Connecting niche professionals through goal-driven networking
A mobile platform that sparks meaningful, relevant connections in specialized professional communities - matching people around shared goals, not shared job titles.
Generic networks reward volume over relevance. Professionals in specialized fields wade through recruiter spam and context-free “Let's connect!” requests — rarely finding the collaborators who actually matter.
A focused, mobile-first platform built for niche industries — curating the right people, events, and mentorship so users build intentional relationships instead of scrolling irrelevant feeds.
A course project I owned end to end.
I led the project from research and problem framing through to high-fidelity prototypes, designing for mid-level professionals in niche industries like fintech and biotech.
To structure the work, I followed the Double Diamond — diverging to understand the problem deeply, then converging on focused, testable solutions.
Understanding the people
Five interviews with mid-level fintech and biotech professionals — regular conference-goers who live in networking apps — to learn how they connect and where it breaks down.
Empathy map
“I get 15 connection requests a day — most are recruiters or ‘Let’s connect!’ with zero context.”
“I want to talk to someone who’s actually built a payment gateway or fought fraud — not another ‘growth hacker.’”
Opens LinkedIn, scrolls 30 seconds, closes. Swaps 10 cards at a meetup, follows up with one. Archives 9 of 10 inbound messages.
Overwhelmed by recruiters and vendors. Frustrated by low response rates and connections that go nowhere.
Pain points uncovered
Wasted time
Chasing leads that share a job title but no real context.
Irrelevant connections
15+ recruiter and sales messages a day drowning out the signal.
Events fall flat
No easy way to prep before or follow up meaningfully after.
Competitive analysis
I benchmarked two professional networks — LinkedIn and Bumble Bizz — against intent-driven consumer apps like Tinder and Bumble, comparing how each handles onboarding, profile depth, matching signals, and that first awkward message. Looking across both worlds showed where professional networking makes people work for a connection, and where intent-based matching makes it feel effortless.
LinkedIn scales, but relevance suffers — real connection is hard to find.
Matching on stated intent gets people into relevant conversations fast; professional networks still make users dig for that context themselves.
Highlighting mutual interests, shared events, and overlapping connections up front — plus ready-made conversation starters — makes reaching out feel natural.
Framing the problem
Turning research into a sharp point of view: who we're designing for, the journey to fix, and how we'll measure success.
As a mid-level fintech professional, Sophia wants to build meaningful industry connections without wading through irrelevant profiles — so she can find collaborators and make the most of industry events.
User journey map
I mapped three journeys — event networking, cold outreach, and mentorship discovery — to find friction points. Below: the digital outreach journey, where low response rates make it hard to prioritize who to reach.
KPIs I'd track after launch
Targets I'd measure after launch — not results.
of active users make 3+ new connections a month.
of mentorship-seekers match within two weeks.
of users return within 30 days of signing up.
Shaping the solution
Diverging on ideas, then converging — from a messy mind map into low-fidelity sketches that test the core flows.
Mind map
I mapped user needs, business goals, and potential features into one picture — showing how matchmaking, messaging, and event tools could work as one cohesive experience rather than separate features.
Low-fi sketches
Before high fidelity, I sketched wireframes to explore layouts and flows fast — validating key interactions before committing to digital.
The product
High-fidelity screens across the core flows — profile, discovery, matching, messaging, and events — designed to make every connection intentional.
Profile
A snapshot of expertise, goals, and experience — the starting point for showing who you are and what you're looking for.
Explore
Daily top picks and collaboration opportunities tailored to your industry and goals — browse by what matters, not by volume.
Preview & Matching
Preview mutual interests, shared events, and overlapping connections before reaching out. Once matched, tailored prompts nudge users straight into a relevant conversation.
Messaging
Conversations with AI-generated suggestions to get past the blank message — plus full control over incoming connection requests.
Events
Access attendee lists and message relevant professionals ahead of time, so networking at events is focused and prepared.
What I learned
Simplicity wins. People wanted easier, more purposeful connections — not more features. Prioritising quality of conversation over raw connection count shaped the whole product, and the hardest, most important part was making AI matchmaking feel personal rather than mechanical.
What's next
If I were to continue, my next step would be the post-event follow-up flow — reminders and lightweight prompts to keep new connections warm. That's where the concept is weakest: matching people is only half the job, and most professional relationships fade in the days after an event when no one follows up. From there I'd refine the AI matchmaking with real usage data and explore live, in-event networking.
