The team was almost perfectly balanced. That's not to say there weren't differences of opinion, but everything was done and said with respect and the knowledge that we wanted to prove ourselves to the community and our investors. No task was too big or complex to be picked up and tackled. "No" was not in our vocabulary.

The flip side was a lot of overtime, but even this cloud had a silver lining as it didn't feel like work. Or at least I don't remember it feeling like work.

However, my main takeaway for the future is to have a better plan for what follows on from an MVP. It's all too tempting to iterate on top of what you have. At Qredo, we should have taken a beat and planned better to move the MVP forward while also laying proper foundations from an engineering and design POV.

Not doing this led us to the point - 12 months down the line - of needing a fresh (re)start.

What it's like to work with me.

Will is a gifted Product Design Leader. He has impeccable taste and discernment and care for good human design, form and function.

Clarence Sittampalam

Chief Design Office, Qredo

Will's more than just a designer - in particular he has business analysis skills allowing him to get under the skin of users.

John McCane-Whitney

Director of Product Management, Qredo

Will encouraged me to push the boundaries of my capabilities and approach challenges with a fresh perspective.

Antoaneta Yordanova

Product Designer, Qredo

Further recommendations and testimonials can be found on my Linkedin profile.

Projects

© 2024 Design by Will Rose Ltd.