Take control of your taxes - Discover the MVP that simplifies the process for salaried individuals in India

January 4, 2023

Day 4 of?#ProductDevBootcamp: Creating a Product to Solve the Lack of Access to Income Tax Advisory Services for Salaried Individuals

Hello LinkedIn community! Today is the fourth day of the?#ProductDevBootcamp, where I am detailing out the MVP of creating a product from scratch over the course of 30 days.

Introduction:

As a salaried individual in India, it can be a daunting task to navigate the complexities of income tax laws and regulations. Finding affordable and reliable income tax advisory services can be a challenge, and many people may not have the knowledge or resources to make informed decisions about their taxes. To address this problem, I am proposing an MVP that provides a comprehensive solution for salaried individuals in India, including an income tax calculator, tax savings recommendations, access to financial advisors, and educational resources.

Problem Statement:

The problem that I am trying to solve is the lack of access to affordable and reliable income tax advisory services for salaried individuals in India. Many people in India may not have the knowledge or resources to make informed income tax decisions, and may not have access to income tax advisors or experts who can provide guidance and recommendations. This can lead to confusion, stress, and a higher risk of making costly mistakes when filing taxes.

Target Audience:

1. Demographics:

• Age: Salaried individuals in India are likely to be of working age, between 23 and 60 years old.
• Gender: The target audience is likely to be evenly split between males and females
• Location: The target audience for this MVP is primarily focused on India, with a focus on urban and semi-urban areas where the need for income tax advisory services is high.
• Age - 18 years to 60 year, Senior Citizens & Super Senior Citizens

2. Income:

• The MVP is designed to be accessible to users of all taxed income levels.
• The target audience is likely to have a steady source of income, with most users earning between Rs.2,50,000 to > 15,00,000 per annum.
• The pricing and package offerings will be structured to meet the needs of users with varying budgets. For example, the MVP could include a free version with limited features, and paid versions with more advanced features at different price points.

3. Characteristics:

This target audience may be tech-savvy, as they will need to use the MVP through a website or mobile app. They may also be looking for convenience and ease of use in the MVP, as well as clear explanations of the tax calculation process and tax-saving recommendations. Additionally, this target audience may have a knowledge gap when it comes to personal finance and taxes, making the educational resources feature of the MVP particularly valuable to them.

4. Purchasing behaviour:

For this target audience may include a willingness to pay for access to financial advisors, as well as for any additional financial advisory services that are offered. The pain point that this MVP addresses for this target audience is the difficulty of understanding and optimizing finances and taxes. By providing an easy-to-use tax calculator which become the hook to get the customer on to the product and the offering of financial advisory services, the MVP aims to alleviate this pain point and make the process of filing taxes and managing finances more manageable for salaried individuals in India.

Minimum Viable Product

What is an MVP?

An MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is a product development strategy that focuses on delivering the core functionality and value of a product to customers as soon as possible, while also keeping development and delivery costs and risks as low as possible. The goal of an MVP is to gather valuable customer feedback, validate the product concept, and iterate based on that feedback to improve and enhance the product.

An example of an MVP for a mobile game app might be a basic version of the game that includes only a few levels, basic graphics, and limited features. This MVP version of the game would be released to a small group of beta testers to gather feedback on the gameplay, overall experience, and any bugs or issues. Based on this feedback, the development team can then iterate on the game, adding more levels, improving graphics, and adding new features, before releasing it to a wider audience.

Another example of an MVP is a ride-sharing app. The MVP version of the app would only have the core functionality of allowing users to request a ride and see nearby drivers, and payment option. The MVP would be released in a small city to gather feedback on the user experience, and any bugs or issues. The app can be then modified and improved by adding additional features such as estimated time of arrival, fare estimation, and driver rating based on the customer feedback.

In both of the examples above, the MVPs were minimal versions of the product that were released to a small group of users in order to gather feedback and validate the product concept. This approach allows the development team to quickly and efficiently create a product that meets the needs of the customer and addresses any issues or problems before the final product is released.

How would I explain MVP to a 5 year old?

An MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, is a way for people to test out a new idea or product to see if it is something that people want to use or buy. It's like trying out a new toy or game before you decide to buy it. It's the basic version of the final product that you want to create, but it's still really fun and you can use it right away. Imagine building a big Lego tower, an MVP is like building just a few blocks at first to see if you like it before you build the whole tower. The idea is to make sure that the final product is something that people will enjoy and want to use, before putting in all the time and effort to make the final version.

