Capstone Employer Project

Involving:

What is Capstone Project?

Setting You Apart From The Crowd: Experience The Professional World

The Capstone Employer Project in INTI International College Subang represents a crowning assignment assigned to final semester students during the April 2021 session. We were given the opportunity to work with StashAway, a real-life company. As one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences in my learning pathway, this project provided a myriad of opportunities for us to conduct extensive research and devise innovative solutions to real-world problems.

Besides encouraging students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills gained across various disciplines, this project motivated me to have deliberate future plans and identify my strengths. As a result, I will be equipped with valuable experiences and acompetitive portfolio, helping me to stand out amidst the saturated job market of candidates.

Process

Research

Our team is required to conduct extensive research on StashAway's product promises and produce a comprehensive report.

Analysis

After testing all the features in StashAway's mobile app, we are expected to analyze the areas for improvement.

Application

We need to provide innovative solutions to StashAway by applying the knowledge and skills developed throughout our studies.

Pitch

Once we have completed our research and analysis, we have to present our findings and suggestions to our employer, StashAway.

SERVICES

Leading robo-advisor/digital wealth management platform
Licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia

Deliver innovative solutions
Automated and personalised wealth management
Seamless digital experience

GOALS

Technology Pioneer by The World Economic Forum
One of the Top 10 LinkedIn Startup (2020)

AWARDS

What is
StashAway?

HISTORY

Founded in September 2016 by Michele Ferrario, Freddy Lim, and Nino Ulsamer
Headquartered in Singapore

To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key.

StashAway's Official Website

To read more about StashAway, click on each article below:

For more information:

Kick Off Session with StashAway

Agenda:

1
Brief Project Overview

3
Q&A
Session

2
Brief Sharing by Ms. Rebecca

4
Group
Photo

THE SPEAKER

The Kick Off Session was conducted on 4th May 2021 with Ms. Rebecca Koay, an Executive of StashAway's People and Culture Team.

Being a passionate individual who enjoys learning about people, she has worked with StashAway since October 2019.

During the session, Ms. Rebecca also shared several important tips to help with future planning and entering the workforce.

She explained that it is important for fresh graduates to be confident, adaptable, enthusiastic, and always possess the right mindset. Ultimately, it is crucial to have great communication skills, especially in English.

TIPs & Important messages

Our Kick Off Session with StashAway began with a brief introduction of StashAway, the company's history, their organizational goals, and what the company strives to deliver to their clients.

Overall, it was very insightful as we were given the opportunity to learn more about StashAway. It also enabled our team to gauge the employer's expectations that is essential to complete our capstone project.

Ms. Rebecca also provided valuable insight during the Q&A session, in which every group submitted our questions in advance.

"What do you want your consumers to think of when they hear of the name StashAway?"
- The Hustlers

Our team's question was chosen:

StashAway aims to be ingrained into people's minds for various aspects beyond investing. For people to think of StashAway whenever they think of money:-

Financial planning
Wealth management
Partnerships

Ms. Rebecca's response:

Q&A SESSION

Meet Our Team - The Hustlers

Najihah Binti Mohd Shahrudin
Researcher

Yeo Gi Deon
Leader, Presenter 1

Wong Jun Kai
Assistant Leader,
PowerPoint Editor

Loke Kah June
Researcher

Kok Reena
Secretary,
Presenter 2

Ho Kar Yan
Researcher

Cleo Isabelle Sim Wei Wen
Researcher, Report Compiler

"Together, nothing is impossible" - The Hustlers

Our Tasks (GTP 1 & GTP 2)

Project Title: StashAway Product Offerings and Product Promise
Main Objective: Conduct research to assess StashAway's delivery of its product promises to its current users and customers.
Other Objectives:

Identify StashAway's core product/service benefits, key features, brand representation, and augmented products.
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of StashAway's product offerings based on customer reviews.
Determine whether StashAway is fulfilling its product promise to customers.

What did I do?

For GTP 1, I was in charge of identifying StashAway's brand representation. In order to complete my tasks well, I conducted extensive Internet research to obtain information regarding StashAway and customer perspectives. Moreover, I was responsible for compiling the report, proof-reading, correcting sentence structures and grammatical errors. I ensured that the format of the report was standardized in terms of clarity, labelling, and overall organization of content.

1/4

Group Task Part 1 (GTP 1)

Click to download:

Project Title: StashAway Competitor Comparison Analysis on Product Features
Main Objective: Research on StashAway's direct competitors and present the comparison findings based on the mobile application.
Other Objectives:

To list the different categories of features in various investment apps.
Identify the key features of different investment apps.
Compare StashAway's app with other robo-advisors in Malaysia's market.
Present findings on the differences between StashAway and other brands in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of the features.
Provide suggestions for improvement on StashAway's features.

What did I do?

