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Intro
Sydecar helps fund managers run their investment funds
I designed how fund managers share deals to their investors
sydecar.com
Kaycakes
Capital Call
Preview Deal
Close Investment
Private Company
K
Total to raise (est.)
$1,000,000
Amount to target (est.)
$967,500
Total Allocated
$25,000
Remaining allocation
$975,000
Funds received
-
Funds to target
-
Management fees
$20,000
Sydecar fees
$12,500
Investment Info
Investors
Investment Updates
Expenses
Deal Links
YC Brohort
$15,000 - $20,000
8%
Management Fee
5%
Carry
16
Commits
Copy Link
Stanford - Alpha Epsilon Pi
$25,000 - $50,000
12%
Management Fee
7%
Carry
3
Commits
Copy Link
Create Link
Dashboard
Lead
Documents
Profiles and Teams
Tax Center
Contact
Help
Legal
Profile
Team
Brian Leung, PM
Lauren Garcia, SWE
Chris Vasquez, SWE
Timeline & Status
2 weeks
Launched in April 2023
My Role
UX Lead
Interaction Design
Visual Design
User Flows
Rapid Prototyping
Context
Simplifying deal sharing
Sydecar is an early-stage deal execution startup that allows fund managers to create and run their investment funds.
Sydecar's two customers:
Fund managers – We want them to create & run deals easily
Investors – We want their investors to trust and use Sydecar to invest in deals
I led the end-to-end design of deal sharing and played a pivotal role in defining it. We saved fund managers from doing extra administrative work.
The problem
Deal sharing was tedious & error-prone
Before, to invite investors to a deal, fund managers needed to fill out a form for each investor with specific deal terms. This was inefficient because typically fund managers have a set of investors that all got the same terms. My solution help fund managers' save time & streamline deal sharing.
Investor 1
...
Investor 9
Each new investor required a form
Design Requirements
Optimizing for ease while maintaining security
Based on customer feedback, our primary goal was to enhance the ease of deal sharing for fund managers while preserving confidentiality.
Easy integration
Sharing should fit naturally into their current workflow
Private
Only invited investors should have access to deal terms
Efficient
Investors should easily share deals to anyone they choose
Issues
Auditing the current experience
By auditing the previous design, I wanted to rethink the user experience. Reduce redundant work for fund managers and keep deal terms simple.
Investor Name
Enter full name
Email Address
Enter email address
The default carry and management fee for this investor is based on your investment terms. You can change and override the default values for this investor.
Carry
20%
Management Fee
2%
Allocation
Fixed
Range
Fixed Amount
$
Send an offer to this investor
We will send an email offer to the investor. The investor will appear in the allocation offered view of the cap table.
Personal Note
Enter text...
Investor info
Fund managers don’t need to fill this in
Deal Terms
This is too granular for one specific person
Send offer
You need to manage whether the investors are notified
Add Investor to Kaycakes
Cancel
Add Investor
Deal invitation audit
Iterations
Exploring and evaluating solutions
Two main approaches emerged as potential solutions. We tried to learn which one would integrate more naturally with customers.
Link a CRM • Upload list
Pros
Efficient - can add many people at once
Builds off other CRMs
Cons
Prone to be outdated
Dependent on external data
Not easily integrated in their current workflow
Deal link
Pros
Easily integrated in their current workflow
Requires Sydecar to be the source of truth (which it should be)
Cons
Investors are self-selected
Deals are at risk to be overly shared
We quickly learned that many leads don't meticulously track their investors with a CRM-like tool. Instead, SPV creation seemed like an intimate & exclusive process.
hey this company is crazy good, lfg
Do you have link?
https://sydecar.io/7345shkkhf987r9
hey this company is crazy good, lfg
Do you have link?
https://sydecar.io/7345shkkhf987r9
Brian’s invited you to an exclusive deal. Limited invitations. Secure your spot now. Don't miss out.
Typical deal invitation
Many leads use group messaging or email groups to communicate directly with their investors. The messaging group itself was the most effective communication channel for leads. To create a seamless experience, we chose "Deal links" which allows leads to create a specific investment proposal and package it in a simple link.
Final Design
We created simpler way to share investment deals
Deal links allowed fund managers to
Create a investment offer
Share it as a Sydecar link
Manage interested investors
Create a deal link
Copy & share a deal link
Approve & reject requestors
Outcome
Fund managers can rest a little easier
With the launch of deal links, fund managers could invite investors with just a few deal links, saving them time and simplifying deal sharing.
63%
time saved
adding investors to deals
249
deal links
created & shared with investors
3
weeks
implemented after handoff
Retrospective
Design solutions that work into existing workflows
I learned the importance of creating a complimentary experience.
Leverage exising patterns
Leverage accepted patterns to solve similar problems
Identify opportunities
While focusing on a problem, remain open to opportunities
Default to simplicity
Avoid adding complexity unless absolutely necessary
Next up: Investor Onboarding
Investor onboarding
Product Design
Fintech
Sydecar helps fund managers create and run their investment funds — I designed onboarding for investors
app.sydecar.com
Cardless
$25,000
Filing
Personal
Accreditation
Citizenship
Address
Tax Witholding
Save & Exit
Investor Info
Tell us who you are as an investor, it’ll help us file taxes. Learn more ->
Individual
Investing as an individual who is not affliated with any trust or separate entity.
Entity
Investing as an entire group where you pool the money of multiple individuals.
Trust
Investing on behalf on someone else by making decisions about their capital.
IRA / Retirement account
Investing for specifically for a goverment regulated retirement account.
Continue
What’s an Entity?
An entity is an existing legal structure, like an LLC or S-Corp. You should use this option if you are investing as a part of a group.
Investor onboarding
Product Design
Fintech
Sydecar helps fund managers create and run their investment funds — I designed onboarding for investors
app.sydecar.com
Investing in
National Geographic
$25,000
Filing
Personal
Accreditation
Citizenship
Address
Tax Witholding
Save & Exit
Investor Info
Tell us who you are as an investor, it’ll help us file taxes. Learn more ->
Individual
Investing as an individual who is not affliated with any trust or separate entity.
Entity
Investing as an entire group where you pool the money of multiple individuals.
Trust
Investing on behalf on someone else by making decisions about their capital.
IRA / Retirement account
Investing for specifically for a goverment regulated retirement account.
Continue
What’s an Entity?
An entity is an existing legal structure, like an LLC or S-Corp. You should use this option if you are investing as a part of a group.