Comprehensive MVP - Solving the Lack of Access to Income Tax Advisory Services for Salaried Individuals in India

Here is a detailed MVP for building the product providing income tax calculator and financial advisory services for salaried individuals in India. This MVP is a comprehensive solution that addresses the pain points of salaried individuals in India and provides them with the tools and resources they need to manage their taxes efficiently and effectively. The MVP includes the following core features:

1. Income Tax Calculator:

This feature is the core of the MVP, it will allow users to input their salary and other relevant information, such as the number of dependents, housing loan interest, rent allowance , income from other sources, insurance etc and provide a calculation of their tax liability based on current tax laws and rules. Additionally, this feature will explain to the user what each input is, how it affects their tax calculations, and provide a detailed breakdown of the tax calculation. This tool will also act as a lead generator for the product, as users who find value in the tax calculation tool may be more likely to seek further financial advice and services.

2. Tax Savings Recommendations:

This feature will provide users with tailored tax-saving recommendations based on their input in the Income Tax Calculator and will help users to save tax. It will allow users to make the best use of deductions, exemptions and rebates available. This feature is important as it will help users optimize their finances and save money.

3. Connect with Financial Advisors:

This feature will connect users with financial advisors or experts who can provide personalised guidance and recommendations. This feature addresses the pain point of limited access to financial advisors and will help users receive expert financial advice. Additionally, this feature will give the user access to various certified tax experts across different experience levels, and allow them to schedule appointments or select from different packages of services at varying costs.

4. Educational Resources:

This feature will provide users with educational resources and information about personal finance and taxes, to help users learn more about these topics and make informed financial decisions. This feature will include videos, articles, study materials and interactive quizzes that allow users to check their understanding of the material and learn the subject matter. This feature is important as it addresses the knowledge gap of users and will help them make better-informed financial decisions.

5. User-friendly UI and easy navigation:

This feature will ensure that the MVP is easy to use and accessible. A user-friendly interface, clear navigation and easy-to-use design will ensure that users can access and use the MVP easily and effectively.

The MVP framework is designed with user-first principle of product management, which focuses on delivering the core functionality and value of the app or website to the users as soon as possible while also keeping the development and delivery costs and risks as low as possible. This approach is based on the book "Inspired: How to Create Products Customers Love" by Marty Cagan , in which he explains the importance of understanding user needs, validating the idea and deliver value through iterations.

By providing these core features, the MVP will be able to deliver the core value of the app or website to the users in an efficient and effective manner, while also keeping the development and delivery costs and risks as low as possible. The MVP will allow us to gather valuable user feedback, validate the concept and iterate based on that feedback to improve and enhance the product. This approach is known as the "Lean Startup" methodology, popularized by Eric Ries in his book "The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses" . This framework focuses on creating a Minimum Viable Product, gathering user feedback and then iterating based on that feedback to improve the product.

Additionally, the MVP will allow us to test the market and validate the product idea before investing in all the features we want to build. It will also allow us to pivot and make changes accordingly to user feedback to build a better and successful final product, which is in line with "Jobs to be Done" theory proposed by Clayton Christensen. This theory focuses on understanding the user's problem and creating a solution to solve it and is considered an important aspect of modern product management.

Therefore, by following the user-first principle of product management and references to various product management books, this MVP will be able to deliver value to the users and help them solve their problem. It will also provide a solid foundation to build upon in the future and help us to create a successful final product.

Real-world examples of how the above-mentioned theories were applied in the creation of an MVP, leading to successful product development:

Spotify : Spotify began as an MVP that only allowed users to search and play music tracks. The team validated their assumption that people wanted a better way to search and listen to music online, and over time they iterated by adding new features such as playlist creation, social sharing, and podcast integration. This is an example of how the "Lean Startup" methodology was applied to validate the MVP's core assumption and iterate based on user feedback to improve the product.

Dropbox : Dropbox's MVP consisted of a single, simple feature: a small application that enabled users to drag and drop files between computers. The team's goal was to validate the assumption that people wanted an easy way to share files between devices. Once they validated that assumption, they added new features such as sharing and collaboration. This is an example of how the "Lean Startup" methodology was applied to validate the MVP's core assumption and iterate based on user feedback to improve the product.

Trello : Trello started as MVP that only provided users with a basic Kanban board, a visual way of organizing tasks. By focusing on a specific user need of "Jobs to be done" theory of organization, they were able to validate their MVP and later on, they added new features such as reminders, attachments, and comments to the board, making it a more powerful productivity tool. This is an example of how "Jobs to be done" theory was applied to understand users problem and iterate to improve the product.

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