Networx

Client Brief:

Develop a professional networking platform to help students and entrepreneurs with their networking skills and broaden their network.

Duration:

Sept'24 - Oct'24

Team of:

4 designers

My role:

Market analysis,

Competitive Audit,

Ideation, User Interviews,

Prototyping

The Problem

Networking: We've all heard the buzzword, but how you go from 'I should network more to building genuine connections with the right people still remains a crucial challenge!

40%

Want to network often but find it hard to stay in touch with their network.

> 50%

Face challenges connecting with the right people, and are frustrated with the lack of responses.

(Sources: Research and surveys)

As an international student, I can resonate with the idea of finding the right connections for building my career. However, "Right" can be subjective, but for our target users, students, and entrepreneurs, it often means connecting with individuals willing to mentor, support, or offer referrals or sponsorships.

So, what is the problem that needs attention?

Individuals looking to grow professionally want to build meaningful, goal-aligned connections to secure mutual opportunities, but they struggle to connect with the right people.

Before jumping into the product I created, what did I hear about it?

"You have considered a very often faced challenge, even by me. Your idea solves a major problem and has great potential in the current market. The idea of collaborating with events is a great way of securing user-base and expanding on the product!"

~ Adell Means

Owner of ROI Worx

Introducing a solution for ROIWorx

NetWorx

1.
Onboarding for a personalised experience

The onboarding collects data regarding the user's career and networking goals to match them with people who can provide the required support and opportunities.

2.
Get your roadmap and analytics

Get your roadmap to building new connections based on the data provided and highlight on various achievements like new connections made, follow-ups taken, and no. of events attended

3.
Get connected with people matched based on your goals and LinkedIn profile.

Matches will be based on: LinkedIn profiles, networking goals, and value match (onboarding data).

Key ...

⭐️

See why you are matched with someone and what they can offer you

Specific networking strategies

AI-generated personalized message to send

4.
Assistance through all stages of an event: prepare, execute, and follow-up

Before the event:

Receive event suggestions
Get the list of event attendees to connect
Prepare for the event

During the event:

Interactive map to access the live event
View your matched/saved attendees
Take notes for individual attendees

After the event:

Follow-up reminders
AI-generated messages based on your notes

Subscription Model for NetWorx

Personalised Networking Roadmap

Recommended Matches

Event Networking

Advanced Analytics

Advanced AI for connection messages

Automated follow-up prompts

Location-based Networking

5/week

Unlimited

5/week

Closing on The Sweet Spot

Viability

Feasibility

Desirability

Expanding your network
Connect with the right set of people
Reduce extra efforts using AI
Increased preparedness for events

B2B offerings
Expand event partnerships to drive user engagement and reach
User acquisition through university partnerships

Challenges with LinkedIn's API limit
MFA is feasible but adds complexity to third-party services.
Ensuring safe data sync

So, here's how the journey to this looked like

Phase 1: UX & Market Research

Environmental Analysis
Competitor Audit
Surveys (26 responses)
16 Semi-Structured interviews (students and entrepreneurs)
Value proposition Canvas
Persona & Problem Statement

Phase 2: Ideation & Validation

Brainstorming
Storyboards
Client Feedback
Final Solution & Validation
Revenue Model
BMC
Concept Validation

Phase 3: Solution & Testing

Mid-Fi Prototype
Design Validation
Testing & Evaluation
Final Prototype
SWOT Analysis
Growth Plan

The market is showing a strong growth!

The global market for professional networking apps is substantial and growing rapidly. As of 2023, the market size was valued at USD 31 billion and is projected to reach USD 64 billion by 2030, expanding at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.87% from 2023 to 2030.

Global Market Conditions

Switching Costs

Customer Demands

Technology Trends

The users perceive networking as quite overwhelming

After interviewing 8 students and 3 entrepreneurs, we observed recurring themes and a certain saturation of new insights, so we concluded with 16 interviews. The key finding was that, although each individual had different networking goals, their challenges remained the same.

I send multiple connection requests, but low response rates make networking feel discouraging.

I often feel unprepared for networking events and get overwhelmed trying to figure out who’s worth connecting with.

I often connect with people who don’t align with my goals, making it hard to find value in my network.

I struggle to follow-up with such a large network missing out on the opportunity to maintain or even build a connection.

Learning about the competitors did help shape a better experience :)

Insight #1

A better understanding of the latest trends in technology and data privacy.

Insight #2

Learning different ways of building a network helped create new opportunities in shaping the networking experience.

Insight #3

Gave valuable insight into what users are willing to pay for in a networking platform.

Bringing value to NetWorx

After analyzing what existing networking platforms offer, I identified three key values that could set Netwox apart and directly address user pain points

🫱🏼‍🫲🏽

🌱

📈

Focus on creating relationships that offer mutual value, not just ones based on shared goals.

Encourage deeper, more personal connections rather than just professional, surface-level ones

Offer end-to-end support to help users build, nurture, and sustain meaningful relationships over time.

Hi-Fi Wireframes

Based on our research findings and NetWorx’s core values, my team and I brainstormed multiple ideas and presented the top three to the client as storyboards.

To our surprise, they loved all of them and asked us to merge them into a single solution.

The real challenge wasn’t just executing three ideas but blending them seamlessly so they felt like one unified experience, not separate concepts forced together.

Dashboard & Matches

Events

Concept and User Testing

We conducted concept testing with our client, Adell, gaining valuable insights to enhance viability. Additionally, six think-aloud sessions, including a SUS analysis, helped address 6 key usability issues and 3 recommendations.

Users were unclear about the mechanism of generating matches.

Introduced Splash screens and "Why we matched you" to provide this information

For the event, users wanted to see the list of all attendees rather than just matches

Introduced a list of all attendees with multiple filter options

Love the idea of a pre-event match although finding them in large events is challenging

Introducing an "Interactive Venue Map" to locate booths and people (with permissions)

Following this, my team and I focused on resolving usability issues and refined the overall look and feel of NetWorx while incorporating recommendations.

The Design System

Check out NetWorx Prototype

Final Design

After 8 weeks of thorough research, iteration and feedbaack, here's how NetWorx looked!

Onboarding

Dashboard

Recommended Matches

Connections List

Pre-event Screens

During event Screens

Reflection

Working on this project taught me how to navigate the market and position a product effectively. I got hands-on experience with environmental analysis, crafting a business model canvas, understanding the IoT ecosystem, and exploring different revenue models.

I learned how to communicate effectively and manage conflicts with the client. Understanding their perspective while staying true to our design vision was a valuable skill that shaped my approach to collaboration.

I learned how to work with a team of people who saw things differently than I did. It wasn’t always easy, but figuring out how to merge different perspectives, communicate openly, and find common ground made our work stronger in the end.

BTS :)

(behind the scenes)

cheers to the best class ever! ✨