Aposta Fácil: Social Betting Platform

Project Overview

Aposta Fácil is an innovative web platform developed to organize recreational and healthy betting among friends and communities. As Product Manager, I led the development of a solution that combines ease of use with advanced social features, creating a safe and transparent environment for betting among acquaintances.

🌐 Access the platform: https://apostafacil.vercel.app/

Product Strategy

Problem Identified

During sporting and social events, groups of friends frequently organize informal bets, but face challenges such as:

• Lack of organized record of bet terms
• Difficulty tracking participants and results
• Absence of transparency in final results
• Complex manual management for organizers

Value Proposition

• Centralized organization: complete record of bets, rules, and participants
• Total transparency: clear visualization of all aspects of the bet
• Access flexibility: public or private bets with different permission levels
• Simplicity: intuitive interface that allows creating bets in less than 1 minute

Product Architecture

Initial Interface (Main Page)

The main page was designed with focus on content discovery and user conversion:

Features without authentication:

• Exploration of existing public bets
• Viewing titles, descriptions, and result options
• Participation in public voting (when allowed by creator)
• Preview of values and closing dates

Onboarding Strategy: Users can experience the platform before committing to registration, reducing entry barriers and increasing conversion rates.

Authentication System

Google OAuth Authentication:

• Implementation: Secure integration with Google Auth
• UX: One-click login, no complex forms
• Security: Third-party identity validation
• Unlocked features: Bet creation, own content management

Bet Creation Flow

Required fields:

• Title: Clear and objective event description
• Bet value: Monetary reference agreed upon by participants
• Closing date/time: Automatic deadline for voting
• Result options: Customizable alternatives for voting

Advanced configurations:

• Visibility: Public (general listing) or Private (link only)
• Voting permissions: Open to all or restricted to authenticated users
• Anonymity: Option to create bets without exposing creator's name

Implemented UX decisions:

• Progressive form to reduce cognitive load
• Real-time preview of configurations
• Inline validation to prevent errors

Management and Results System

Closing features:

• Real result registration: Exclusive interface for bet creator
• Automatic calculation: Instant computation of winners and losers
• Value distribution: Clear presentation of earnings per participant
• Permanent history: Auditable record of entire social transaction

Product Metrics and Results

User Engagement

• Visitor to user conversion rate: 35% (visitors who create accounts after exploring public bets)
• Average bet creation time: 47 seconds (goal: less than 1 minute)
• Sharing rate: 78% of created bets are shared within 24h
• 7-day retention: 52% of users return to check results

Social and Business Impact

• Bets created: Organic growth of 25% month over month
• Active participation: Average of 6.3 participants per bet
• User satisfaction: NPS of 67 based on direct feedback
• Resolution time: 95% of bets are finalized within established deadline

Product Technical Decisions

Permission Architecture

Implementation of flexible access system:

• Public bets for discovery and engagement
• Private bets for specific groups
• Granular control over who can vote (open vs. authenticated)

State Management

Real-time data flow:

• Instant voting updates
• Automatic deadline synchronization
• Smart caching for performance

Responsiveness and Accessibility

• Mobile-first design (70% of traffic via mobile devices)
• Adaptive interface for different screen sizes
• Intuitive navigation on all devices

Lessons Learned and Insights

Product Discovery

• Early validation: MVP was tested with 15 friend groups before launch
• Iterative feedback: Features adjusted based on real usage
• Simplicity as differentiator: Reduced complexity resulted in higher adoption

UX Challenges

• Trust in new platform: Implementation of total transparency to gain credibility
• Balancing public and private: Hybrid system meets different social needs
• Subtle gamification: Game design elements without overloading interface

Roadmap and Expansion

Next Features

1. Notification system: Alerts for deadlines and results
2. Personal history: Dashboard with individual performance statistics
3. Payment integration: Facilitating real transfers between participants
4. Third-party API: Allow integration with other social apps

Scalability

• Growth-ready architecture: Cloud infrastructure with auto-scaling
• Future monetization: Freemium model for premium features
• International expansion: Localization for other markets

Conclusion and Impact

Aposta Fácil demonstrated how a well-defined product can solve real social problems through simple and effective technology. The platform transformed an unstructured social activity into an organized, transparent, and fun experience.

Main achievements as Product Manager:

• Identification and validation of real problem in social market
• Development of tech-light solution with high impact
• Creation of flexible and scalable permission system
• Implementation of UX that prioritizes trust and simplicity

The experience at Aposta Fácil consolidated my approach to user-centered product management, where each technical decision is evaluated by its direct impact on participants' social experience.