# Allan Kirsten

> I build businesses using design as a tool. Ten years in product. Fintechs, SaaS, venture builders. Teams from 1 to 35 people. One $229M exit.

Last updated: 2026-07-11

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## Pages
- [About](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/about): Product and design leader. Ten years building product for startups, twenty-three in the career. I work at the intersection of design, product, business, data and execution. From chaos to done, by design.
- [Experience](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/experience): Twenty-three years in the career, ten in product. From web designer and vector illustration to global Head of Design. MAR Ventures, Remessa Online, Xerpay, Betterfly, Easy Carros, and Bipa today, my current job.
- [How I work](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/how-i-work): Design is a business capability, not decoration. Research that turns into decisions. Strategy and execution with no gap. Data that decides, not that decorates. AI as thinking infrastructure.
- [How I operate](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/workflow): My way of executing, not the principles, the machine. A loop of data, structure, automation and decision, with AI as execution infrastructure, not a crutch. Tested on my own life before I propose it to any team. Includes the story of how this very site was built, with Next.js and Claude Code.
- [Personality](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/personality): Who I am, not just what I do. Strategic, achiever, focused, competitive and relational, in that order. I push back with grounds, I finish what I start, and the honesty has warmth.
- [Beyond work](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/beyond-work): Runner and half-marathoner, diver, games, music and travel. Curiosity about human behavior and creative systems, and a genuine love for a good hangout. Craft since childhood: that is where today's eye was born, and why I've built my own portfolio since 1999.
- [Questions people ask](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/faq): Straight answers to what founders and senior designers usually ask before a call: where I come in, what I move, whether I still do the work, what I don't do, and why the results are real.
- [What people say](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/testimonials): Real testimonials from people who worked with me, with name, role and the type of working relationship at the time: direct reports, peers and partners. Public recommendations pulled from my LinkedIn, not anonymous quotes.
- [How can I help you](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/how-can-i-help): Direct answers by visitor type: interns, junior and senior designers, product managers, founders, CEOs, recruiters and investors. To find the part of the site that matters for your case, fast.
- [Contact](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/contact): Got a project, an opportunity or just want to talk? Send an email or reach out on LinkedIn.

## Cases
- [Bipa](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/cases/bipa): Bitcoin-native fintech, 300 thousand users. I turned a marketing site into an acquisition platform: 93 pull requests in 4 months, web signup with 29.9% organic approval against 12.8% for the paid flow, and 40 JTBD interviews that became the team's decision base.
- [Remessa Online](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/cases/remessa-online): I joined as the first product designer and built the team from scratch to 12 people in 4 years, at the largest currency exchange platform in Latin America. I redesigned the journeys that sustained the growth up to the US$229M exit to EBANX.
- [Easy Carros](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/cases/easy-carros): Head of Product at the largest fleet management platform for rental companies in Brazil, 350 clients and 130 thousand vehicles. I built product from scratch and turned a waterfall operation into data-driven product: simultaneous items from 195 to 13, deploy from 1 to 8 a month.
- [Betterfly](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/cases/betterfly): Promoted to Head of Product Design Global in 3 months at LATAM's first social impact unicorn. I unified 4 design teams coming from 4 simultaneous acquisitions into one single structure: 35 people, 4 countries, 3 languages.
- [Xerpay](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/cases/xerpay): Product Design Lead at a salary advance fintech, 45 companies and 60 thousand users. I transformed the discovery process and cut the user testing cycle from 1 month to under 1 week. Acquired by Betterfly in 2021.
- [Foodastic](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/cases/foodastic): I co-founded a concept bar and restaurant in Bombinhas, SC, with no prior experience in food service. Break even in the first year with own capital, in a physical, seasonal business. 7,485 people served over the summer, NPS 71, Google 4.6.
- [MAR Ventures](https://allankirsten.com/ai/en/cases/mar-ventures): Brazilian venture builder, I joined as a partner in 2016 when it was still called e-Genius. Responsible for design across the entire portfolio: from a house in Pinheiros with 30 people to a full floor on Faria Lima with 200+, incubating Remessa Online, Easy Carros, Finpass and Modiax at the same time.

## Contact
- Email: allankirsten@gmail.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allankirsten