For GTP 2, I was in charge of doing the comparison for two key features of StashAway, which are Performance and Transactions. We explored the apps of two competitors (Raiz and MyTheo), determined the differences between all three robo-advisory platforms, and provided constructive comments. As the report compiler, I helped to design the table, proof-read the content, and helped to give feedback to my team members. Moreover, I arranged the headings, labelling, and ensured that the overall flow of content was organized.

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Group Task Part 2 (GTP 2)

Click to download:

Mid-Point Presentation

After completing our GTP 1 and GTP 2, we are required to present our findings and analysis on StashAway to the employer. After a short discussion, our team decided to assign the presenter roles to Yeo Gi Deon and Kok Reena.

The main objective of this Mid-Point presentation is to showcase the results of our team's extensive research that we have conducted throughout GTP 1 and GTP 2. Furthermore, we provided suggestions for StashAway to improve in terms of its product promise and competitiveness. This was done through a recorded presentation, and the recorded video is shared with Ms. Rebecca, a representative from StashAway that has been assigned to oversee our employer project.

Click to download:

Check out our presentation below:

Project Title: Customer/User Experience of StashAway Features
Main Objective: To experience using all of StashAway features on its app and gain insight from a user/customer's perspective.
Other Objectives:

Rate and describe actual user experience through consistent use of all features in the StashAway app for a period of 4 weeks.
Acknowledge the gaps or areas of improvement in each feature.
Suggest improvements for StashAway to close the gaps and refine the app.

What did I do?

For GTP 3, I was in charge of reporting my user experience on the sub-features under StashAway Academy including Registration Process, Live Webinar, and Insights. I focused on using these features thoroughly and addressed the areas that were lacking. Thus, I provided suggestions that could help StashAway improve the Academy feature to enhance their users' experience. Furthermore, I compiled the report, and helped my team members to check their work in terms of grammar and sentence phrasing. Likewise, I was responsible for ensuring that the report is standardized and follows all requirements.

1/7

Group Task Part 3 (GTP 3)

Click to download:

Project Title: Interview One Actual User of StashAway & Create Customer Persona
Main Objective: To obtain insights from one actual active StashAway user in order to create Customer Persona.
Other Objectives:

Identify one active StashAway user through social media/internet.
Conduct an interview with one actual user of StashAway to gain insights on the customer's personal life and experience with StashAway.
Prepare a Customer Persona and present findings.

What did I do?

For GTP 4, I was assigned to complete the Customer Persona table in terms of the interviewee's Goals, Common Objections, and Biggest Fears. For this task, I had to interpret the responses from our interview in order to identify the relevant points accurately. Additionally, I designed the table, proof-read the content, and made adjustments as advised by our lecturer. Moreover, I was responsible for ensuring a standardized report that included all the required evidence.

1/1

Group Task Part 4 (GTP 4)

Click to download:

Our Tasks (GTP 3 & GTP 4)

Final Presentation

Upon completing our GTP 3 and GTP 4, we are required to present our findings and provide suggestions for StashAway to improve in terms of its product features. Furthermore, we analyzed the strategies that StashAway can implement based on the Customer Persona that we have created. Then, our presenters explained the aspects that could be improved in StashAway based on our research and interview of an actual StashAway user.

For our final presentation, it was also conducted in the form of a recorded video and shared with Ms. Rebecca.

Click to download:

OVERALL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Thoughts on the Project

In a nutshell, the Capstone Employer Project was a valuable and remarkable experience in my academic journey. Although it was quite challenging and stressful to cope with the tasks at the beginning, I learned how to thrive under pressure and enjoyed the process. I believe that this whole experience has helped me grow and improve tremendously, while preparing me for the real working world.

What knowledge and skills did I develop through this project?

4 Communication Skills

Due to the poor Covid-19 pandemic situation, this project was conducted fully online. Virtual environments made it tougher to communicate, as we cannot receive immediate responses and observe non-verbal cues. However, I managed to improve my communication skills by using different ways to interact with my teammates, ensuring that my thoughts are delivered clearly.

1 Investment Knowledge

Before this project, I was an absolute beginner to investing. Throughout the tasks that we were assigned to do, I have acquired a significant amount of investment knowledge as I needed to familiarize myself with StashAway and its products. With this new found knowledge of investing and robo-advisors, it spiked my interest in financial planning for my future.

2 Teamwork

As our Capstone Project mainly emphasizes on completing various tasks as a team, I learned the importance of teamwork, and developed the ability to work collaboratively with others in order to accomplish our goals. In the process of doing our tasks, we exchanged ideas, listened to each other's opinions, and devised solutions to overcome various obstacles as a team.

3 Research Skills

In order to complete the tasks that were given during this project, we had to conduct lots of research and analysis. I learned how to do extensive research using multiple sources such as the Internet and social media. As a result, I was able to fulfill my tasks efficiently and produce excellent quality of work for my team.

Involving:

What is Capstone Project?