Finding Product Market Fit:
A UX-led strategy pivot at Liiva

Liiva was founded in 2021 by die Mobiliar and Raiffeisen. Originally a digital platform designed to help private individuals search, manage, and sell residential properties, the product struggled to achieve traction in the market, prompting a strategic pivot.
As Head of UX Design, I was a key driver in the effort to find product/market fit through UX methodologies, lean experiments, and a coaching approach. I guided the team in adopting a user-centered work ethic, ensuring customer insights drove the new strategy.

COMPANY
Liiva, formerly a subsidiary of
die Mobiliar

SKILLS
UX leadership, product strategy, lean UX, user & market research, low-/high-fidelity prototyping, design systems

SECTOR
PropTech
FinTech

Looking for UX expertise to elevate your project?

If you're seeking a seasoned UX leader to drive product strategy, facilitate lean experiments, or enhance your team's design process, I’d love to help take your project to the next level.

28
% PMF score increase in 6 months
24
lean experiments
50+
qualitative interviews
15
tested prototypes

Why PMF matters

Achieving Product Market Fit (PMF) means that customers are finding real value in the product, leading to sustainable growth, customer retention, and long-term success. Without PMF, even well-designed products can struggle to gain traction, as they fail to solve a pressing problem for their target audience.

Liiva's PMF journey

This was how our PMF journey at Liiva began—our initial product offering lacked PMF, driving the need for a strategic pivot to better align with market needs.

Problem insights: Customer research

Methodologies practiced in the discovery phase:

Market analysis
Kano model
Jobs To Be Done
Value proposition hypotheses
Competitor analysis

Problem/solution fit: Hypothesis-driven lean experiments

Methodologies practiced in the iteration phase:

Qualitative interviews
Usability testing
SEA & SEO campaigns
Performance marketing
Quantitative & qualitative surveys
Expert interviews
Social listening
Financial advisor mystery shopping

Product iteration: Continuous testing for rapid validation

Over the course of six months, we developed and tested 15 prototypes, iterating every 2-4 weeks as part of our lean experimentation process. This frequent testing cycle allowed us to quickly validate or refute key hypotheses, ensuring that each iteration was informed by real user feedback. By testing early and often, we were able to minimize risk, prioritize features that resonated with users, and make data-driven decisions. This approach not only accelerated our path to Product Market Fit but also helped us stay aligned with evolving customer needs throughout the product development journey.

"Product/market fit means being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market."
— Marc Andreessen

Promising results in just 6 months

Between May and December 2023, we regularly measured our Product Market Fit (PMF) score, showing steady growth. Starting at 9% in May, we identified the need to better align with market demands. Through continuous user research, lean experiments, and iterative prototyping, we raised our PMF score to 31% by November and 37% by December. While just shy of the 40% PMF benchmark, this consistent improvement highlights the impact of our user-focused, data-driven approach.

My contribution as Head of UX Design

🚀

Championing the Product Market Fit discovery process through lean experiments, exceeding annual company KPIs.

🔭

Crafting and driving Liiva's UX vision, instilling a user-centric company culture.

🏅

Steering the growth and excellence of the UX team, maintaining the highest design standards.

🌿

Developing, scaling, and maintaining two comprehensive design systems.

The new MVP: Liiva's Financial Assistant

A nod to the Liiva team 👋

A well-known fact about startups is that many of them never make it. Despite its promising PMF results following the pivot, Liiva’s new Financial Assistant platform was not released to the public, due to a strategic shift within Liiva’s sole shareholder. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the entire Liiva crew. This journey has been both challenging and memorable, and it has been an honour to work alongside such a dedicated and talented team.