Investnext capital raise 2.0

  • CLIENT: InvestNext

  • DURATION: Q1 2024 - Q3 2024

  • ROLE: Lead Product Designer

 
 
 
 

1. OVERVIEW

The problem

In InvestNext, the “Capital Raises,” “Opportunities,” and “Commitments” tabs offer similar information, causing confusion for sponsors about the distinct details and actions required in each tab. The current setup creates a fragmented experience, requiring users to navigate through different sections to monitor a single fundraise. For example, sponsors need to switch between viewing opportunities and managing details, which feels disjointed and inefficient.

The Solution

Develop a unified workspace model for managing fundraises, inspired by the “Projects” feature in InvestNext. This approach will centralize fundraise information and streamline the user experience, reducing the need for excessive navigation and clarifying the terms and actions associated with each tab. Key changes include redefining terminology, simplifying pipeline stages, and enhancing focus by linking opportunities directly to specific fundraises.

 

2. RESEARCH

THE PROBLEM: DISJOINTED FUNDRAISING EXPERIENCE

Current user feedback indicates confusion over the terms and processes within the “Fundraising” section. Sponsors experience difficulty navigating between tabs and understanding the relevance of each tab’s information. This disjointed experience leads to inefficiencies and frustration. Working with product leadership, I started the project by internal validation in order to better understand the resource requirements, risks, and key performance indicators to guide product strategy. To help frame my research, I created a product research plan, which includes the goals and objectives, assumptions, methodologies, participants, questions, and timeline.

Goal

Create a cohesive workspace that consolidates fundraise information, improves clarity around terminology and actions, and enhances the overall sponsor experience by reducing navigation complexity and aligning terminology with industry standards.

 
 

MARKETPLACE RESEARCH

Our market analysis reveals significant challenges in the real estate investment sector, particularly with disjointed capital raising processes and inefficient investor management. Existing solutions lack a comprehensive platform that integrates all essential features. Capital Raise 2.0 addresses these gaps by providing a unified platform that streamlines fundraising from investor onboarding to fund closure, enhancing both transparency and efficiency. We are also considering expanding our platform’s capabilities through integrations with financial tools and analytics services to offer a holistic solution for capital management and investor relations.

Competitive Research

To evaluate the competition in the capital raising tool market, we examined the offerings of the following competitors: Agora, AppFolio, Juniper Square, and Cashflow Portal. Each of these platforms provides solutions tailored to capital raising, albeit with different features, strengths, and target markets. We compared top product features and services, which include: Capital Raise Management, Investor Portal Access, Analytics, CRM Integration Compatibility, and Investor Vetting Tools.

 
 

Looking at the leading competitors, many of them offer the basic services, such as an investor portal and management tools, but many competitors fall short with advanced investor compliance tools and analytics features.

 

3. DEFINE

Empathy Maps

We developed empathy maps based on feedback from sponsors and fund managers to understand their pain points and needs. Key personas include fund managers who are overwhelmed by disjointed interfaces and sponsors who struggle with unclear terminology and navigation.

 
 
 
 

After empathy mapping and interviewing potential customers, one personas became a clear focus to the team and the target user group. The Persona was created based on the design research analysis, conversations with existing customers, and design partners at SaaS startups. With the user persona, I could empathize more with the end-users’ needs, motivations, and pain points with a financial insights tool.

 

SUCCESS METRICS

To design a ‘source of truth’ is to design for accuracy. 

Success will be measured by improvements in user satisfaction, reduction in navigation time, and increased efficiency in managing fundraises. Specific metrics include decreased confusion over terminology, improved task completion rates, and higher user engagement with the unified workspace.

 
 

Define: User Flow

We created a user flow diagram to outline the streamlined process for managing a fundraise within the new workspace. This flow aims to minimize unnecessary clicks and provide a clear path for sponsors to access and manage relevant information.

 
 
 

4. WIREFRAMING

DESIGNING + PROTOTYPING

Using Figma, we designed wireframes for the new unified workspace. Key features include:

  • A centralized view for managing fundraise details, opportunities, and commitments.

