From hashtag challenge to a learning habit that lifted monthly cashflow by 18%
MY ROLE ON THE PROJECT
I led product design from early discovery to launch as part of the Growth team.
I worked closely with the Product Manager, Engineering, and Product Marketing to:
Clarify the problem we were solving
Define the core user stories for the MVP
Design the end-to-end experience
Hand off cleanly and ship in phases
I owned the UX strategy, interaction design, and prototyping of the feature, as well as all the online promotional material, including the landing page and ads.
Spotting a learning trend that our competitors had missed
Finding the business case hiding inside the trend
This was more than a trend. We saw a business potential to:
Acquire new users working toward clear, time-bound goals
Reduce early churn by encouraging longer-term commitments
Boost monthly net cashflow by requiring users to prepay for 3 months (the riskiest period for cancellations)
Launching a challenge that pays learners back for showing up
We launched Cloud Marathon, a 3-month challenge where users commit to studying 1 hour per day and posting their progress publicly. If they complete all 90 days, they get a full refund.
To make it more inclusive, I also designed a “Half Marathon” version: 45 days of study instead of 90. Same structure, less intense commitment.
The initial hook was obvious: learn for free.
But the deeper value came from helping users build study habits, explore beyond a single platform, and stay accountable through public sharing.
Building the whole experience from a blank page
With no prior solution to build on, I designed the entire experience from scratch—starting with the user journey. I mapped out all user flows, from landing page sign-up to completion, ensuring the challenge structure was easy to understand and stick with. (This is where I visually broke down the experience with user flow diagrams.)
Making the most of no research budget and shared dev time
We had no research budget and limited dev time. I collaborated with learning coaches to build proto-personas based on their real-world interactions, and worked closely with our PM to define core user stories for the MVP.
Testing key decisions early with quick wireframes
Because dev resources were shared, we shipped the project in phases over four months. I prioritized clean handoff, edge case coverage, and constant alignment with engineers.
To get early buy-in, I rapidly sketched and prototyped mid-fidelity wireframes for internal testing. This allowed us to de-risk key UX decisions without slowing momentum.
"When the reward is the activity itself— deepening learning, delighting customers, doing one’s best—there are no shortcuts."
Daniel H Pink
Cashflow up 18% and learners still studying after the finish line
We launched two rounds of Cloud Marathon and we saw:
+18% MoM net cashflow increase (minimal paid ads)
16% of users continued studying post-challenge
10% renewed a paid membership within 6 months
Repeat participation and strong word-of-mouth
What the first launch taught me
One key mistake: we relied too heavily on internal feedback for usability testing. After launch, 8% of users contacted support confused about disqualification. I addressed this by redesigning the daily challenge cards for clarity in the second edition.
This project reinforced a few key principles:
Align product ideas with real user behaviors
Small design bets can drive big business outcomes
Clarity and inclusivity in challenge-based design are non-negotiable
