Startup Funding Marketplace

Product Management / User Research / UI Design
Project Overview
After a successful launch, funders expressed keen interest in actively discovering startups on the platform. As connections multiplied, there was a need for rapid scaling to efficiently manage the growing number of connections between founders and funders.
My Contributions
As a product manager for this project, I conducted experiments, collaborated with designers to create prototypes, led user interviews, and coordinated with engineering to implement ideas into code.
With the success of our initial launch, founders started receiving numerous warm introductions with funders, converting these conversations into deals. However, they faced challenges in managing and keeping track of deals in various stages of completion.

Funders expressed a desire to take a more active role in deal generation at the top of the funnel, requesting features to track existing deals and proactively connect with startups.

Additionally, we received feedback from founders who appreciated the recommendations and meetings but felt unprepared or unsure how to pitch to funds successfully.
Problem Definition
Help funders efficiently screen startups, help startups improve their discovery to deal success rate.
Faced with new challenges, my collaboration with design and engineering teams during the ideation stage resulted in potential solutions to handle the increased scale of dealflow for founders and funders.

One proposed solution involved building a more robust homepage dashboard, offering a centralized space for managing, viewing, and accepting deals and connections seamlessly. Responding to funders' desire for increased control, another idea was to shift from a strict 'recommendations only' approach, providing users with additional search capabilities.

As part of the ideation process, we also explored the possibility of introducing a premium advisor service, where our deal experts could offer hands-on assistance, enhancing deal readiness for startups preparing to meet funders.
Ideation
How might we scale the top of funnel discovery of deals, and facilitate easier management of deals through their lifecycle?
Our ideation process resulted in the creation of a new homepage/deal dashboard, streamlining deal management at scale. The profile experience was revamped to include additional data points such as financials and affiliations, expediting funders' entry into deal discussions.

To further empower users and internal teams, we developed a 'deal tracker,' facilitating easy bulk tracking and management of deals in various states.

Finally, we initiated a beta for our premium deal advisory services, engaging a select cohort of high-quality startups. Our advisory team assisted these startups with refining pitch decks, organizing mock pitch days, and facilitating warm introductions directly to funders.
Solution
While founders enjoyed the ease of use our recommender system provided, they wanted more control to sift through the recommended funding opportunities.
The revamped profiles and enhanced search controls demonstrated their effectiveness, resulting in a notable increase in connections between founders and funders. Simultaneously, the average time for founders to make connections on the platform decreased.

Additionally, our premium deal advisory service garnered significant interest, offering valuable support to startups and increasing their introduction to signed deal success rate.
Launch
Increased connections, and happier users.
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