Goldman Sachs Select: Self-service lending
Goldman Sachs was embarking on a new digital product that would redefine the value of “Select” customer status through customer self-service. While Select was positioned as a premium offering, its value was not clearly felt or understood by customers in their day-to-day interactions. Research suggested that customers encountered familiar financial-service pain points such as limited transparency, fragmented experiences, and a lack of personalization. My challenge was to devise a cohesive way to differentiate Select in a meaningful way for customers and through digital channels at scale for the business.
Company
Goldman Sachs
Role
Product Strategy+Design
Year
2017
Process
Map the customer journey
Through optimization research and end-to-end customer journey mapping, I identified and prioritized opportunities where unmet user needs intersected with business value. This work surfaced hidden expectations around control, clarity, and proactive guidance. Customers didn’t just want access to benefits, but a sense that the experience understood their financial literacy and adapted to it. Mapping the full journey exposed where traditional pain points eroded trust and where targeted self-service moments could meaningfully elevate the Select experience.
Establish a value proposition
Journey map insights informed a set of concept themes that reframed Select as a personalized value proposition rather than a static status tier. I translated these themes into personas, experience principles, and product definitions that emphasized relevance, transparency, and confidence and gained buy-in over multiple on-site working session. I designed core self-service concepts that empowered customers to understand their status, take informed action, and feel supported without requiring human intervention at every step.
Design and implement the vision
To bring the vision to life and align stakeholders, I designed wireframe prototypes to clearly communicate user needs, value propositions, and the user flow to Goldman Sachs leadership. In parallel, I collaborated closely with visual designers and experience technologists to implement the live experience. We enabled a build/test/learn environment where concepts could be iterated quickly, validated with stakeholders, and refined throughout implementation.
Outcome
The work contributed to a clearer, more differentiated digital foundation for GS Select, supporting Goldman Sachs’ broader strategy to serve mass-affluent customers through scalable self-service. Since its launch, GS Select has experienced significant growth, with its lending book doubling in 2020 reaching $10 billion by the end of that year. As GS Select leadership publicly noted, affluent customers continue to engage with borrowing products not out of necessity, but because of perceived value, flexibility, and control, validating the mindsets surfaced through project research. By redefining Select around personalized value rather than static status, the experience helped position GS Select as a compelling digital offering for a growing, high-value customer segment.
