Here’s a quick snapshot about me
- I’ve worked at companies small and large, from startups to
- I’ve raised over $1m of venture capital (never again 🙃)
- I’m a full stack builder, see: Dwarf, LeetUX, , Gamblers Guild, Build in Public: Live, and more.
- I’m my nephew’s favorite uncle
To illustrate my skills and fit for this role, I conducted a deep dive on Gumroad to uncover some initiatives to work on, and then got to it
Research
I started my process by combing through all of Gumroad’s public board meetings to get a good
sense of where the company has come from, and where it's going.
Things that stood out to me are the intention of developing more core eCommerce features (abandoned
carts etc.), as well as ConvertKit-like features and website building functionality.
Planning
I decided to work on reimagining the creator profile pages. With the basis of a block system
in place, and the ability to add a custom domain, it felt like there was an obvious next step
to flesh it out.
My reasoning here is that an improved profile would directly increase GMV, by both increasing the
conversion rate (thus volume of transactions), as well as the AOV, due to a greater exposure to
the range of products each creator offers.
Wireframing
I studied a handful of flows from the likes of Squarespace and Shopify, and then created a set of wireframes to explore different possible layouts and components.
Mockups
I kicked off this stage by recreating Gumroad's design system in Figma, followed by a set of mockups, component by component, until I had everything laid out in high fidelity.
Prototyping
I created a series of prototypes to best illustrate the flow and function of my website builder concept.
Website Builder Concept
Prototype flow of a user adding sections to their profile page by using the website builder concept.
Reflections
1
At first, I spent a good chunk of time trying to split my efforts between building out the
new creator pages, as well as a new product creation flow.
In retrospect, I should have focused solely on the latter, which became clear to me once I
heard ‘the website builder is our north star’ in the uncensored (🥵) board meeting video.
2
Given the intensity of the work I tried to rapidly produce, I sacrificed a certain degree
of organization within the file itself.
Predictably, this correlated with an increased frequency of scrambling for components and styles
towards the end, but given a less volatile schedule and pace, I am usually far more diligent
with my organization.
3
Ultimately, I tried to cover a lot of ground, and in doing so there were elements and
components that I had to press on with, despite not being completely satisfied with where
they were at.
This is a natural part of the design process, given there are always time and resource constraints,
but it was somewhat a reflection of the intensity of the sprint.
In summary, I completed the following:
I recreated Gumroad’s design system from scratch in Figma.
I researched and planned out how to best impact creators (and by extension, GMV).
I created a comprehensive set of wireframes and mockups.
I set up a range of prototypes to communicate my concepts.
Sahil, working at Gumroad would be nothing short of a dream come true for me. I believe I have the skills, drive and initiative to excel in this role, and I’d love to work with you and the team on steering Gumroad into the future.
Best,
Coppinger
charlie@jcurve.nz