Cambio Ventures

Empowering young entrepreneurs to connect with investors through trust and simplicity.

Overview

Cambio Ventures will be a dynamic platform designed to connect potential investors with emerging entrepreneurs from Cambio Labs. It offers investors the opportunity to seamlessly invest in or mentor young startup founders by exploring their innovative ventures online. Investors would be able to easily discover projects, assess their potential, and choose whether to provide financial support, mentorship, or both.

Cambio Ventures aims to foster entrepreneurship by simplifying the process for investors and creating a direct, impactful relationship between funders and entrepreneurs.

View Prototype

BACKGROUND

Cambio Labs, a non-profit organization based in Astoria, NY, runs an annual social entrepreneurship program for high school students. These students often lack a platform to showcase their businesses, making it challenging for them to gain traction with investors.

At the same time, investors are generally wary of digital platforms, preferring traditional methods due to change aversion. The challenge was to create a platform that connects young entrepreneurs with investors while ensuring the experience is comfortable and trustworthy for the investors.

Role

UX/UI, Research, Information Architecture

Timeline

4 months

Tools

Figma, Figjam, Google Meets, Trello

Team Size

How can investors and funders be engaged and create deal flow with entrepreneurs inside our platform?

Research

To address the needs of both the students and investors, I:

Explored literature and existing solutions to understand the challenges of trust and digital investment platforms
Conducted user interviews to gather insights with the support of my client
Synthesized findings using affinity and empathy mapping

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

To gain inspiration of what features to include in this platform, we created a comparative analysis. This helped us execute some ideas the client team wanted to include such as:

Filtering System
Projects Page
Project Information Page

ABOUT THE USER INTERVIEWEES

Participant #1

Entrepreneur, Former Serial C-Suite Executive in Ads/Telecom/Energy spaces, Leadership Coach & Advisor

Participant #2

Blockchain and Crypto Investor

Participant #3

Founder / Investor, Philanthropist / Data Applications & Reporting Specialist / Government Contracting Specialist

Participant #4

Serial entrepreneur, investor, educator

Participant #5

Community Relations Director / Coordinator of the West Side Community Fund

Each interview lasted 45 minutes each in the course of 2 weeks.

AFFINITY MAPPING

We outlined key assumptions and grouped them by category: frustrations, information needs, communication, and etc. We then developed our hypotheses based on these assumptions, and structured our interviews around validating and testing them.

We aimed to identify common themes among our user interviewees, so we utilized an affinity map. This facilitated the discovery of pain points, goals, product requirements, and more.

Key Research Insights

Research Finding 1

Investors need frequent updates and communication on their investments with the entrepreneurs they work with.

“Information has to be transparent, in real time and communicated often.” -Participant #1

“I want to be kept in the loop.” -Participant #4

“We like to keep in constant communication to not only help them with financial resources, but anything they really need.”-Participant #5

How might we help investors maintain a high level of communication with the entrepreneurs so they can feel kept in the loop?

Research Finding 2

Investors typically use their own network to find investing opportunities, not platforms.

“I don’t really use any platforms outside of my network.” -Participant #1

“I encourage my clients not to use websites like Kickstarter because they take high percentage fees.”-Participant #3

Most of the deal flow come from our network because the is trust and a inside connection-Participant #4

How might we encourage investors to engage and create deal flow with entrepreneurs digitally?

Research Finding 3

Investment decisions require a high level of human connection and trust.

“I not only look for a good deal, I look for a good team. If we do decide to invest, we will be working with that team for the next several years.”-Participant #2

"I think that relationship building is the key to any job functioning, especially in a nonprofit. I aim to build relationships that are true, genuine, and honest." -Participant #5

"I look at the people involved. Do I trust them? Do I think they are capable of executing? Are they mission driven?" -Participant #4

How might we nurture the human connection between the investors and the entrepreneurs using a platform?

Conceptualization

During conceptualization, each research finding provided a deep understanding of user needs and pain points, helping shape the design direction.

MAPPING OUT USER FLOWS

Given the desktop-first preference, the user flow was designed with a focus on efficient navigation of large amounts of information. The following diagram illustrates how users might move through the product, ensuring easy access to key sections while providing in-depth content for detailed analysis.

WIREFRAME CONCEPT SKETCHES

The lo-fi wireframes provided an early visualization of how the desktop-first approach would look. They were crucial in determining layout options that could handle complex content while keeping the user experience simple and engaging.

