Simpl Quests: Building Merchant-Funded Engagement
Built a milestone rewards model funded by merchants to increase payment frequency.
- Loyalty Programs
- Merchant Partnerships
- Engagement Loops
- Rewards Design
Vidyadhar Sharma
Head of Product at profound.me
From their time as
Associate Director of Product, Consumer Experience
Simpl • 2025 - 2025
Overview
Vidyadhar shaped Quests as a milestone rewards program funded by merchants rather than Simpl's margin. Early cohorts increased payment frequency by 18% to 24%, while retention evidence remained preliminary.
The Story
Vidyadhar approached loyalty through the user's recurring choice of which payment instrument to use. The product thesis was that milestone rewards could make Simpl an easier top-of-wallet choice.
He helped structure Quests so that merchant funding supported the rewards economics. This connected user engagement with partner value rather than relying solely on Simpl-funded incentives.
Early cohort experiments moved engagement and increased payment frequency by 18% to 24%. The cohorts were still too small to establish a meaningful retention effect, so the team treated retention as an open question while scaling the program.
Ownership Snapshot
Broad role
Led product work on Simpl's gamified loyalty initiative.
Goal
Increase payment frequency and strengthen top-of-wallet behavior.
Direct ownership
Shaped the merchant-funded model and the core product hypothesis.
Team execution
Worked across product and merchant partnerships to test early cohorts.