How a Senior Engineering Coach Helped Kiwi Credito Improve their processes, tech stack, and Infrastructure to Become Scalable

November 13, 2024

About the company

Kiwi is a fintech dedicated to helping Latinos build credit history and improve financial literacy. Kiwi offers a credit card meant to keep people out of debt and in charge of their finances. Kiwi users can apply for a loan from $150 to $1,000. Users can complete their application through the app, and Kiwi will examine the information and contact them as soon as possible regarding their application. Everything is done entirely online, with no paperwork. Kiwi loans feature monthly installments ranging from 4 to 24 months, and users can pick between various payment methods.

Primary industry:
FinTech
Financing status:
Venture Capital backed - Pre-series A
Primary Office:
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Problem Statement

Kiwi faced the challenge of preparing their engineering team, infrastructure, and processes for scale. However, at the time, they did not have a senior engineering leader with the type of experience, knowledge, and seniority required to prepare them for this undertaking. The need was pressing as getting these processes up to speed was essential for the company’s growth plans.

  • Year: 2023
  • Advisors matched: 4
  • Advisors selected: 1
  • Satisfactory outcome: Yes
  • Client satisfaction score for the advisor: 10/10
  • Client satisfaction score for Landa: 5/5

Case Study

Problem Statement

Kiwi faced the challenge of preparing their engineering team, infrastructure, and processes for scale. However, at the time, they did not have an engineering leader with the type of experience, knowledge, and seniority required for preparing them for this undertaking. The need was pressing as getting this processes up to speed was essential for the company’s growth plans.

Project Type
Executive Mentoring - Upskilling
Primary Skillset
Engineering Management
Problem Type
Can't find or attract the right talent in a short time frame.
Does not have the necessary skillset in the existing team
Potential negative Impact
Inadequate infrastructure
Inefficient processes
Security concerns
Root causes
Growing pains
Lack of internal skill or seniority
Solution

Kiwi was matched with a senior VP of Engineering with 15+ years of direct experience managing teams of developers at fast-growing startups, and tech unicorns at different maturity stages. He held weekly sessions with them to guide them on improving their processes, tech stack, and infrastructure to become scalable with an emphasis on improving the infrastructure and strengthening the security.

Solution

Kiwi was matched with a senior VP of Engineering with 15+ years of direct experience managing teams of developers at fast-growing startups, and tech unicorns at different maturity stages. He held weekly sessions with them to guide them on improving their processes, tech stack, and infrastructure to become scalable with an emphasis on improving the infrastructure and strengthening the security.

Project Format & Description

Mentorship and advisory to the engineering team over two months, along with the leadership team, to guide them on improving their processes, tech stack, and infrastructure to become scalable with an emphasis on improving the infrastructure and strengthening the security.

Time commitment

  • 8 weeks
  • 5 hours per week

Outcome and Impact

The project was completed in the agreed-upon time frame with a satisfactory outcome. The company rated the advisor with a client satisfaction score of 10/10. The advisor was responsive to the client’s needs and concerns.

Ultimately the advisor:

  • Reviewed the company’s current tech stack.
  • Identified many flaws, and areas of opportunity.
  • Created a work plan for the team to implement.