SimpleFuture
Returning unclaimed property to their owners
System Design, Civic Tech, Product Strategy
2019 - 2020
Recognition
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Recipient of the Outstanding IDEP Award, Harvard Graduate School of Design (2020)
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Featured Venture at the Harvard Innovation Lab (2020)
Role
User Research | Product Design | UX Design
Context
Graduate Thesis work for Master in Design Engineering program at Harvard University
PROBLEM
Across the US, State Goverments hold $60B + $6B/yr in Unclaimed Property.
Despite laws and efforts to return the money...less that 4.5% of Unclaimed Property is claimed by owners each year.
In Massachusetts alone, of the 13 million individuals with unclaimed assets, fewer than 8% visited the state’s Treasury platform last year—and only one-third of those visitors successfully completed a claim.
SYSTEM
The existing recovery process is opaque and fraught with friction, often leaving users vulnerable to predatory brokers.
We asked: instead of requiring users to search for their assets, what if their unclaimed property found them through their existing financial institutions?
SOLUTION
To validate this ecosystem-based approach, we conducted extensive user research, stakeholder workshops, and interviews with the Office of the State Treasurer and major financial institutions.
We developed a technical MVP designed to securely and deterministically match banking profiles with aggregated national databases, proactively notifying individuals of their missing assets. Our vision positions this service as a high-value benefit for bank customers and corporate employees.
RESEARCH
&
PROTOTYPING
