GoodCompany is a web based alternative to networking for business growth. Hidden behind a monthly subscription, is a platform with exclusive video content, message boards, and blog posts, helping people learn how to further grow their business.

Problem

→ Sites like Linkedin have become so crowded that you have to be lucky to be served by the algorithm, and most Linkedin responders are trying to sell a product, course or their services, and the platform has lost humility.

→ Because there's such a vast user base, it's hard to have real conversations with people.

→ Traditional in person Networking suffers the same self-serving aspect, costs more money, and costs time.

→ There isn't always specific niches within Linkedin, and advice isn't always one size fits all.

‍
Approach

→ We benchmarked competitors, like Realize.io, to find out what they did right to have their own community, and the reasons it succeeded.

→ We discovered a paywall helps filter out the noise, but there's a higher expectation of people on a paid platform.

→ We spoke to people using Linkedin to confirm their shortcomings lined up with the product we were creating.

→ We researched platforms that had similar use cases to what we needed - Slack, Discord, Notion, and Medium, but none of them quite matched what we needed

Solution

→ By using the existing design principles of the researched platforms, we designed a beta platform for advertising purposes to show the product. This meant (due to lacking funds) we can launch quicker and lay the research on the market, and our core user, versus the experience of the app.

→ By designing using existing principles, we could onboard users quickly, and make changes based on their feedback, rather than making everything from scratch. Familiarity played a key role in the design of this product.