WEALTH MANAGEMENT│Endex
Interactive prototype to raise funding for a wealth management social networking app
A fintech startup sees an immediate return on investment in a clickable prototype that enables cofounders to visualize a more user-focused design for their application, raise funding, and move seamlessly into development—much faster than anticipated.
Interactive prototype UX/UI design and development
- 1-10 employees
- New York, USA
- ClickModel Prototype
- App Map
- UX/UI wireframes
- Style guide
Overview
Founded in early 2021 by Brittany Wright and Kevin Loo, Endex is a social investment platform that gives users access to thousands of high-performing, peer-managed, themed portfolios they can copy for free. Users can also connect with and build a community of like-minded retail investors, enabling them to invest alongside their friends, family, coworkers, and others with help from some of the top influencers in the investment community.
After focusing the first five months on developing their idea, envisioning their product, raising awareness, and partnering with accelerators, the cofounders reached a decision point: Should they raise money, start marketing, or start developing?
They knew they eventually wanted to seek friends and family and venture capital (VC) funding, and in order to do that, they would need to help potential investors visualize their app. Previously, they had used iPhone mockups—they made two screenshots of the main screens for the app using PowerPoint, but they needed something that could help them better convey their vision so people could get an idea of what using the app would actually be like. Creating a prototype, they realized, would help them move forward with fundraising, marketing, and development simultaneously.
An advisor introduced them to Praxent, and they were immediately impressed by the design team’s deep understanding of their application and their goals. They decided to move forward with designing and developing a clickable prototype, which along with an app map, wireframes, and style guide, they were able to complete in just four weeks, enabling them to hit an important milestone, secure additional funding, and move into development much faster than they had originally anticipated. Development has been seamless thanks to the frontend design work, and they are on track to launch in early 2022.
The problem
In many ways, the Endex co-founders didn’t know what they didn’t know—they needed an outside perspective.
The co-founders needed a way to get to the next stage—they had an idea but no funding, demo, functional app, or developers.
Not being technical co-founders, they couldn’t develop the app themselves. They considered offshoring the development of a functional demo or prototype with actual features they could use to build their application, but that would take the time they didn’t have. They needed a prototype that would help them demonstrate their app visually and interactively—not just paving the way for more funding but also enabling their marketing efforts and setting up a more seamless development process.
How we helped
Praxent’s expert design team worked closely with the founding team, diving deep into their app goals and helping them apply design thinking from the earliest stage. This led to conversations around the brand, including design, colors, and the user, which led to new feature ideas that informed the creation of the prototype.
From a project management standpoint, the founders appreciated the streamlined process. They were only required to attend 1-2 hours per week of meetings, freeing them to focus on other essential aspects of growing their venture while the Praxent design team took care of everything else.
With the prototype, explaining our app concept to people is so much easier. It’s also boosted both how informative and professional our website looks. It’s been a great help…You can always have a nice one-liner explaining the app, but I think the pictures and screenshots send it over the edge. And even if you’re not close to having the application done, I feel like having the screenshots help you build excitement.
Brittany Wright
Co-founder, Endex
The outcomes
Early feedback from internal advisors, friends and family, and prospective users who had only heard about or seen mockups of the app but can now “see” and “experience” it, has been overwhelmingly positive, which is extremely encouraging for the founders. They were accepted into an accelerator and secured additional funding, which helped them move into development.
Developers have used Praxent’s design files to guide their coding and build the application on the backend. The team could quickly make edits and see how they will look before they put them into the code. This has enabled development to stay on track, and the founders are thrilled by the prospect of launching their application sometime in early 2022.
The prototype also has enabled them to build out their marketing efforts. Their social media pages and followings are growing, they’ve started to pursue influencer collaborations and partnerships, and they are building brand awareness. They are looking to create a new round of fundraising to secure angel investors as they seek institutional and VC funding in the new year. Finally, they are talking to larger brokerages to ensure more integrations.
The team
Nick Comito
Product Design Director
Garrett Harvey
Delivery Director
Meredith Barnett
Product Designer
Richie Cárdenas
Product Designer
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