Our first job was to work with NatWest executives to make the sense of the opportunity and pick a route to address it - between partnering, building or buying. Together, we concluded that the biggest opportunity was to build a brand new businesses that intuitively linked to other small business products in the bank.

The next job was building the product. Starting by understanding the needs of small businesses, we went up and down the UK spending time with merchants, adopting a variety of research methods to get a textured understanding of their objectives and challenges. Taking this insight, we designed an ecosystem of 5 digital products that worked together to help merchant businesses manage and grow their business. In parallel, we defined and executed a brand and go-to-market strategy that leveraged the heritage of NatWest but created its own narrative in the market.

In order to make the most of the their IP investment, NatWest opted to create Pollinate International, who then took the platform and sold it into 2 new international markets. To support this journey, we embedded a team of digital product managers and designers, who established ways of working that are still in use today..