Progressive Leasing: a perfect example of fintech at scale
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MARCH 2019
Agility and customercentricity: Progressive Leasing’s recipe for fintech success WRIT TEN BY
L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY
ANDY TURNER 03
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Harnessing agile methodology and a customer-centric approach, Progressive Leasing provides simple and affordable purchase options for creditchallenged consumers
Y
ou could argue that in no sector is disruption more palpable than in finance. For a long time, new entrants found it difficult
to break into the market – but the rise of fintech companies has quickly changed that. These disruptors have helped to usher in a new era where 04
technological prowess and a customer-centric approach have loosened the grasp of incumbents on the market. It’s also provided greater choice for customers, allowing them to select the business which best caters to their needs. But what about the rising number of consumers who are being turned down by primary and secondary financing? Where do those with less-than-perfect credit fit into the equation? Respecting that these customers were underserved and appreciating this was an untapped market, Progressive Leasing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aaron’s Inc., has made its mark. For over 19 years, the firm has provided simple and affordable purchase options for credit-challenged consumers and it now stands as the largest and longest-tenured virtual lease-to-own provider in the
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“ The culture is really one of the main reasons I joined the company” — Ben Hawksworth, Chief Technology Officer, Progressive Leasing
US. Ben Hawksworth, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), says the firm ultimately owes its success to two things: its deep customer focus and its significant scale. “What gives us an edge is our scale – we’re the number one in the industry and we have been at it the longest,” he observes. “With US$2bn in revenue, thousands of retail partners and a very loyal customer base, this scale has proven to be a real competitive advantage for us and it’s one we hope to leverage as we move forward.” Indeed, today Progressive Leasing’s lease-to-
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own option has helped millions of customers and their families, meaning that they can buy the goods they need (whether it’s a mattress or a mobile phone), even if they have imperfect credit or an inability to pay for their purchase upfront. Looking forward, Hawksworth is wellequipped to steer the firm as it grows in size. A seasoned business and technology leader, Hawksworth spent almost two decades at the two largest payment providers in the US. As such, he has first-hand experience of how to scale technology. “When you’re dealing with thousands of transactions a second,
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘CUSTOMER STORY’ 07 you have to design your systems and
customers’ needs,” Hawksworth
think about your products and processes
explains. “From our Quality Engineers
a little bit differently,” he says. “You
to our CEO, everyone is involved in
have to ensure that they’re hardened,
the product experience creation. We
that they can withstand the forces of
measure usability, practice design-first
uptime, reliability and accuracy.”
thinking and, at the end of the day,
Hawksworth and his team have
we’re really passionate about taking
worked diligently to ensure that the
the friction out of the process for our
customer remains front and center
customers at every step.” To sum this
of the firm’s vision. As a digitally-fo-
up, one of the firm’s core values is to
cused business, this journey starts
‘innovate and simplify’. This simple
with software development and, more
mantra, Hawksworth believes, is one
specifically, product development. “We
which is central to Progressive Leas-
have an intense focus on our products
ing’s way of thinking.
and solutions and how they meet our
To put this vision into motion, the w w w.pro gl e a sin g . com
business has turned its attention to agile methodology, a software development practice which helps teams respond to the unpredictability of constructing software. Hawksworth and his colleagues have practiced an agile approach at a team level for quite some time but the real challenge was how to scale this as teams naturally became more interdependent on each other and as products became more complex in a rapidly growing organization. This is where Progressive Leasing first had the idea for an Agile Portfolio 08
$2bn
Approximate revenue
1999
Year founded
1,600
Approximate number of employees
Office (APO). Hawksworth describes this as a place which “brings a center of gravity to our software development lifecycle and adds central accountability to the process of development”. Essentially, this helped to put a structure in place which enabled collaboration, allowed the firm to scale and to promote visibility into the product development
of a product or a feature during the actual
lifecycle. Progressive Leasing then
execution of the sprint work itself,”
decided to take this one step further
explains Hawksworth. “Dual-track puts
by exploring a dual track, agile product
accountability on three people – the
development methodology where
product manager, the UX designer and
discovering what to build is just as
the tech lead – to assess the feasibility,
important as the building process.
effort and scope of an idea. It allows us to
“Our analysis showed that we spent too
truly determine whether or not an idea is
much time figuring out the feasibility
worth building before we start the work.”
