Before Eltropy became one of the fastest-growing communication platforms for credit unions and financial institutions, it was a small startup with a bold idea: to simplify secure communication between financial advisors and clients through text messaging.
Deepwake partnered with Eltropy during this early stage to help transform that idea into a fully realized, investor-ready product.
Through branding, mobile app design, and UX design sprints, we helped Eltropy clarify its value proposition, shape its product experience, and evolve toward product-market fit.
The Challenge
Eltropy was founded to bridge the communication gap between financial institutions and their members.
However, as an early-stage startup, they faced three key challenges:
- Clarity of Vision: The founding team needed to align around a clear product identity and market narrative.
- Product Experience: The early prototype required refinement to deliver a seamless mobile user experience for secure text communication.
- Validation and Traction: The team needed to test concepts directly with users to refine the product and attract early customers and investors.
Deepwake joined Eltropy as an embedded design and strategy partner, working alongside leadership, product managers, and engineers to design, test, and launch their next evolution.
The Approach
We began by embedding directly into Eltropy’s teams — both onsite and at customer locations — to deeply understand the product’s goals, constraints, and user needs.
This collaboration allowed us to blend strategic design thinking with rapid execution, driving clarity across the organization.
Our Partnership Focused On
- Building a cohesive brand identity that reflected trust, innovation, and simplicity.
- Leading UX design sprints and workshops to align cross-functional teams around user needs.
- Designing a mobile-first experience optimized for financial advisors, sales reps, and credit union employees.
- Partnering with product leadership to define roadmap priorities and identify high-impact features.
- Facilitating on-site research sessions to gather feedback directly from customers.
This integrated approach helped Eltropy evolve its product strategy and align its user experience with real-world use cases.
The Solution
1. Brand Identity System
We developed a modern, trustworthy brand identity that captured Eltropy’s mission: to simplify and secure communication in financial services. The visual system featured clean typography, calming color palettes, and a professional aesthetic that balanced technology and human connection.
The branding extended across product interfaces, marketing materials, and investor presentations, helping Eltropy present a unified and credible presence to customers and partners.
2. Mobile App Experience
Our UX and product design work focused on creating an intuitive mobile application that enabled secure, compliant communication between financial professionals and clients.
Key Design Goals:
- Simple, frictionless onboarding for busy financial advisors
- Secure messaging and document sharing that met compliance requirements
- Clear separation between personal and professional communication channels
- Fast, accessible navigation optimized for mobile environments
Through multiple design iterations and prototype testing, we helped Eltropy refine its user flow, visual hierarchy, and feature set — ultimately delivering a mobile experience that users trusted and adopted.
3. UX Design Sprints and Onsite Collaboration
We facilitated a series of design sprints and co-creation workshops with Eltropy’s leadership and product teams.
These sessions focused on aligning business goals with user insights, prioritizing features, and accelerating product decisions.
By embedding directly into the company’s day-to-day environment, we worked shoulder-to-shoulder with executives, PMs, and developers — bridging communication gaps and transforming abstract ideas into actionable design solutions.
We also joined on-site visits to customer locations, observing real user interactions and gathering feedback that directly informed product refinements.
Impact
Our work helped Eltropy transition from concept to clarity — building the foundation for what would become a category-defining product in financial communication.
Key Outcomes:
- A unified brand identity that positioned Eltropy as a credible, enterprise-ready platform.
- A validated mobile experience designed through real user feedback and iteration.
- Improved internal alignment around product vision and roadmap priorities.
- Strengthened investor and customer confidence through professional design and usability.
- Early traction with financial institutions, laying the groundwork for future growth.
From Startup Vision to Scalable Product
The work we did together became a pivotal step in Eltropy’s evolution.
The brand clarity, UX foundations, and user insights gained through our collaboration helped the company pivot toward a broader vision — becoming today’s AI-powered communication and automation platform trusted by hundreds of financial institutions.
Our design partnership didn’t just deliver visuals or wireframes. It helped Eltropy discover its market, align its team, and move from idea to impact.
Reflection
This project represents what Deepwake does best: helping visionary founders translate potential into proof.
Through collaboration, research, and design leadership, we helped Eltropy bridge the gap between concept and traction — setting the stage for the scalable, AI-driven company it is today.
Deepwake partners with early-stage teams to design clarity, accelerate learning, and uncover the deep insights that lead to true product-market fit.