Leading a startup product. From idea to launch

Background:

One time, I was sitting in a bar with my friend who was the CMO of a sportsbook company at the time. As often happens in a pub with friends, we had an idea:

💡 What if you could have a mobile app that allows you to compete with other pub patrons, check game results, and win a free beer from a bar?

Challange:

We sketched out a game concept on a napkin and decided to play it against each other. The concept was so awesome that we resolved to make it a reality.

🔥 Convert napkin prototype into a real game app.

My role:

We decided that my friend would be responsible for the marketing side of things, while I would be leading the effort to design and deliver the product.

👤 I was responsible for designing the product and hiring and managing a team of developers to ship the MVP.

The opportunity to move from a senior product designer to a position equivalent to that of a CPO, where I would be responsible for the entire product rather than just design, was both scary and exciting.

Result:

🏆 The MVP was completed in six months. BeerLeague was selected over hundreds of other startups to pitch at ICE London, the world's largest iGaming conference with over 40,000 attendees worldwide.

Process:

• [x] User Research and concept validation

• [x] User journey, Information architecture, and scope for MVP

• [x] Style exploration and design system

• [x] Interactive prototype and early testing

• [x] Product roadmap and MVP development

• [x] Demo and early feedback

• [x] Pilot launch in a London pub

User Research and concept validation

To better understand what types of features will make the app engaging for pub visitors and useful for pub owners, I combined desk research with user interviews and collected insights.

🔑 Key takeaways: - People are already competing with friends by making predictions while watching games in pubs.

• Everyone wants a chance to win a free beer from the bar.

• Pub owners don't mind giving away free beers as part of retention mechanics, such as client check-ins at the pub.

Information architecture and user flow

I create game mechanics that combine pub check-ins, sports game predictions, and pub leaderboards.

Style exploration & design system

To create an app that truly feels like it belongs in a British pub with a sports vibe, we needed to add some flesh to the bones of our design. To achieve this, we explored the exteriors and interiors of British pubs and created a style guide for our UI to ensure it fits perfectly with the atmosphere in these establishments.

Interactive prototype and early testing

Now it was time to combine the "bones" with the "flesh". I created mockups using Pub's aesthetics for the main content parts, based on user flows and prototype use cases.

I sent an interactive prototype to potential players and pub owners for the first unmoderated usability tests. I identified pain points and made necessary fixes before conducting further interactions. After a few iterations, the prototype received an 86% approval score among players. This score was deemed sufficient to move to the development stage.

Development

I hired two developers on Upwork. My job was to ensure that the app works in approximately 65,000 pubs across the UK. Meanwhile, my co-founder spoke with potential partners and pub owners for the pilot launch.

I created a product roadmap and divided it into one-week sprints. Then, I filled the backlog with user stories and started working. Every Monday, we had a Skype call with the developers to discuss the new sprint and bug fixes from the last release. During these sessions, I communicated with the dev team and coached them on UX.

Demo and early feedback

As soon as the first version was ready, I started demoing it to pub owners to understand their initial reactions and to find pubs for the pilot launch.

Pilot launch in a London pub

We conducted our test launch in one of London's famous pubs, the Marlborough Head. A few months later, we were ready for the official launch. The app was connected to Google Analytics to measure all important metrics. We ran a few small Facebook campaigns to measure KPIs and make UX improvements.

Conclusion

I started this project as a product designer and ended up as the head of product. Though I made many mistakes along the way, I gained a broader perspective and a better understanding of what factors are crucial for product success, and which ones are not as important.

What could be done differently?

• Increase the number of moderated usability tests and 1-on-1 interviews and decrease the number of unmoderated tests.

• Conduct more in-depth 1-on-1 interviews with pub owners at an earlier stage.

• Invest in a good local law consultancy.

• Increase focus on user growth in the early stages.

• Conduct a better analysis of local preferences in games.

• Increase focus on sales.