Web Experience
Startup investment made simple
Project overview
DealMaker is a platform that helps companies to manage capital raises and investor relations, processing over $2B across 1.5M investments and 900+ raises.
As the sole product designer working with a cross-functional team, we redesigned DealMaker’s checkout experience—a critical yet outdated component of the platform.
The new checkout increased conversion rates by 60% and AOV by 15%.
The challenge
DealMaker pioneered online capital raises, but by 2023, its checkout experience had become outdated. As the market expanded into first-time startup investors, conversion rates slipped and new customers were becoming harder to close.
Objective
Modernize the checkout so that investing in a startup felt as simple as any other online shopping.
Constraints
Startup investing is a highly regulated industry. The checkout needs to adapt to different circumstances based on different regulatory scenarios. Mistakes are extremely costly.
Process
I followed the double diamond methodology due to its focus on research and synthesis. The high-stakes nature of this project meant we needed to get this right the first time, and so proper research would be critical.
Discovery
Initial research included a UX audit, stakeholder interviews, user interviews, competitor analysis, and a review of product analytics. Research was then aggregated using tools like user journey maps, user personas user flow diagrams, and more.
Define
Aside from tedious interactions and intimidating copy, a major finding was that our user base, who had once been less than 10% mobile users, was now more than 60% mobile, and growing.
Develop
Initial ideation was a highly collaborative process. I conducted multiple whiteboarding sessions with stakeholders across the company. Collaboration was key as there were many questions I couldn't answer alone. Once we settled on an general approach I began the wireframing processes.
Deliver
Initial designs were tested using high fidelity prototypes with existing users and company staff. Once an MVP had been developed we continued iterating based on A/B and behavioral analytics.
Solution
Although at first there was a push to re-use old components, user testing made it clear that starting from scratch was the best approach.
Results
The project was a huge success with KPI improvements across the board.
Increased conversion rate
Conversion rates increase by around 60% based on A/B testing results.
Increased AOV
Average order value went up by around 15% based on A/B testing results.
Secured new clients
A number of clients that were previously on the fence about choosing DealMaker due to our poor checkout experience were closed by the sales team thanks to the updated checkout.