Deby Aho knows what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. She saw a need in the market that nobody else did, and she wasn’t shy about asking for feedback. Deby came to us with Sellebrate, her app idea, having a strong showing of momentum already behind it. There was just one problem: she didn’t have the budget for the development of the entire app. That’s when she gave us a call about the Startup Package.

We’ve had many calls at Infinite Red where we hear exciting ideas like Deby’s, but the capital just isn’t there to go all-in at this stage. The entrepreneurs have a great idea, but they need to prove the concept first in order to increase the likelihood of raising capital. To use an old cliche, we knew that there had to be a better way, and that’s when the Startup Package was born.

The Startup Package is a simple process of going from idea to design in a matter of weeks. We have in-depth strategy workshops, a full design phase, and then we wrap it up in an awesome slide deck that’s sure to attract investors. With a little bit of sprint planning (and some life experience), Deby saw a prototype of her app in only six weeks!

Want to know what that process looks like? Keep reading. We’ll use Sellebrate as a real-life example of someone who used the Startup Package to fund her big dream.

Blue Sky Ideas. Grounded Focus & Strategy.

Our first session with Deby is a meeting we like to call “Blue Sky Planning.” It’s a fun and creative workshop where clients get a chance to meet our team and shoot for the moon with ideas. There are no wrong answers here — only big ideas on where this app could go. We get a chance to know the client and their idea; they get a chance to know us. It’s a great way to break the ice within the context of the project.

As much as we love thinking big, we’ve been around the block enough times to know that the best apps aren’t the ones that do it all. When it comes to the Minimum Viable Product (MVP), fewer features is better. We believe in this so much that it’s the reason we spend the rest of our workshops on getting to the core of the business. Deby met with our designers to get to the essentials of the app: the most important audience, goals, and features we would need to design the perfect MVP. To give Sellebrate a fighting chance, we spent most of our time trimming rather than adding.

Designing a Unique Experience

With our strategy set, we move into what most of our clients wait for the most: the design. Our team starts picking the styles and linking the screens together in a way that makes it feel like the real deal using a tool called InVision. We stitch together the designs as if it were a real app. Deby’s able to hold the Sellebrate design in her hands, interact with it, and see which ideas are working and which aren’t. No coding required.

An example that comes to mind is Sellebrate’s buying process. Since the app is s a marketplace, the most important goal for this design is safety. Every customer should feel safe buying, selling, and exchanging items. Iterating on this core belief, we eventually came to the idea of a “virtual handshake.” A buyer is able to scan a QR code on the seller’s phone when they buy the item in person, completing the exchange. It’s an essential feature within the app that creates a great experience for Sellebrate’s customers.

The app we design for Deby would also have to grow with her business as she acquires new users. Our team began connecting the pieces of the puzzle that would be the foundation for her business for years to come. That’s why our team is so careful in choosing styles, layouts, and components for an MVP. To us, design isn’t just a fancy thumbnail. Design is putting together the building blocks of a new business.

Validate. Validate. Validate.

We often hear founders questioning their idea a lot. Will people like the idea? Is it something that’s needed? We like to try and answer these as much as possible so there’s little to no doubt about the design. Sellebrate is one of the few apps we’ve done where the answers became obvious right away. Surveys were sent out on the first week of the project to potential users, and the feedback came back overwhelmingly positive. Not only did Deby find a spot in the market: people were actually looking for this kind of sustainable marketplace.

We didn’t just stop there! We believe that user testing is essential to the design process. Without it, we’re all just guessing at how it should work, and one wrong guess could be costly later on. That’s why Sellebrate’s sprint was focused on designing, iterating, and then course correcting along the way. The experience has to be natural for our users so they keep coming back and integrating into their daily habits.

It All Comes Down to the Pitch

After several hours of brainstorming and iterations, Deby was ready for the final step in the journey: The Pitch.

Investment is the main goal of the Startup Package. It’s where the weeks of hard work finally pay off. We didn’t just hand Deby a prototype and wish her luck though. Our team also put together a branded slide deck to help her present the Sellebrate vision.

Our clients are working tirelessly in this stage just to even get in front of an investor. Having a slide deck that our clients can be proud of gives them the confidence they need to face a room full of investors.

For Deby Aho and Sellebrate, in the words of Elon Musk, “Funding Secured.”

Ready to Launch Your Startup?

Sellebrate is just one example of how the Startup Package is paving the way forward for entrepreneurs. If you’re ready to take the next step on your great idea, reach out to our team. We can’t wait to help you bring your startup idea to life.

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