Jon Blackwell

Tala is an instant credit scoring and lending application aimed at underserved individuals in emerging markets. It provides loans of $10-$100 for up to 30 days based on the proprietary credit scoring technology that I helped create.

For the first four years of the company, I led product development, including launching our original app in Kenya and establishing product-market fit.

From there, I oversaw the geographic expansion into the Philippines, Tanzania, and Mexico. This meant creating the overall growth strategy, building local partnerships, performing user testing, hiring local teams, and launching the product. I then created tight user feedback loops to continue to optimize the product in each market before handing it over to the core team to scale the operation.

Technologies: Java, AWS EC2, IVR, SMS, Mobile Money (M-Pesa, Coins, Paytm, Tigo Pesa), MySQL, Scala, Python, DynamoDB, Amplitude, Kochava, Slack, Jira, Pivotal Tracker, Sendgrid, Machine Learning Algorithms

SoLo is a mobile lending marketplace that provides more affordable access to loans below $1,000.

I joined SoLo as the chief product officer after the company had built a prototype of the app. I implemented agile and then led the redesign and rebuild of the prototype to the app they have today.

I also helped create the SoLo Score, a proprietary credit scoring algorithm that assesses users’ ability to repay a loan based on alternative data sources. This reduced defaults on the platform by 32%. I was also responsible for ensuring all KYC and AML standards were met during user onboarding and compliance was maintained at all times.

Other integrations used were Kochava (mobile analytics), Plaid (bank account connection and finance data), SynapseFi, (money transfer via ACH and debit cards), Zendesk (customer support), Twilio (SMS).

Technologies: Swift, Java, Go, AWS EC2, AWS Lambda, Firebase, Python, Datadog, Kochava, Firebase, Twilio, Asana, Jira, Slack, Sendgrid, Machine Learning Algorithms

Golden is a SaaS, B2B2C mobile application and analytics portal for civic organizations.

Working with over 6,500 organizations including UNICEF and the State of California, Golden provides a user-facing mobile app to coordinate volunteering opportunities. We also provide an analytics web portal for organizations to track volunteer hours and solicit donations from an engaged userbase.

Here, I onboarded new clients and their volunteers, performed user research, created and executed the product roadmap, and localized the app for international scale.

It was a freemium offering. The sales enablement work I did with the business development team helped convert 19% more clients to the paid version.

Technologies: React Native, AWS EC2, Python, Amplitude, Trello, Vision, Twilio

Before group texts and Facebook events, we tried to solve the “Who is up to hang out right now” problem.

We shipped three products for the web and iPhone with some cool technology in them: a learning algorithm, group text functionality before GroupMe existed, Facebook integrated, and real-time features that tend to crash servers.

Technologies: iOS, Web App, Facebook Open Graph, Group Messaging, Real-time Updates (via Apache and Google Wave)

Confronted with the ultimate design challenge—how do you build an accounting tool for people who do not speak English or use Roman characters—I led the development of an SMS and IVR product that allowed micro-entrepreneurs in India to input their daily incomes and expenses. In return, we sent back a simplified profit/loss statement to help them keep track of money in/money out.

We then turned this real-time financial data into a credit score and partnered with banks to extend credit to our users. It was the first of its kind and was the precursor for creating Tala—a venture-backed business that’s valued at close to $800 million.

Technologies: SMS, IVR, PHP, AWS, Python for Machine Learning Credit Scoring Algorithm

I worked with the leadership of an international bank to create and communicate a go-to-market strategy for a new marketplace mobile application. This involved creating growth projections, marketing plan, budget, resource requirements as well as a 3-phase rollout plan with specific KPIs and goals attached to each phase.

I worked directly with the CEO of the Philippine’s largest pawnshop operator to advise their digital transformation strategy. This involved prioritizing all ongoing projects, communicating the company’s strategic vision to top-level leadership, and creating a go-to-market strategy for their digital lending product.

• Interviewed potential customers within the lending landscape to understand their KYC (Know Your Customer) needs, the vendors they use, and what gaps exist in the market.
• Performed market research on existing competitors in the market to understand their offerings and pricing.
• Compiled findings into a presentation to the company’s leadership to provide strategic guidance on how to diversify the company’s product offerings.