Designing Dreams&Stock (a P2P investment tool)

In a world driven by innovation and creativity, aspiring creatives such as content creators, YouTubers, videographers, artists, animators, filmmakers, and others often face financial barriers that hinder the realization of their creative visions.

This case study explores the development and impact of a P2P investment app designed to connect passionate creatives with investors.

Role/Team
Leading design efforts for the app, working closely with a fellow designer.

Industry
Financial services

Outcome
* We successfully validated the project concept through a combination of surveys, interviews, and competitor analysis.
* Insights gathered from user/usability testing show that while we solved the problem for 52% satisfactorily, 48% gave some new insights we would be looking at in the next updates.

Project Brief

What problem is the app solving?

Many talented creatives need help to secure funding for their projects. Traditional financial institutions may overlook the creative industry’s needs, leaving creatives with limited options to bring their ideas to life.
The app serves as a platform that bridges the gap between creatives and individuals eager to invest in promising projects.

What was the process like?

The initial focus was to create a P2P app that connects creatives to individuals willing to invest in their projects. However, during research and user testing, we discovered a compelling opportunity for creatives to receive financial support from investors and other creatives without the commitment of an ‘actual’ investment or expectation of financial returns. We called this the ‘Gift’ feature.

What is the proposed solution?

Our solution is a user-friendly P2P app that allows creatives to showcase their projects and connect with potential investors. The app provides a secure and transparent platform where creatives can present their ideas, showcase their skills and experience (through their profile), upload their business plan, and receive giftings from a community of people who believe in their vision.

Why is an app like this needed?

• Explosive growth: as the creative industry continues its meteoric rise, the need for a dedicated platform that facilitates financial support for creatives becomes paramount. This app is not merely a tool or a response to a current trend, it is a catalyst for shaping the narratives that will define the next era of the creative industry and the evolving needs of the space.
• Diverse revenue channels: the revenue streams within the creative industry have experienced an upturn over time.
• Economic impact: the creative industry has become a robust contributor to the global economy. Revenue streams from entertainment, digital media, and creative services have reached staggering figures, underscoring the industry’s significance as a major economic driver.
• Changing consumer habit: The way audiences consume content has transformed. Traditional media is no longer the sole gatekeeper; instead, a decentralized landscape has emerged where independent creators wield influence. Audiences seek authenticity, relatability, and unique perspectives.
• Future projections: Industry analysts and market researchers project continued growth in the creative sector. As of 2022, the global Creative Industries market was estimated at USD 2669224.0 million, and it is anticipated to reach USD 3434322.0 million in 2028, with a CAGR of 4.29% during the forecast years.

What sets it apart from other P2P lending platforms?
The different ways in which Dreams&Stock stands out include:

• Investment + gifting feature: allows investors and creatives to gift to projects they believe in, fostering a sense of community support beyond traditional investment.
• Diverse creative niches: Unlike some platforms focused on specific creative fields, this app caters to a wide array of creative industries, from filmmaking and music to writing, animators, cooking and so much more.
• Engaging Community Features: this feature helps foster a sense of humanness and trust in the app. Here, it’s not just about transactions; it’s about building relationships and supporting each other’s creative or investment journeys.

Research & Findings

Key research findings
After reviewing data from the conducted research and ensuring alignment with our objectives for this app, we were able to derive the following insights:

• 66% of creatives fall between the ages of 18 and 40. 34% are 40 years and above.
• Investors are more interested in projects that align with their values, interests, or areas of knowledge/expertise. Hence, we created ‘recommended listings’ which consist of funding requests that align most with the investor’s preferences, this is separate from general/public listings.
• We found that creators find it almost impossible to access funding from traditional financial institutions even when they have viable business ideas.
• Users expressed interest in features promoting collaboration, such as gifting and mutual support on the app.
• Discovered a need for networking opportunities within the app. Hence, the community space.
• Users expressed the importance of transparent communication between creators and investors, which led us to implement in-app messaging.
• Investors appreciate diverse funding options, from micro-contributions to larger investments.
• Investors want creators to be thoroughly checked and verified to avoid investing in swindlers.

