Should Toss prioritize expanding its stock trading features or focus on improving its core money transfer service to increase user retention?

Introduction

The trade-off question at hand is whether Toss should prioritize expanding its stock trading features or focus on improving its core money transfer service to increase user retention. This scenario involves balancing growth through new features against enhancing existing core functionality. My response will analyze this trade-off, considering various factors such as user impact, business goals, and long-term strategy.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm assuming Toss is facing increased competition in the fintech space. Could you provide more context on the current market dynamics and Toss's position?

Why it matters: Helps understand the urgency of the decision and potential threats. Expected answer: Toss is a market leader but facing new entrants with innovative features. Impact on approach: Would influence whether to focus on differentiation or user retention.

• Business Context: Based on Toss's business model, I'm thinking the money transfer service might be the primary revenue driver. What's the current revenue split between money transfer and stock trading?

Why it matters: Helps prioritize features based on financial impact. Expected answer: Money transfer contributes 70% of revenue, stock trading 30%. Impact on approach: Would guide resource allocation and feature prioritization.

• User Impact: I'm assuming there's overlap between money transfer users and stock trading users. What percentage of users engage with both services?

Why it matters: Indicates potential for cross-selling and feature integration. Expected answer: 40% of users use both services. Impact on approach: High overlap might suggest focusing on integration rather than separate development.

• Technical: Considering the different nature of these features, I'm curious about the technical architecture. Are money transfer and stock trading built on the same platform or separate systems?

Why it matters: Affects the feasibility and timeline of improvements. Expected answer: Separate systems with some shared components. Impact on approach: Might influence whether to focus on one area or attempt parallel development.

• Resource: Given the two potential focus areas, I'm wondering about team structure. Do we have separate teams for money transfer and stock trading, or a single product team?

Why it matters: Impacts the ability to execute on either option. Expected answer: Separate teams with some shared resources. Impact on approach: Could influence whether to focus efforts or pursue both paths simultaneously.