More Than Shares: building products for financial empowerment

We’re stoked to welcome you to Sharesies debut as a ProductTank Wellington host!

In this session, Sharesies product leaders John Scully and Will Donnelly will unpack how the company evolved from a small investing platform into a broader financial ecosystem, without losing sight of its purpose: Creating financial empowerment for everyone.

They’ll share stories and lessons from building out features like fractional investing, a more connected KiwiSaver, auto-save, live pricing, and now a debit card—all while maintaining a clear mission and customer focus. It’s a candid look at how purpose can shape product strategy, prioritisation, and roadmap clarity as a company scales.

If you’re building a product in a mission-driven org or trying to turn strategy into something customers actually feel, don’t miss this one.

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Speaker bios:

John Scully was the first product manager at Sharesies and now leads its Payments product, shaping how the platform evolves from investing into everyday money. He’s led the development of features like US shares, Save, and the now the Sharesies debit card—designing trusted experiences that help people feel confident with their money. With a background in product leadership at Xero and Kiwibank, John brings a deep understanding of how to build behaviour-shaping products in high-trust spaces.

Will Donnelly is the Product Lead for Superannuation and Funds at Sharesies. He’s played a key role in scaling Sharesies from a simple investing app into a full financial platform—reimagining retirement with Sharesies' KiwiSaver offering, while emphasising technology, user experience, and regulatory compliance. With previous experience with international bookmakers Betfair and Paddy Power, Will is focused on transforming innovative ideas into tangible products.

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When: Arrive by 5:30pm. The talk (and livestream) will start at 6pm.

Where: Sharesies, Level 3, 111 Customhouse Quay, Wellington Central

Sponsor: Huge thank you to Sharesies for hosting and catering!

Livestream: If you can't make the event in person, we'll livestream on YouTube. Full link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKA4iV6fL5k