CHALLENGES & CONSIDERATIONS

With a focus on desktop-first design, there were several key challenges to consider:

Optimizing for Desktop First: Designing primarily for desktop meant organizing information-rich content into digestible sections, but ensuring it didn't feel too cluttered.
Information Overload: Users required access to a large amount of data for their research, but it was critical not to overwhelm them. We used progressive disclosure techniques and clear visual hierarchy to manage this.

MID-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE

Once feedback from the lo-fi wireframes was gathered, we transitioned to mid-fidelity prototypes. This stage introduced real content, interactivity, and refined layouts tailored for desktop, ensuring smooth navigation and access to information.

Testing

In my project timeline, I had initially planned for two rounds of usability testing. However, due to the timing around the holiday season, many participants were unavailable for follow-up interviews. Instead of formal rounds, I shifted to an ongoing iterative testing process, where I incorporated feedback from each session into immediate revisions

USABILITY TESTING GOALS

The primary goals of my usability testing were:

Validate the Onboarding Experience:Ensuring users quickly understood how to navigate the platform and leverage key features.
Simplify Information Architecture: Testing how well users could navigate and absorb company profiles and investor filters without feeling overwhelmed.
Gauge Feature Relevance: Assessing how well the prioritized features (such as investor filters and pitch deck previews) aligned with user expectations and needs.

CHANGE IN TESTING

The holidays posed an unexpected challenge: many participants were unavailable for follow-up testing. While we were able to gather valuable insights from the initial round of usability testing, we needed to adapt our approach and focus on testing individual revisions after each session, instead of a second formal round.

USABILITY TEST 1 FINDINGS

Navigation needed more clarity: While users could generally find what they were looking for, some key features, like investor filters, weren’t as intuitive as we’d hoped.
Pitch deck previews were a hit:Participants found the ability to preview pitch decks from within the platform to be highly useful, validating our design choice to prioritize this feature.
Too much information upfront:Users found some company profiles overwhelming and suggested streamlining the information presented on initial screens.

REFINE, REFINE, REFINE

The findings from the first round of testing gave us clear areas for refinement. Based on this feedback, we made the following changes:

Streamlined Filters and Navigation: Adjusting the placement and visibility of filters to make navigation smoother.
Condensed Company Profiles: Reducing the amount of information presented at first glance to improve user flow and prevent cognitive overload.

Outcome

Despite the challenges in scheduling formal testing rounds, the iterative feedback-driven process helped me resolve the core issues identified during the usability testing. The final design successfully addressed user pain points, particularly around navigation and information overload. Through constant iteration and learning, the final product became a user-centric platform that simplifies the due diligence process for researching companies.

PROJECT TAKEAWAYS

Iterative Testing Leads to Better Outcomes

The flexibility I embraced due to scheduling challenges ultimately made the project stronger. By conducting usability tests as feedback came in, I was able to make changes rapidly, test again, and further improve the user experience. This continuous iteration meant that no feedback was wasted, and each round of revisions brought the product closer to user needs.

Small Changes, Big Impact

Sometimes, the smallest adjustments can have the biggest effects. Whether it was reorganizing navigation elements or fine-tuning how much information was displayed, these micro-interactions ended up being game-changers for the usability of the platform.

User-Centric Design Always Wins

The most valuable lesson from this project was the importance of user-centered design. Instead of building out features based on assumptions, each design decision was driven by real feedback from users. This helped me prioritize what truly mattered to them and create a smoother, more intuitive experience.

NEXT STEPS

Mobile Usability Testing

Since much of the design was initially focused on desktop users, I would expand testing to mobile platforms to ensure the same level of ease and accessibility.

Additional Feature Exploration

Investigate how to better integrate investor filter features, introduce personalized company recommendations, and continue refining the pitch deck preview functionality.

Enhanced Personalization Options

Implement more robust profile personalization, allowing users to tailor the platform to their specific needs for deeper customization and a more targeted experience.

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

"We want to implement this immediately... which should be a testament to how good your design is." - Sebastián Martín, Founder & CEO of Cambio Labs

"You went above and beyond in the foundational research... approached it with such curiosity." - Michelle Maluwetig, Director of Organizational Development

"What you’ve presented us is a very well-thought-out deliverable, way beyond our wildest imaginations." - Sarah Zou, Director of Product Development