  • Simplified terminology and pipeline stages.

  • Enhanced focus by filtering opportunities relevant to the current fundraise.

WIREFRAMING: USER JOURNEY

Wireframes illustrate the user journey from accessing a fundraise to managing its details and tracking commitments. The design ensures a seamless transition between different sections and a cohesive experience.

Redefined “Committed” and “Commitment(s)” to align with industry standards.

  1. Removed references to “Reservation” in favor of “Commitment.”

  2. Simplified pipeline stages from “Committed” > “Paperwork Complete” > “Funded” to “Committing” > “Committed.”

  3. Updated grid views to reduce noise and focus on relevant data.

 
 

Capital raise experience: Medium Fidelity

1. Capital Raise Overview Page: Provides a dashboard view featuring funding progress, total raised, number of investors, with quick links to Opportunities, Commitments, and Settings.

2. Opportunities Page: Manages investment opportunities with a tabulated display of names, potential values, and status, alongside filtering and quick management actions.

3. Commitments Page: Oversees investor commitments, detailing amounts, statuses, and aggregate metrics on total and pending commitments for efficient tracking.

4. Deal Room Settings Page: Configures access and content in the deal room, with tools for content management, access control, and engagement tracking.

5. Advanced Capital Raise Settings: Offers deep customization for automation, notifications, and detailed reporting to optimize the capital raise process.

 
 
 

5. FINAL DESIGNS

 
 

Dashboard Homepage

I created the home dashboard with a simple, visually pleasing design. The design includes key metrics based on user feedback and conversations with partnering SaaS founders. Key metrics include: MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue), Customers, ARPU (Average Revenue per User), Net Retention, Cash Flow and Runway, a Cohort Analysis table, and Customer Activity. Each chart/graph features hover states and click-into pages for drilling into additional details.

 
 

Click-into pages

I collaborated closely with the engineering team to develop and implement the newly defined capital raise pages, including Overview, Opportunities, Commitments, Deal Room, and Settings. These pages were designed to streamline the user experience, offering intuitive navigation and comprehensive features that enable users to manage their capital raising efforts effectively. Each page is tailored to provide specific insights and functionalities, ensuring that users have quick access to the information and tools they need, enhancing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the capital raise process.

 
 
 
 
 

6. TEST

SUCcess Metrics

The Capital Raise 2.0 project has demonstrated notable success in several key areas. The conversion rate exceeded its target, achieving a 38% rate against a goal of 20%, reflecting highly effective investor engagement strategies. Feature engagement also surpassed expectations with a 48% engagement rate, over double the 20% target. Additionally, customer support enablement resulted in a 13% reduction in related support tickets, higher than the 10% reduction goal in the first quarter since its general availability release.

7. DELIVERY

During the development of Capital Raise 2.0, I collaborated closely with the engineering, customer support, sales, and product leadership teams to address and refine potential pain points. The delivery process involved initial internal beta testing, followed by customer beta testing to drive iterative improvements based on feedback. Key steps included advocating for necessary changes pre-beta release, establishing a code freeze date, orchestrating beta partner calls, and implementing minor revisions from beta feedback. We set a launch date for general availability and conducted a product retrospective one quarter post-launch to evaluate the success against key performance indicators (KPIs).

BETA DEMO

Please use these credentials to log into the live beta demo environment:

  • Url: https://app.nvstnxt.co/

  • Username: capital-raise-betademo-1

  • Password: admin

8. TAKAWAYS

Setting KPIs Early: As the project lead for Capital Raise 2.0, establishing key performance indicators early in the process was critical. This approach ensured that every team member, from engineers to stakeholders and end users, had a clear understanding of the project's goals and success metrics.

Value of Feedback: Continuous feedback throughout the design and testing phases was vital. It ensured that the final product not only met its functional requirements but also resonated well with users, avoiding unnecessary features and focusing on genuine needs.

Communication Drives Success: Effective communication across all teams facilitated a clear understanding of goals and expectations, helping to streamline the development process and enhance the end product's alignment with business objectives.