How a Leading FinTech Platform Doubled Mobile App Adoption with Flutter

The Challenge

Nav, the leading credit and financial health platform for small businesses, aimed to become a mobile-first company with frequent deployments and provide small business owners with a dynamic and personalized experience. 

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They had already made progress by uniting their iOS and Android apps under Flutter, but by 2022 it became clear that more foundational work was required to shift toward mobile-first development. Key issues included:

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• Access: 67% of users were accessing Nav via mobile browser, rather than native apps, signaling that the mobile app experience needed to improve 

• Features: Several core features present on the web app weren’t yet implemented or fully functional in the mobile apps

• Systems: Their Flutter codebase and state-management system lagged behind and needed updates

• Functionality: Frequent technical debt and outdated dependencies were slowing down new feature development.

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Our Solution

VGV partnered with Nav on a nine-month engagement to overhaul their mobile development practices and train their internal team, with structured key components: 

• Establish a mobile-first strategy by bringing feature parity to the apps and creating the expectation that all new features would launch on mobile first.
  
  
• Modernize the technology stack, including upgrading Flutter dependencies, migrating to null safety, and adopting a scalable state management solution.
  
  
• Embed VGV experts alongside Nav engineers and designers to transfer knowledge and accelerate delivery.
  
  
• Reshape workflows to prioritize rapid iteration, regular releases, and data-driven decisions supported by analytics.
  
  
• Build a foundation of best practices in testing, code hygiene, and deployment cadence to ensure long-term efficiency.

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"You will hear this word over again: Trust. There was a genuine trust between our team and the VGV team. I speak for everybody; we did not think there was a VGV and a Nav team. There was one team.” -Zain Kahn, Head of Product, Nav

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How We Did It

Executing this solution required more than planning—it demanded an embedded partnership where VGV operated as part of Nav’s team. Together, we combined strategic intent with hands-on engineering, design, and process refinement. The work unfolded in structured phases that gradually improved both the technology and the way Nav built for mobile.

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• Kickoff & Integration: VGV adapted to Nav’s workflows and set up paired programming sessions, shared project management practices, and embedded a designer to ensure seamless collaboration.
  
  
• Codebase Modernization: We upgraded dependencies, migrated to Dart null safety, refactored state management, and cleared technical debt to make the apps more stable and scalable.
  
  
• Feature Parity & Readiness: Mobile functionality was brought in line with the web app, creating consistency across platforms and positioning mobile as the default experience.
  
  
• Release Rhythm: A two-week deployment cadence was established, supported by stronger testing, higher code coverage, and analytics integration for measuring feature impact.
  
  
• Team Culture: Through daily pairing and communication, VGV became a trusted extension of Nav’s engineering team—fostering knowledge transfer, camaraderie, and long-term capability.

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"VGV is by far the most tightly-integrated [of our consultants] with our team. They were in our channels, getting involved in the banter. It worked great for us. They acted as true partners and core members of our team.” -Ammon Lockwood, Director of Software Engineering, Nav

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The Result

2x User Growth

In app registrations and monthly active users

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200% Increase in Engagement

In average user logins per month 

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