Overview

Sellers naturally evolve from sole proprietors to LLCs, S-Corps, or corporations — but Square had no seamless way to support that transition. I led foundational research to understand seller motivations, decision-making, and pain points around updating their business entity, informing the design of an Identity Dashboard.

Research Setup

• My Role: Research lead — collaborated with two researchers across screener, interviews, and workshops
• Methods: Screener survey · 60-min moderated interviews · Synthesis workshops
• Sample: 8 sellers: LLCs, S-Corps, Corporations across food & beverage, beauty, professional services

Research Questions

• Do sellers know whether their Square account reflects their current legal entity?
• What motivates sellers to change their business structure?
• What friction exists when attempting to update from SSN to EIN?

The Problem

No seamless transition path existed when sellers graduated from SSN-based sole proprietorship to EIN-based entities, creating compliance risk and seller frustration.

Impact

• Informed the design of the Identity Dashboard (initiatives PL-30, PL-48)
• Identified where Square must maintain up-to-date beneficial ownership details through ongoing monitoring
• 3 synthesis and workshop sessions translated findings directly into product and design direction

Collaboration

Co-led with two researchers; ran 3 structured workshops to translate insights into actionable design direction.