Second version of my LaTabla AR system using a PVC scaffolding to hold the projector and camera. First real test with the kids.
CircleUp
CircleUp is a platform that helps early stage consumer products entrepreneurs raise growth capital from value-add investors.
My Role
As Director of Product Design, my role encompassed a wide territory. Starting as the first non-engineering product hire, I lead design and user research across the entire product line. In conjunction with my peers in Product Management and Engineering we built a product development process that integrated team members based in California, Wisconsin, New York, Oregon, and other locations around the US. I sourced and hired designers and established processes for evaluation and advancement. As a member of the senior team I was involved in establishing company strategy and roadmap, and evaluating results.
Marketplace for Equity
“Helping entrepreneurs thrive by providing them the resources and capital they need”
Much of the activity on the platform takes place in and around CircleUp “Deals” Marketplace. The marketplace provides a showcase of currently raising companies and allows investors to perform initial diligence and begin engagement with entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneur & Investor Information
Deals Marketplace
Between 2014 and 2017, entrepreneurs raised $300M in investment capital with CircleUp’s help.
Tools for Entrepreneurs
CircleUp offers an array of online tools for entrepreneurs to facilitate their fund-raising efforts. In addition to an assisted, step-by-step raise setup sequence it includes outreach & communications tools, performance analysis, and CRM features.
Raise Setup
Raise Management
Investor Insights – Leveraging Data
The Universal Marketplace was a prototype exploring how to bring CircleUp’s consumer products company data set to bear, allowing investors deeper insight in to early stage opportunities.
Collaborative Process
A key component of product design is process facilitation to drive desired outcomes and results. This is particularly important when drawing together stakeholders with varying areas of experience and expertise, and when working to simplify complex or arcane processes.
A highly effective method that I utilized was a modified version of the Design Sprint. The core techniques were leveraged in a redesign of the Company Raise Setup process, a key component of the overall entrepreneur workflow.
Previously, the team participated in a sprint at the Google Ventures offices while the GV design partners were developing their process. Our session was featured in an article on Techcrunch and a video capturing key highlights.
UI Patterns Library
Balancing quality and expediency is a tension that exists within many organizations. At CircleUp, design and engineering collaborated to create a reusable pattern library, cutting down dev time and increasing quality and consistency of experience.
Crowdfunding Filters – CircleUp on AVC.com
Prominent venture capitalist and blogger Fred Wilson showcased CircleUp today.
Interesting interaction design articles
YouTube
Broadcast Yourself
I worked at Youtube from 2007 to 2011. An exciting time.
- Lead UX efforts on multiple product areas during YouTube’s high-growth early years.
- Tackled numerous firsts, including the first project to monetize YouTube videos and the first TV and game console implementations.
- Design for home page, video upload & management, user channels & profiles, site navigation & information architecture, television applications, and more.
- Worked in conjunction with product and engineering teams to create systems and practices for social networking and sharing, personalized content discovery, video quality, content syndication and APIs.
- Collaborated with teams across Google to develop UX solutions for video across the network in products such as iGoogle and GoogleTV.
- Mentored junior team members and interns.
- Presented at internal & external industry & developer conferences.
- Patents: US8069414, US8468201. Multiple Filings.
YouTube Snapshot Case Study
An overview of live work, with explanations of process: View PDF file
Home Page – 2010
Re-working the home page to integrate social and recommendation features to create a “personalized discovery” experience.
This work lead to a patent oriented around the gathering and presentation of social activity: US8468201
Autoshare – 2010
Further integrating YouTube into the social media sphere by allowing for quick sharing to FB, Twitter, and other networks.
User Channels – 2009
Reworking user “channels” to allow for greater expression and control over presentation and content.
YouTube for TV – 2009
First iterations of YouTube optimized for TV viewing. Started as projects specifically for the PS3 and the Wii. How things have evolved!
Upload & Video Management Tools – 2008
Re-inventing the video upload experience, boosting upload success rates by double digits. Creating more focussed and powerful tools for video creators and viewers to manage uploads, playlists, subscriptions, and more.
Private Videos
Facebook Connect
All materials copyright respective owners where applicable. Used purely for example purposes.
Bigstep.com
Digital Storefronts for Small Business
User Experience and Interface Design. 2000-2001
Bigstep was on of the first startups to enter the e-commerce market aimed towards small businesses,. The focus was on creating a easy-to-use suite of tools aimed at merchants allowing them to create online storefronts, perform secure online transactions, and promote their businesses. Although this space came to be dominated by powerhouses like Amazon and eBay, Bigstep built a loyal user base before being sold. The product and codebase was maintained and continued to run for 10 years, an eternity in internet time…