Designing a Platform That Secured $65,000 in Seed Funding and Increasing Investor Engagement by 40% in Just 8 Weeks
My Role
Product Designer
Team
8 designers, 2 project managers, and Nexstera’s founding team
Timeline
January 2024 – March 2024 (8 weeks)
Tools
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Miro
Context
Nexstera Tech is redefining battery identification in trash facilities, where improper disposal of lithium-ion batteries can cause millions in damages annually. Their AI-powered product, Pyrotack, accurately detects lithium-ion batteries, addressing this critical issue.
As an emerging startup, Nexstera Tech aimed to attract investors and educate the public about safe battery disposal. Our team partnered with them to design a user-centered website that clearly communicated their mission, showcased Pyrotack, and provided an intuitive experience for both investors and general users.
As the Product Designer, I…
Led design efforts to create a user-centered website that showcased Pyrotack and communicated Nexstera Tech’s mission.
Conducted user research through journey mapping, usability testing, and surveys to understand investor and general user needs.
Developed a cohesive design system including typography, color palette, and UI components
Collaborated closely with project managers, developers, and the Nexstera Tech executive team to align design decisions with business goals
Created new key pages, including Investor, Education, FAQ, Product, and Contact, to address gaps in information and engagement.
Problem
Nexstera Tech needed a compelling and trustworthy online presence to position itself as an innovator in renewable energy. Their existing site lacked consistency and cohesiveness in design, which weakened brand credibility and failed to reflect the company’s cutting-edge solutions.
In addition, three critical gaps limited the site’s impact:
Lack of Investor Resources
The absence of a dedicated investor page made it difficult to showcase business credibility and attract funding opportunities.
Missing Educational Content:
Since lithium-ion battery technology is often misunderstood, the startup wanted an accessible education hub to inform users and build trust in their solutions.
Poor Design Foundation
The site’s overall design lacked polish, consistency, and usability—offering little design value and creating a disjointed experience for users.
Research & Key Insights
By analyzing competitors, mapping user behaviors, and auditing content, we identified key opportunities to simplify navigation, enhance storytelling, and strengthen Nexstera’s brand identity online.
Market & Competitive Analysis
3. Ideation Workshops
Methods used:
Crazy 8’s,
Solution sketching
Collaborative workshops
We generated and refined ideas that addressed user needs and client goals.
Storyboarding helped us visualize the user’s website experience and define key interactions for each user type.
Outcome: Established early concepts for dual navigation paths and clear educational versus investor journeys.
Ideation & Concepting
Synthesized ideas from Crazy 8s into solution sketches and storyboards, visualizing improvements across both investor and non-investor journeys
To empathize with our users, we mapped the journeys of both an investor and a curious visitor.
This helped us pinpoint friction points such as:
unclear contact options
information overload
guiding how we simplified navigation and streamlined messaging.
Outcome: Informed the sitemap and page flow, ensuring intuitive progression from awareness to engagement.
2. User Journey Mapping
We began by analyzing six competitors in the battery and sustainability space to understand effective patterns in layout, tone, and content.
Using SWOT analysis, we identified opportunities for Nexstera Tech’s site:
prioritizing minimal design
clear CTAs
visual credibility to appeal to investors too
Outcome: Defined our visual direction and site structure, balancing professionalism with accessibility.
4. Content & UX Audit
We conducted a full audit of Nexstera’s existing web content and user flow to identify areas for simplification.z
Findings showed:
dense copy
weak hierarchy
limited visual engagement.
Outcome: Led to a concise, visually guided content structure and tone that better communicated Nexstera’s innovation and purpose.
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Investor personas and general users struggled to understand the technology when presented with dense technical content, signaling the need for simplified language paired with visual explanations.
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Most renewable energy sites rely on similar layouts and jargon-heavy pages, giving Nexstera Tech an opportunity to stand out with a clean, engaging, and educational experience
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The absence of a centralized investor page meant potential backers lacked context and confidence; creating this hub could directly impact funding decisions.
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Inconsistent layouts, typography, and color usage in the old site weakened perceived credibility; a unified design system would both enhance usability and reinforce the brand’s professionalism.
Process
How might we seamlessly integrate these diverse elements into a single website that not only showcases Pyrotack’s potential but also advocates for responsible lithium-ion battery management and engages both investors and the public?
2. Design System Development
Established a cohesive UI with a sleek color palette of cool greens and blues to reflect sustainability and innovation.
3. Prototyping
Built low and high fidelity wireframes in Figma, adding new pages including Product, Education, FAQ, Investor, and Contact.
4. Testing
Conducted usability testing via think-aloud studies and A/B testing, iterating on messaging, organization, and page flow
Key Insights
View Prototype:
Our design is optimized for web, for the best viewing experience view on desktop.
Impact
Our design contributed to measurable business and user outcomes:
$65,000
in Investor Funding Secured
120%
increase in page engagement
Reflection
This project reinforced the importance of research-driven, user-centered design for startups.
Key takeaways for me included:
Clarity matters most
I learned how essential it is to simplify complex technical products into language and visuals that anyone can understand.
Testing is never optional
Running A/B tests and think-aloud sessions reminded me that design decisions only hold weight when validated by users.
Collaboration builds better outcomes
Regular client standups taught me the value of integrating feedback continuously to create something both functional and meaningful.
Design drives trust
Seeing how the final website helped Nexstera Tech secure funding showed me firsthand how thoughtful UX/UI can directly impact credibility and growth.
40%
reduction in navigation friction