Simple was created with the belief that banking could be beautiful. Since banking has always been somewhat of a necessary evil, we mainly wanted to create something we loved using ourselves to replace our own existing banks. With that in mind, "eating our own dog food" was a guiding principle, and it helped the team create something that we, and many enthusiastic customers, truly do love to use. As tasty as dog food can be, though, like all good things it must to be eaten in moderation.
This talk will go over the history of creating the Simple banking experience, how we shaped it into an app that we love to use ourselves, how we worked hard at sneaking in delightful, unexpected details, the benefits and pitfalls of eating your own dog food, and why it is important to balance that dog food with learning from your customers.