Fintech to Foodtech — what’s changed and what’s not
UX writers are in a way very fortunate beings. We have the luxury of working in different fields on awesome products touching the lives of diverse groups of people in different corners of the world. I mean, sure, all jobs in tech have this cross-functional application, however, being a young discipline, I feel that we have a lot more flexibility in moving from one field to another.
It has been 6 months since I made the transition from working for a young crypto fintech startup to an accomplished food tech enterprise. This journey has taught me many valuable lessons. I’m sure these lessons will continue and I’m very excited about them.
They say that change is the only constant. But there are some things that transcend this adage. As evidence of this, I thought it would be nice to look back on my journey and identify the aspects of my work that have changed, and those that have remained the same. So, in no particular order, here are some observations from me on this topic.
Audience changed, EMOTIONS didn’t
This was the first thing I noticed when I started my current job.
My previous employer’s product was focused heavily on the emerging markets in Africa and South America — centers for rapid adoption of decentralized crypto alternatives to deteriorating or unstable traditional currencies.
Now, my work is mostly focused on the European population, definitely way better off than my previous audience base, not to mention that now, I’m meeting them with content for a different purpose. This change, I thought would be a critical factor in how my work evolves. I was already making a mental list of the things I need to look out for and be mindful of.
What came as a rather sobering revelation is that human emotion is a constant. No matter where we are from, what our skin tone is, how much money we have, or how educated we are, we all feel the same way. Emotion, I discovered, is the ultimate leveler.
People feel eagerness, anxiety, frustration, and joy the same way, whether they’re expecting their money to show up in their account, or their food to be delivered. One can argue that the degree of the feeling itself may vary. Still, the underlying feeling is the same. And as a content designer, it’s my job to not care for the degree of emotion, but rather the presence or absence of it as a whole.
Tone changed, HUMANITY didn’t
Money is a sticky subject. Virtual money, even more so. I had to be very mindful of this fact while writing copy for my crypto users. While I could still keep the copy conversational, there was a limit to the liberty I could take with how I talk to my users. Joy and anguish had to both be addressed in a measured way, so as not to go overboard.
I have a little more wiggle room with my current audience. I could buddy up a little bit more with my customers or couriers who are awaiting hungrily or delivering tirelessly the food. I’m seeing more flair in my copy — perhaps it’s an indicator of me getting more comfortable in my own shoes as well. And has nothing to do with the change in audience. Perhaps not.
What’s not changed, however, is the humanity behind my copy. Little liberty or a lot, the foundation of my copy has been human. In both these scenarios, I noticed that I’ve written in a way that’s appropriate for the circumstances and their gravity. And in both these products, I’ve (hopefully) comforted my target audience just the same and just the right amount.
Pace changed, PEOPLE didn't
I may be generalizing here based on my limited exposure — and I apologize for it — but the fintech world seemed like it’s running at a breakneck speed, constantly. I remember my CEO walking into meetings and telling us we are ahead of the curve but there’s no time to rest, and that we can’t shoot for the moon, we need to try to reach for the stars. Everything was priority zero and we were churning out new features or fixes almost twice a day!
I brought all that nervous energy into my current job only to witness that not all companies work that way. We do hustle — but quietly. There’s a sense of measured haste here that I did have not experienced before. And for a guy who’d just dropped out of warp, going Mach 20 felt almost snail-paced. But the change of pace did my health and my work wonders. It’s true that you tend to notice so much more when you slow things down a bit. About yourself, your work, and more importantly, about the piece of copy at hand and the bigger picture where it fits in.
What did not change though, was my good fortune of working with some of the best and brightest in the business. I recently took a trip back to Estonia where I was working previously and was amazed by how many people made time in their schedules to meet with me and just have a nice chat. Made me realize what wonderful people I had the opportunity to call my colleagues then, and friends now.
Things are no different here. My good fortune keeps me riding the wave that humanity is inherently good and that people are generally decent. There’s always going to be that odd duck here and there. But I could not have felt more welcome in a new company, in a new country, thanks to these wonderful souls whom I now have the honor of calling my colleagues, and friends.
Challenges changed, COMMITMENT didn’t
Perhaps the biggest challenge for me in fintech was to try and help the common people understand and get comfortable with something as important and valuable as money, that exists only digitally. There were a lot of other associated challenges — finding words that won’t scare them off, nailing a tone that would express empathy, creating a voice that builds trust, and so on. I thought I had seen it all — ignorance truly is bliss. I carried this almost arrogant notion that now that I’ve worked in an industry as new and obscure as crypto, anything else would be a walk in the park. Oh, if only!
Naturally, the first few days in my current job were eye-opening to say the least. I realized, thankfully quickly, that this job was not going to be a breeze. It was going to be just as exciting, challenging, and hard as the previous one. And it got me excited. My primary challenge here as I see currently, is establishing a process that’s scalable and getting all key stakeholders on the same page. Another big part of my role is educating my colleagues about the importance of content design, where it fits within the larger scheme of things, and why it’s not the same as content writing or translation.
But in all of this, what hasn’t changed is my commitment . Commitment to put myself in my audiences’ shoes, to helping them get through their day a little easier, to making them feel comfortable doing whatever it is they’re doing on my products. Commitment to always strive for clarity for myself and my users, greater collaboration with my colleagues and peers, commitment to overcome the challenges, whatever they may be, and most of all, my commitment to keep learning and growing as a human writing for other humans.
I’m sure there will be a lot more that will change in the coming months and years, and a lot of things that will remain constant, laying the foundation for the kind of person I will become and the kind of work I will do. And I’m excited to contemplate those changes and constants again some time down the line.
This one turned out to be rather text-heavy and lengthy. I’m sorry about that. But I do hope there was something in there that you could relate to — some takeaway that you could carry on forth in your personal and professional lives.
