Endeavor Digital

Creator Collective

Creator Collective is a service marketplace that matches content creators with subject matter experts who can provide mentorship, guidance, and support to help creators build sustainable businesses. As the VP of Product Design, I played a pivotal role in shaping the strategy, facilitating alignment across teams, and executing the product design.

While the creator economy has opened up unprecedented opportunities, many creators struggle with building sustainable businesses due to a lack of formal training and industry connections. Our research revealed three significant gaps:

The rise of digital media has revolutionized content creation, enabling creators to succeed without traditional industry backing. However, the challenge of being discovered has intensified.

Creators have more resources to build businesses independently, but lack access to experienced mentors and industry knowledge trapped within niche communities.

The expanding creator economy has created a demand for new business skills that current educational offerings fail to address.

To address these challenges, we initiated a Design Sprint to align our team and understand the problem space. We built prototypes inspired by traditional online education platforms, but user testing invalidated our initial direction, as creators expressed a strong aversion to traditional learning approaches.

Pivoting our strategy, we applied the "Discover, Define, Design, Iterate, and Learn" framework to maintain focus and continued investing in user research. Our insights revealed that creators encounter various tension points depending on their stage of business development, and a consistent set of problems emerged across all segments:

1. Lack of know-how and connections to expand their businesses.

2. Overwhelming noise and clutter when seeking advice or education.

3. Difficulty finding support tailored to their specific needs.

We tested the concept of matching creators with digital experts, which resonated well with our target audience.

1. A service marketplace connecting creators with industry experts.

2. A seamless end-to-end experience for both creators and experts.

3. A unified brand identity and design system integrated across channels.

We created a landing page and waitlist experience to generate interest and gather feedback from early adopters. This phase helped us boost conversions for our public launch and validate product-market-fit.

Building on our learnings from MVP-1, we developed a two-way marketplace allowing creators to search for and book sessions with vetted industry experts. We focused on optimizing the touchpoints between creators and experts, creating a seamless experience for both sides.

Crafting an Inviting Homepage: We designed an enticing homepage to encourage creators to explore available experts and book sessions.

Streamlining the Expert Listing Flow: We transitioned from a long-form experience to a step-by-step flow, reducing cognitive load and making the process more user-friendly.

Intuitive Search and Booking: Creators can easily search for experts based on their needs, specialties, and pricing, facilitating seamless booking.

Brand Identity and Design System: We established a vibrant brand identity celebrating imaginative minds and infused it into our product through a design system integrated across channels.

Mobile Optimization: We ensured the experience worked seamlessly on mobile devices, enabling creators to access the platform on-the-go.

Pivoting from Traditional Education: Our initial direction towards traditional online education platforms proved misaligned with creators' needs, prompting us to pivot our strategy based on user feedback.

Balancing Breadth and Depth: Striking the right balance between a comprehensive feature set and a focused MVP was crucial to delivering value while maintaining a lean approach.

Fostering Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborating with product, engineering, and marketing teams using user stories and the Jobs-to-be-Done framework fostered a user-centric mindset and streamlined decision-making.

Iterative Design and Testing: Conducting experiments and soliciting user feedback allowed us to refine the design and ensure it resonated with our target audience.

Creator Collective has demonstrated strong product-market fit, as evidenced by:br>

● Steady increase in creators and service providers joining the platform.

● Positive user sentiment and engagement metrics.

● Successful conversion rates and creator/provider retention.

These results have secured the next round of funding from WME Endeavor, enabling further product development and expansion of features to better serve our users.

User-centered Design is Critical: Continuously involving users and adapting to their feedback was instrumental in pivoting our strategy and delivering a successful solution.

Embrace Pivots: Being open to changing course based on user insights and data was crucial in overcoming our initial assumptions and creating a product that resonated with our target audience.

Lean Experimentation: Adopting a lean, iterative approach allowed us to validate assumptions, gather valuable insights, and course-correct efficiently, minimizing risks and maximizing impact.

Through Creator Collective, we have empowered a new generation of content creators by providing them with the knowledge, mentorship, and industry connections they need to turn their passions into sustainable businesses. This project exemplifies the power of user-centered design, cross-functional collaboration, and an iterative, data-driven approach to solving complex problems and delivering impactful solutions.

Contribution