The Mihir Chronicles

Work

Nurturing an idea through an experimentation that blossoms into a product is an unparalleled joy. The journey of building products has broadened my understanding of various subjects and how things work. Below are the products I have had the privilege of working on.

DAFgiving360 (Schwab Charitable)

[2023 - 2025]

  • Led digital product strategy and execution for donor-advised funds (DAF), directly facilitating a total of $8.9 billion in charitable grants during fiscal year 2025.
  • Scaled automated granting workflows and directed end-to-end product development, optimizing capabilities to connect donors with 255,000+ charities nationwide.
  • Defined strategic direction for charitable giving solutions, enhancing user experiences and streamlining the donation process across all digital channels.

Website: DAFgiving360

Schwab Intelligent Portfolios

[2021 - 2023]

  • The Challenge: The existing automated investing onboarding flow was friction-heavy, requiring too many steps for risk profiling.
  • The Solution: Led the effort to modernize the risk profile and portfolio recommendation algorithms, focusing on a minimalist, user-centric design.
  • The Result: Delivered a streamlined Schwab Intelligent Portfolios experience with reduced question density, resulting in a quantifiable decrease in click-throughs and a faster time-to-value for new investors.

Website: Schwab Intelligent Portfolios

Big Imposter

[2023]

  • Conceptualized and developed a cohesive brand identity for a digital resource dedicated to overcoming professional imposter syndrome.
  • Executed end-to-end creative direction, designing a complete visual system including a custom logo, spot illustrations, and high-fidelity website mockups.
  • Project was abandoned.

Website: Big Imposter

Wise Charlie

[2018 - 2021]

  • A “pocket tool for independent thinking” consisting of 100 mental model cards in a compact, custom-designed box.
  • Founded and bootstrapped Wise Charlie—an educational project on Charlie Munger's mental models—over a traditional MBA. Dedicated to mastering the 'latticework' of interdisciplinary thinking by translating big ideas from physics, psychology, and math into accessible, high-leverage tools for better decision-making
  • Democratized high-leverage thinking, transforming dense academic concepts into engaging tools for critical decision-making and pattern recognition.
  • Managed end-to-end physical product lifecycle as a solo founder, successfully navigating manufacturing, logistics, and shipping challenges distinct from digital product development.
  • Achieved market validation with 600+ paying customers, delivering a physical tool for critical thinking to a diverse user base of educators, investors, and designers.
  • Project coverage: Project got a shout out from Kai from Dense Discovery, Barbara Oakley, Fredrick from Pixels, Blas from Rabbit Hole and many more.
  • Business was acquired by a customer.

Instagram: @heywisecharlie

Web Archive: Wise Charlie

Morningstar Investor

[2020-2021]

  • Drove feature development for the modernization of Morningstar Investor, the company's flagship platform for individual investors.
  • Revitalized core capabilities, including Watchlists, Portfolio Tracking, and Research integration, as part of a strategic executive initiative to upgrade the user experience.

Website: Morningstar Investor

Morningstar Design System

[2018 - 2020]

  • Unified UX and code standards across a portfolio of 60+ client-facing products, resolving fragmentation through the implementation of a centralized Design System.
  • Created a living style guide and component library, ensuring consistency and accessibility across all products.
  • Collaborated with cross-functional teams to implement the Design System, including product managers, developers, and designers.
  • Facilitated the adoption of the Design System by providing training and documentation, and by working closely with teams to ensure successful implementation.

Website: Morningstar Design System

Spendout

[2013]

  • Led the end-to-end product development of a specialized expense tracking tool tailored for the sharing economy (Uber, Airbnb) at digital agency Doejo.
  • Achieved early market traction with hundreds of active users and spearheaded strategic partnership negotiations with Uber Chicago.
  • Project shout out Chicago Tribune Coverage.

Humble Pen

[2012 - 2015]

  • Humble Pen was my crash course in the reality of physical goods versus digital products.
  • Origin: Inspired by a 2012 trip to Haiti and letters from students, I founded a “One-for-One” venture to merge design with social impact.
  • The Product: Designed and manufactured a handcrafted bamboo pen, packaged with artist-curated postcards to reignite the passion for physical writing.
  • The Impact: Successfully funded educational resources for nearly 1,000 children across Haiti, India, and Cambodia.
  • The Retrospective: While the project achieved significant social impact, I made the difficult decision to sunset the venture due to the economic challenges of the One-for-One model and fair-trade supply chains. This experience provided invaluable lessons in unit economics, supply chain logistics, and the distinct separation between business sustainability and charitable giving.

Instagram: @humblepen

Video: @vimeovideos