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Successful ideas from the discovery
Hawksworth has only just scratched
track are then followed up through
the surface of Progressive Leasing’s
a so-called delivery track. This allows
journey. The business is also implement-
Progressive Leasing to concentrate its
ing an API management platform from
energy and efforts on projects which will
Google which he says will “give the
deliver value. “By spending a little more
business the ability to innovate on the
time upfront, it makes for a much more
edge” allowing it to innovate more quickly,
rewarding experience for our engineers
consistently and securely. In line with
and product managers,” he adds.
its customer focus, Progressive Leasing w w w.pro gl e a sin g . com
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“ We measure usability, we practice designfirst thinking and, at the end of the day, we’re really passionate about taking the friction out of the process for our customers at every step” — Ben Hawksworth, Chief Technology Officer, Progressive Leasing
our customers and retail partners.” Additionally, Hawksworth highlights how the firm is also striving to make its workflow more “content driven” using a content management platform to deliver real-time, uniquely customizable workflows for its retail partners. As a digitally-driven firm, product development isn’t just a technology issue at Progressive Leasing: it’s company wide. As the company rapidly grows, constraints and bottlenecks are something that every department faces. Hawksworth says: “I have the ability and the pleasure to be able to sit down with our CEO and talk about how maybe a legacy design or a legacy constraint creates friction or slows down our delivery process. We can easily talk about investing in the foundation as much as in new features and products,”
is also exploring new ways to reach and
reflects Hawksworth. “We really try
interact with its customers. This often
to balance staying focused on product
involves tailoring the customer journey
innovation and eliminating legacy
to the type of device they’re using. “It
constraints.” Another challenge with
means that we’re increasingly putting
software development undoubtedly
more and more of the process into our
lies in customer transparency. It’s
customers’ devices whether that’s a
a core value for Progressive Leasing
mobile phone or a tablet,” he says. “That’s
which the company won’t concede on.
really where we can take technology
“That’s really the key quest for us,”
and deliver a better experience for
Hawksworth admits. “We never want to w w w.pro gl e a sin g . com
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13 compromise on customer transparency
operations teams put into the busi-
and, simultaneously, we want to deliver
ness,” says Hawksworth proudly. “It
the best user experience that we possibly
demonstrated that we met our own
can. Those two things can naturally be
expectations of flawless execution on
at odds with one another and so it’s up
our most successful day.” However,
to us to find that perfect harmony.”
such growth brings along its own
This is a delicate balancing act that
challenges and opportunities – one of
is undoubtedly paying off. Progressive
which involves attracting and retaining
Leasing has grown nearly 10 times in
key talent. Today, the business has
size over the past six years, with its
several hundred people working in its
success culminating in a bumper Black
technology and product department
Friday holiday. “We had the single most
with more being added every day.
successful day in the company’s history
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, a
which was a testament to the hard work
region which has been dubbed ‘Silicon
that our product, engineering, sales and
Slopes’ for its buzzing tech scene, w w w.pro gl e a sin g . com
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Progressive Leasing has to work hard to ensure it not only gets the best talent, but that these individuals also work well within the firm’s culture. Progressive’s innovative recruitment team has turned to firms like Tekmark Global Solutions to find unique skills and the best talent – but for Hawksworth, it’s not about skills alone. “In this competitive market, we have to move quickly but we also feel very strongly about spending quality time with candidates to make sure they are going to be a good cultural fit,” says Hawksworth. “The culture is really one of the main reasons I joined the company. It’s second to none. It’s great to see Progressive Leasing has managed to maintain this culture even though we’ve grown to be a two-billiondollar company and my job is to make sure we keep it strong and vibrant. Firms like Tekmark understand how important culture is for us and they speak the Progressive story innately with candidates to attract the right talent required to sustain our growth.” Progressive Leasing owes a lot to its team, and it also relies on key partners, both externally and internally, to maintain
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its rapid momentum. “Internally, my biggest partner is our Chief Product Officer and our VP of Product. We simply can’t afford to be misaligned. If we aren’t running in the exact same direction, at the exact same target, we will not be able to deliver our vision. Meanwhile, externally, we’ve leveraged a firm called Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG) to help us to fine-tune our process and ensure that we’re all on the same page.” With this support, Progressive Leasing is set to continue on its upward trajectory and whilst no 16
one can predict where the finance sector will head in the future, one thing
“ We have an intense focus on our products and solutions and how they meet our customers’ needs” — Ben Hawksworth, Chief Technology Officer, Progressive Leasing
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is for certain – Progressive Leasing will remain laser-focused on the customer experience. “We believe that really listening to our customers will give us the best roadmap to our ongoing success,” Hawksworth affirms.
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Progressive Leasing 256 West Data Dr Draper Utah 84020 USA www.progleasing.com