How I messed up with the startup design budget (20k) and what I learned from it
🌼 It was one of the most challenging summers in my life
Sunny weather, light breeze, my highly motivated startup team - everything seemed to be as in the best movies. We were launching a software startup - a platform for connecting volunteers, so they can unite, create communities and projects together.
Long story short what happened with us:
- a decent dose of excitement
- (the beginning of challenges)
- a decent dose of despair
That’s where I learned the first lesson - big things require big resources.
Good UI/UX freelancers/agency was something we strived to find. The main priority: not to spend all the money on the earth.
Spoiler: it remained impossible.
Yes, we have found a designer team.
But it ended badly. The communication was poor, and to be honest - it turned out we don’t know what we want to do. As a result: wasted money - wasted time - wasted idea.
A beta launch was completed, however we very quickly realized we couldn’t move on. Unfortunately, our very limited budget for an early-stage startup ran over.
We had only one try.
Now it’s 2022. I’m
- a UI/UX advisor
- working in the best design agency ever
- confident enough to tell about how to keep yourself within a budget and choose designer/designers for your product
⬇️ Sharing is caring - here are some lessons I learned:
- What is the primary goal?
- Why do you create the product?
- How will you get revenue?
Think about ALL these questions, and even more. Define your goals before starting any process.
Do the research, conduct an interview, and create your TA description. Here is the template I follow:
Make sure everything from your visual guidelines passes to your design team. Brand book, tone of voice, guidelines - everything.
If you don’t have it - discuss with your team what you want to see.
Here are some good examples of brand guidelines:
Lots of agencies/freelancers offer a free consultation. Why won't you use it?
Ask your friends for recommendations, or find something via Clutch or other platforms we will describe later.
UI/UX cost varies, and the best way is to compare the prices. Here are top sites where you can find agencies:
Some common brief questions are:
💬 Can you describe what your company does?
💬 What are the long-term goals of your company?
💬 Are there any design styles you do not like?
More info with a design brief example you can find here.
Here it is - sad story, great lessons.
Thanks for reading till the end! Share your design startup stories in the comments ⬇️
