Web Platform
Pitch Connect
A curated investment platform connecting vetted startups with investors — investor discovery, two-stage company onboarding, structured pitch deck system, and admin back office — rebuilt from scratch in six weeks.
Role
Lead Product & UX Designer
Client
Confidential
Team
SOC
The Problem
The existing product had poor usability, inconsistent flows, and developers waiting to start coding. It was a full UX rebuild, not a redesign.
The core platform challenge: how do you protect investor identity from companies, give companies enough signal to stay engaged, and keep the admin in full quality control — all within one coherent product?
My Role
Complete UX and UI across all three user types — Investor, Company, and Admin. Auditing existing flows, defining the IA, producing lo-fi wireframes, designing 45+ hi-fi screens in Figma, and handing off directly to development. January to February. Six weeks end to end.
Design Process
Stakeholder
Alignment
Existing Product
Audit (AI-assisted)
User Flow
& IA
Lo-Fi
Wireframes
Hi-Fi Design
Developer
Handoff
Existing product audit — AI-assisted
The existing application had broken flows, inconsistent UI patterns, and a structure that had grown without a clear UX foundation.
ChatGPT (Atlas, browser-based) was used to systematically analyse the existing product — identifying broken user journeys, structural inconsistencies, and missing states across all three user types. What would have taken days of manual review was compressed into hours.
The core structural decision was made here: a single platform with three completely separate experiences running in parallel, unified only at the admin layer.
The full information architecture and screen inventory were generated and stress-tested with AI — catching missing states and edge cases before wireframing began.
User Flows & IA
Wireframs, Lo-Fi Ideation
Wireframe layout directions across all three user types were explored rapidly with AI — testing structural approaches before committing to the IA.
Hi-Fi Designs
Wireframe layout directions across all three user types were explored rapidly with AI — testing structural approaches before committing to the IA.
Screens were handed off as they were completed — not at the end. Every decision had to be right the first time.
Key Design Challenges
01
Phase 1 that felt complete, not half-built Direct messaging, offer tracking, investor-company connections, meetups — all deferred. Phase 1 was strictly pitch deck submissions and capturing investor interest. Each surface was designed to feel finished within that scope, with no visible gaps where future features would sit.
02
Protecting investor identity without breaking the company feedback loop Companies see aggregate numbers — profile views, pitch views, interested investor count over time. Investor identities are visible only to the admin. Two users looking at related data, seeing completely different things, with no ambiguity about where the boundary was.
03
One pitch deck template, not multiple Removing template choice was a trust decision as much as a design decision. A standardised structure means every pitch is evaluated against the same mental model — reducing investor cognitive load and increasing signal across the platform.
04
An admin review interface that could handle nuance The quality of admin feedback directly shaped how useful the platform was for companies. Section-by-section feedback with severity levels, save-in-progress, approve or reject with mandatory reason. The review interface was a product quality lever, not just an internal tool.
05
Two-stage onboarding that reduced friction without reducing control Admin approval was removed from the initial company setup entirely — it's only required before the pitch deck goes live to investors. Friction removed at the point it added no value. Control maintained at the point it mattered.
The Product
(Under NDA)
Where it stands
Design completed in six weeks. Development finished in February. The platform is live and currently being pitched to prospective clients — a clean, investor-first experience that gives the admin full quality control and gives companies a reason to invest in their pitch without ever seeing who is watching.
Success Metrics
(The primary question: is the platform creating quality matches between investors and companies?)
Investor experience — primary
Pitch deck view rate — 80%+ of approved decks viewed within 30 days
Investor interest rate — percentage of viewed decks that receive an Interested click. Validates the standardised pitch structure
Return rate — 50%+ of investors return within 7 days
Company experience — diagnostic
Pitch deck completion rate — 75%+ of companies complete and submit after activation. Validates the single template decision
Time from signup to submission — measures two-stage onboarding friction reduction
Resubmission rate after rejection — 60%+ resubmit after rejection. Validates status tracker and feedback clarity
Admin performance — diagnostic
Review turnaround time — under 5 business days. Validates the severity-based feedback interface
Approval rate — balance between quality control and pipeline health
