Trying to capture a $10B enterprise market
How I navigated the complexities of building an enterprise tool for startups
In late 2024, I joined a 7-member startup to design an MVP for a financial forecasting tool for climate-focused companies. The primary goal was to transform complex financial modeling into an accessible, user-friendly platform.
Role
Ideation
Research
Design
Stakeholder presentation
Timeline
3 months (2024)
The Problem
Financial planners struggle with dynamic planning using Excel
Imagine managing complex financial planning with outdated Excel sheets and scattered tools—juggling numbers, wrestling with clunky visuals, and fearing errors that could derail critical decisions.
As one analyst confessed during market research: "I spend about 15 hours a week just validating Excel files instead of actually working on stuff I need to." This wasn't just inefficiency—it was brilliant minds fighting spreadsheets instead of fighting climate change.
An example of the economic analyses that project managers were doing over Excel
These inefficiencies led to problems within the workflows.
Manual copying leading to inaccuracy
Manual copying and rekeying introduce inevitable errors that undermine forecasts.
Poor scenario analysis tools for forecasting
Duplicated spreadsheets create change tracking nightmares
Inefficient collaboration and versioning tools
"FinalV5.xlsx" anyone? One file that turns into competing copies and lost feedback in emails
Excel limitations single-handedly driving up Xanax purchases for program managers
My contributions
to the final designs
Over 3 months, I set out to bridge the gap between Excel's familiarity and the advanced capabilities modern enterprises need.
Contribution #1
Modular dashboard to address ever-changing parameters
I designed a modular dashboard that bridged changing requirements such as government policies, free markets and capital changes turning complex data into clear, interactive visuals, allowing project managers to present financial models without losing their audience.
Contribution #2
An efficient and simple sandbox for financial analysis, allowing quick edits and exports
Teams could now explore scenarios with ease. Want to see the impact of a 20% drop in material costs? Click. Send alternate models to investors and stakeholders? Click, click. No more duplicated spreadsheets.
Contribution #3
Versioning and collaboration tools to end email chaos
Inspired by tools like Atlassian, I prioritized page-level sharing and robust version control, ending the chaos of endless email chains and conflicting file versions for stakeholders and investors.
So how did
we get there?
I believe every project has something for me to learn and no design process is set in stone! This project in particular, cut both ways and required me to fail often and learn quickly.
The Process
2 week design sprints and a talented team to the rescue
Startups move fast—tight timelines, limited resources. With just three months for an MVP, the project thrived because the team deeply invested in the product and adapted under pressure.
Working alongside market experts, I had freedom to ideate boldly. Technical challenges weren't roadblocks—every idea was worth exploring.
Secondary research strengthened the foundation
Previously conducted user interviews laid the groundwork for understanding our target users. To maximize a limited timeframe, I conducted stakeholder meetings, tapped into Discord communities and financial contacts for secondary insights, and analyzed existing primary research for deeper user understanding.
The early strategy meeting involved understanding the users, stakeholders and the components that they were used to working with to help define product functionality
I'm in! Now.. what the hell
even is a *insert financial jargon here*?
Designing enterprise solutions with a non-financial background
Without financial expertise, I rapidly learned concepts like this to build an intuitive platform. This meant countless Google searches and extensive reading—but that learning curve became an essential part of the journey!
"You'll be drinking from the fire hose!"
I created an ecosystem of relevant components of a economic analysis that I could refer while building out the information architecture and user work flows
Aligning product strategy to prioritize features and product roadmaps
Identifying table stakes and differentiators
With the clock ticking, we needed to be strategic about what we built first. I led a competitive analysis to identify what features were table stakes versus true differentiators. This wasn't just about checking boxes - it was about finding gaps where we could add unique value.
I worked with the team members, closely aligning with the PM to help build a document detailing the product roadmap
Some pushback to embrace the startup mindset
During feature ideation sprints, I initially held back, self-editing ideas to fit constraints—a habit from my technical background. But the team encouraged open exploration, prioritizing rapid creation, testing, and iteration. This shift aligned perfectly with the startup’s ethos and pushed me to embrace a more experimental approach.
The product analysis helped us refine the design by building on current feature iterations found in competitors while saving precious time ideating
Learning
Putting all the
pieces together
Iterating well on the way to the finish line
During the design phase, I began iterating on the features the team had finalized. Using the established information architecture and visual hierarchy, I rapidly created and refined wireframes to achieve the visual fidelity needed for developers to begin implementation and for user testing to validate our direction.
Something I'd do differently…
Following the F-Pattern due to primarily western user base, I created simple visual guidelines to inform wireframes
An example of the iteration process for data visualization dashboards across sprints
The Outcomes
Building efficient tools where just the 'default' doesn't work
As my contract ended, I checked in with the team. They were already documenting improvements for future iterations while developers built on our foundational designs. An awesome experience with a promising team.
