the structure was the real problem
innmind — a paas connecting 10,000+ startups with investors. i rebuilt discoverability and the unified profile. sole designer, jan–aug 2023, remote.
about the product
innmind is a paas that connects a network of 10,000+ startups with investors, service providers, and blockchain ecosystems. i joined as the first and only designer — until then the product had been built by a backend engineer. the job: turn a broken, legacy ui into a matchmaking product clean enough to put in front of vcs and angels.
role
sole designer
period
jan 2023 – aug 2023 · remote
scope
ia audit, profiles, design system, comms
context
a live platform with 10,000+ startups, but design had been owned by a backend engineer. i was the only designer, in an engineering-led org where the cto held final say — so the work was about diagnosing the right problems and designing the system to fix them.
problems
profiles carried the product, but were dense
a matchmaking platform lives or dies on its profiles. they had to pack identity, portfolio, ratings, content, and reviews — without becoming an unreadable wall. needed a clear hierarchy that reads in seconds.
discovery across 10,000+ entities
with thousands of startups and providers, finding the right match required strong filtering and scannable result cards — not an endless list.
networking had to feel intentional
connection requests are the core action. the flow had to make sending, receiving, and tracking connections obvious and low-friction.
process
- 1. user journey map & sitemap audit — mapped the whole platform and found pages and products that duplicated and cross-linked each other; the structure itself was the problem.
- 2. redesign key pages — profiles, discovery/filtering, and connections, on a rebuilt component language.
- 3. new features — entity/ecosystem hub profiles (blockchain hubs with grants & hackathons), connection states.
- 4. lead-magnet product — designed innmind's free/paid startup templates as a standalone funnel product, a first touchpoint to pull startups onto the platform.
key pages
profile — the core unit
service-provider / startup profile: identity and verification, “available for” tags, rating, portfolio startups, highlights, and reviews — structured so a visitor grasps credibility in seconds.
ecosystem hub profile
a richer entity profile for blockchain hubs — connect, grant programs, “apply for grant”, hackathons. one template flexing from a solo provider to a whole ecosystem.
discovery & filtering
a data-grid discovery view with filters and scannable cards — turning 10,000+ entities into a navigable matchmaking surface.
connections
sending, receiving, and tracking connection requests — the core networking loop, made explicit with clear states.
outcomes
a full design layer for a product that had none — ia audit, a unified profile system, redesigned discovery and connections, and a rebuilt design system.
honest on impact — this was an engineering-led org where the cto held final say; much of the work stayed in design rather than reaching production. i'm showing the thinking and the system, not launch metrics.
what i take from it — diagnosing structure over symptoms, and the limits of design without the authority to ship it.