The Problem
The average Dutch household manages 15+ subscriptions and overpays €50/month. For expats and newcomers, this is worse—navigating unfamiliar providers, contracts in Dutch, and complex cancellation processes.
My Role
Product Manager leading the full product lifecycle:
- Discovery & Research — User interviews with expats, refugees, and social entrepreneurs to understand pain points
- Roadmap & Prioritization — Defined MVP scope and feature backlog based on impact vs effort
- Sprint Planning — Coordinated cross-functional team (design, dev, QA) in 2-week sprints
- Stakeholder Management — Aligned business goals with user needs across multiple stakeholders
The Solution
A freemium platform that centralizes subscription management:
- Unified Dashboard — All subscriptions in one place with payment reminders
- Document Storage — Secure upload of contracts and bills
- Spending Analytics — Visual breakdown of where money goes
- Personalized Offers — AI-driven recommendations for better deals
- Expert Support — Advisory for comparing, starting, or canceling services
Tech Stack
| Platform | Technology |
|---|---|
| Web | React |
| Mobile | Flutter |
| Target | Expats, refugees, social entrepreneurs in NL |
Hard Decisions
Platform Complexity
The biggest challenge was managing integrations with multiple Dutch service providers—each with different APIs, data formats, and authentication methods.
Decision: Start with manual data entry + OCR for documents, then iterate toward automated integrations based on user adoption patterns.
Freemium Balance
Defining what goes in free vs premium tier without killing conversion or user trust.
Decision: Free tier covers core value (tracking + reminders). Premium unlocks analytics and personalized savings recommendations.
What I Learned
- Localization matters — A multilingual app isn't just translation; it's cultural context
- Trust is everything — For financial apps targeting vulnerable populations, transparency beats feature velocity
- MVP ≠ minimal — For this audience, MVP needed to feel complete and trustworthy from day one