Features and functionalities
Following insights from our research, some core features we came up with for this app include:

• Creator profiles: creators can make profiles that showcase their bio, past projects, work experience, and contact links.
• Thorough Creator Verification: only creators with verified identities (following KYC standards), appropriate documents, and proven work experience will be approved to create funding requests on the app.
• Investor profiles: Investors can also create profiles, indicating their preferences, investment history, and areas of interest.
• Funding requests by creators
• Funding listings for investors
• Secure fund transfers between wallets
• Project gifting
• In-app messaging
• Community spaces: discussion spaces that allow creators to interact, share updates, and build a sense of community. Communities are also available for investors.

Process

What next?
Competitor analysis, ideation, user personas, designing and prototyping…

After carefully analyzing direct and indirect competitors like Kickstarter, Ulule, Indigogo, Patreon, Seesrs, Fundable, and Crowdcube. We were able to identify some industry trends and areas for differentiation.

I created user personas, user stories, and user flows for better clarity.

I also did sketches and designed wireframes, focusing solely on the navigation, and ease of use, while highlighting all structural elements.
After that, I moved to hi-fi design.

Hi-fi design

The Solution
We broke the entire app into different flows. For this case study, I’ll be focusing on two flows:

• Creating a Funding Request (for creators)
• Reviewing Funding Listings (for investors)

Home
* From the home page, creators can easily create a new funding request and withdraw from their available wallet balance. They can also gift to public funding requests.
* Investors can easily fund their wallet, see a quick preview of projects they have invested in, and also see lists of funding requests. The funding requests are categorized into recommended and public listings, recommended listings are funding requests from projects that fall in line with the investor’s preferences or investment history.

Creating a funding request
* The process of creating a funding request was broken down into 5 sections, these sections cover details any investor will need to know before indicating interest in a project.
* We also included a ‘Questions’ section, where the creative provides at least 3 top questions (with answers) investors may have regarding the project.

Reviewing funding listings
* Investors can see the full overview of projects when they click on them, the overview is broken down into 3 parts to make it easy to scan through. There is also an option in the navigation tab to gift to the project.
* The floating action button triggers 3 actions the investor can take: Declare interest to invest, contact the creator by e-mail, and send an in-app message.

Prototype
To test the interaction and usability of this product, we created a prototype, and with this prototype, we were able to test navigation, user flows, and the overall feel of the product, ensuring a smooth and intuitive user experience.

So far, so good

Did we solve the problem?
Yes, we did. Insights gathered from user/usability testing show that while we solved the problem for 52% satisfactorily, 48% gave some new insights we would be looking at in the next updates.

Measuring results

• We successfully validated the project concept through a combination of surveys, interviews, and competitor analysis.
• 65% Positive user feedback highlighting the simplicity and effectiveness of the app.
• Results revealed that 81% of users completed the entire funding request creation flow on their first attempt.
• We received positive feedback from both creators and investors, indicating a favorable perception of the app.

Key takeaways
Here’s a summary of what I learned while designing Dreams&Stocks:

• I gained more understanding into devising effective monetization strategies for products (even fintech products).
• I learned a lot about KYC considerations especially when designing for fintech.
• I learned the delicate balance between innovation and usability.

Future plans

Revenue generation
During the design process, I discovered a monetization opportunity for Dreams&Stock which is introducing some (affordable) levels of subscription for creatives.

This subscription will ensure that your project is recommended to Gold, Premium, or Black-level investors who have a high interest in your project niche.
The category of investors will be determined by their investment history/portfolio and also their budget for investment.

Subscribers will have access to join Gold-tier community spaces on the app. Gold-tier community spaces promise premium networking with other approved gold-tier members, where members can engage in discussions, share resources, have feedback sessions on project concepts, and even collaborate in a more intimate setting.

Subscribers will also be able to customize their profiles with unique themes, colors, or other features.