City of Seattle: UX Research and Design for startupseattle.com
Background:
The City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development hadn’t updated their StartupSeattle website in years, and they wanted to get a better idea of the type of people who used it.
Research Question: “How might we connect tech startup founders and investors with the information and resources they need through the City of Seattle’s website?”
Research Methods:
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Ran a survey to collect relevant data and screen potential participants.
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Conducted over 2.5 hours of semi-structured interviews with founders and investors.
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Created a literature review from over 20 articles, journals, and books
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Held a focus group and conducted an affinity diagramming exercise with the Mayor of Seattle and 20 tech startup founders and investors.
Key Insights:
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Although most local tech investors invest in companies that are based regionally, there are also advantages to having a global deal flow.
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While the journey of each tech startup founder is nuanced and different from the next, there is a sometimes a need for structured and streamlined guidance.
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It is debatable whether entrepreneurs are born or made, however a dimension of their journey that has significant impact on their success is whether their environment is well-resourced or obstacle-laden.
Lessons Learned:
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When designing this research study, the critical theory methodology provided a lens which aligned well with the City’s desire to understand how issues of race, gender, and power help or hinder tech startup founders and investors.
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Since I hired and managed a UX Designer that worked with me on the research, ideation, and prototyping and evaluation phases of the study, I had to be confident of my understanding in each of these areas.
View more about this project at: http://bottomline.seattle.gov/2018/08/01/be-part-of-startupseattles-design-project-this-summer/