From setback to success
How I helped build Germany’s biggest SMB investor database
Company
CARL is a German fintech company that transforms Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) advisory for Small-to-Medium Businesses (SMBs) by combining traditional deal expertise with innovative digital technology.
Team
I was the only UX designer in the company within a cross-functional team, alongside:
Product Manager
2 Back end developers
2 Front end developers
Role
Leading Product Designer:
Conducting user and market research
Rapid prototyping with wireframes and hi-fi mockups
Driving concept and usability tests
Supporting engineering through implementation
Gathering qualitative and quantitative user feedback
Iterating
Timeline
January 2021 → April 2021
Disclaimer
All product or other sensitive data was anonymized on the screens shared below.
Problem
Investing in German SMBs means navigating a maze of unvetted listings and personal networks.
1. Lack of centralized platform for German SMB investment opportunities
Without a centralized, reliable platform, investors must rely on two inadequate alternatives:
State-managed marketplaces that lack proper vetting processes, leading to inconsistent deal quality and potential exposure to fraudulent opportunities
Personal networks that require constant cultivation through frequent outreach (weekly, monthly, or quarterly contact cycles).
This fragmented landscape forces investors to waste valuable time pursuing irrelevant leads, conducting extensive due diligence on unvetted opportunities, or maintaining exhaustive networking schedules.
2. SMB Owners Lack knowledge of German finance industry etiquette
German finance investors operate under strict professional etiquette for communication timing, expectation setting, and M&A processes. SMB owners, focused on day-to-day operations, are unaware of these industry-specific requirements. This disconnect creates communication breakdowns, investor frustration, and ultimately prevents successful deal completion despite mutual interest from both parties.
3. Lack of transparency in deal status and competitive positioning
Company sales typically span 18 months with multiple investors competing simultaneously. Investors frequently lack visibility into deal progress and their competitive position relative to other bidders, creating uncertainty that can derail negotiations and waste resources on both sides.
Goal
Onboarding 1000+ investors on CARL Connect, a double-sided marketplace to sell and buy SMB companies
To connect SMB owners with qualified buyers, CARL developed a two-sided marketplace platform. Our goal was to onboard 1,000+ investors for the buyer-side launch, establishing market leadership in the German SMB space.
Building on our successful owner-side launch and extensive market research, we identified three core value propositions essential for investor acquisition:
Match
Help investors discover relevant acquisition targets that fit their criteria
Track
Provide dashboard visibility into all active deal pipelines and progress
Scoping
Brainstorming and prioritizing the initial launch with User Story Mapping
I kicked off this initiative with facilitating a user story mapping workshop where the team brainstormed and prioritized potential features. This provided the right scope and excitement for a new initiative. We narrowed our focus to three core elements:
Search Profiles: Allow investors to define and save their research criteria and preferences
Matching Functionality: Intelligent algorithm to surface relevant opportunities based on investor profiles
Contact Capabilities: Streamlined communication tools to connect investors directly with sellers
Given our resource constraints and the need to serve both investors and company owners, we prioritized a desktop-first strategy aligned with our core users' preferred platform.
Prototyping
Fast-track concept testing
I implemented continuous discovery practices to rapidly iterate and gather user feedback throughout the design process.
User flow development and validation
To validate high-level user journeys, I collaborated with internal subject matter experts (M&A Advisors, Internal Investors, and Sales team) who provided domain expertise on investor behavior and SMB acquisition processes.
This approach allowed us to identify potential friction points (e.g. when to create an account) early and ensure our flows aligned with real-world user expectations before investing in detailed wireframes and prototypes.
Information architecture & wireframe development
I created low-fidelity paper wireframes to test page layouts and information hierarchy rapidly. This approach enabled immediate feedback sessions with the Product Trio (Product Manager and Front-End Lead Engineer), allowing us to iterate on structural decisions before committing to high-fidelity designs.
Prototype testing & validation
I developed interactive Figma prototypes to validate our design concepts through two targeted testing approaches:
Concept Testing: Direct feedback sessions with actual investors to validate core value propositions and feature relevance
Usability Testing: Unmoderated testing with a broader user panel to identify navigation issues and optimize user experience
This dual approach ensured our solution met both strategic business needs and practical usability standards before development.
Fine tuning
Refining core interface components
While developing rapid prototypes, I simultaneously focused on perfecting critical interface elements that required deeper design attention. These key interfaces are needed to deliver compelling user experiences and scale over time.
Translating CARL's brand identity to digital interfaces
CARL had recently received new brand guidelines from an external agency, and I explored various approaches to translate the brand identity into our digital interface effectively. This involved adapting brand elements like typography, color systems, and visual hierarchy.
Searching fo a scalable navigation
Anticipating feature expansion throughout the M&A process lifecycle, I explored different navigation system to balance immediate simplicity with the flexibility to accommodate future growth seamlessly.
Looking for cards that convert
As the primary discovery mechanism for our marketplace, company cards needed to immediately capture investor attention while efficiently communicating key deal information.
Solution
Initial launch: delivering the core capabilities to investors
Using Chakra UI, we launched the new version in 2 weeks.
1. Creating investment profile
Investors create customized investment profiles by defining their specific acquisition criteria, deal size preferences, industry focus, and geographic requirements to receive highly targeted opportunities.
2. Matching
Investors receive curated company matches based on their profile criteria, with all relevant opportunities automatically surfaced within their personalized dashboard.
3. Contacting
Investors can initiate contact directly with business owners or their M&A advisors through the platform's integrated system.
4. Tracking
Investors monitor the status and progress of all active deals through a centralized dashboard with real-time updates.
Initial setback
Launch results and key learnings
Despite delivering meaningful value to users, we fell short of our acquisition targets, revealing important insights about our go-to-market approach:
800+
users
but missed our 1,000 investor target by 20%
Back to the drawing board
Working with assumptions to understand our initial setback
Mapping assumption to understand the setback reasons as a cross functional team
To advance the project, I facilitated an assumption mapping workshop with the CEO, Sales, and Product management teams. Together, we identified key assumptions to validate for improved outcomes. One of the primary assumption was that investors would need to access quickly deal information and status updates.
Quickly designing mobile-first experience
Given our resource constraints, we focused exclusively on the deal details page rather than attempting a complete marketplace redesign. This targeted approach would allow us to validate whether a mobile-first experience could deliver meaningful value to our investor base.
I developed multiple rapid prototypes exploring design patterns for presenting critical deal information on mobile screens. The goal was to enable investors to assess opportunities quickly while maintaining the depth of detail they required for decision-making.
Looking for cards that convert
As the primary discovery mechanism for our marketplace, company cards needed to immediately capture investor attention while efficiently communicating key deal information.
Solution
Initial launch: delivering the core capabilities to investors
1. Getting notified
Investors now receive tailored email alerts directly to their mobile devices, keeping them informed of new investment opportunities and critical deal status changes in real-time.
2. Discovering
Investors can now seamlessly browse and evaluate deals directly from their mobile devices, bringing the full marketplace experience to their fingertips.
3. Contacting
Investors initiate contact with business owners directly from their mobile devices, eliminating communication barriers.
Impact
From Setback to Success
Our mobile-first approach proved successful, rapidly establishing our platform as Germany's largest SMB investment database.
2500+
users
but missed our 1,000 investor target by 20%
Next:
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