Connecting niche professionals through goal-driven networking.
A mobile platform that sparks meaningful, relevant connections in specialized professional communities — matching people around shared goals, not shared job titles.
Generic networks reward volume over relevance. Professionals in specialized fields wade through recruiter spam and context-free “Let's connect!” requests - rarely finding the collaborators who actually matter.
A focused, mobile-first platform built for niche industries - curating the right people, events, and mentorship so users build intentional relationships instead of scrolling irrelevant feeds.
Initiator and product designer
I led the project from research and problem framing through to high-fidelity prototypes, designing for mid-level professionals in niche industries like fintech and biotech.
To structure the work, I followed the Double Diamond — diverging to understand the problem deeply, then converging on focused, testable solutions.
Understanding the people
Five interviews with mid-level fintech and biotech professionals — regular conference-goers who live in networking apps — to learn how they connect and where it breaks down.
Empathy map
“I get 15 connection requests a day — most are recruiters or ‘Let’s connect!’ with zero context.”
“I want to talk to someone who’s actually built a payment gateway or fought fraud — not another ‘growth hacker.’”
Opens LinkedIn, scrolls 30 seconds, closes. Swaps 10 cards at a meetup, follows up with one. Archives 9 of 10 inbound messages.
Overwhelmed by recruiters and vendors. Frustrated by low response rates and connections that go nowhere.
Pain points uncovered
Wasted time
Chasing leads that share a job title but no real context.
Irrelevant connections
15+ recruiter and sales messages a day drowning out the signal.
Events fall flat
No easy way to prep before or follow up meaningfully after.
Competitive analysis
I benchmarked two professional networks — LinkedIn and Bumble Bizz — against intent-driven consumer apps like Tinder and Bumble, comparing how each handles onboarding, profile depth, matching signals, and that first awkward message. Looking across both worlds showed where professional networking makes people work for a connection, and where intent-based matching makes it feel effortless.
LinkedIn scales, but relevance suffers — real connection is hard to find.
Matching on stated intent gets people into relevant conversations fast; professional networks still make users dig for that context themselves.
Highlighting mutual interests, shared events, and overlapping connections up front — plus ready-made conversation starters — makes reaching out feel natural.
Framing the problem
Turning research into a sharp point of view: who we're designing for, the journey to fix, and how we'll measure success.
As a mid-level fintech professional, Sophia wants to build meaningful industry connections without wading through irrelevant profiles — so she can find collaborators and make the most of industry events.
User journey map
I mapped three journeys — event networking, cold outreach, and mentorship discovery — to find friction points. Below: the digital outreach journey, where low response rates make it hard to prioritize who to reach.
KPIs I'd track after launch
Targets I'd measure after launch — not results.
of active users make 3+ new connections a month.
of mentorship-seekers match within two weeks.
of users return within 30 days of signing up.
Shaping the solution
Diverging on ideas, then converging — from a messy mind map into low-fidelity sketches that test the core flows.
Mind map
I mapped user needs, business goals, and potential features into one picture — showing how matchmaking, messaging, and event tools could work as one cohesive experience rather than separate features.
Low-fi sketches
Before high fidelity, I sketched wireframes to explore layouts and flows fast — validating key interactions before committing to digital.
The product
High-fidelity screens across the core flows — profile, discovery, matching, messaging, and events — designed to make every connection intentional.
Profile
A snapshot of expertise, goals, and experience — the starting point for showing who you are and what you're looking for.
Explore
Daily top picks and collaboration opportunities tailored to your industry and goals — browse by what matters, not by volume.
Preview & Matching
Preview mutual interests, shared events, and overlapping connections before reaching out. Once matched, tailored prompts nudge users straight into a relevant conversation.
Messaging
Conversations with AI-generated suggestions to get past the blank message — plus full control over incoming connection requests.
Events
Access attendee lists and message relevant professionals ahead of time, so networking at events is focused and prepared.
What I learned
Simplicity wins. People wanted easier, more purposeful connections — not more features. Prioritising quality of conversation over raw connection count shaped the whole product, and the hardest, most important part was making AI matchmaking feel personal rather than mechanical.
What's next
If I were to continue, my next step would be the post-event follow-up flow — reminders and lightweight prompts to keep new connections warm. That's where the concept is weakest: matching people is only half the job, and most professional relationships fade in the days after an event when no one follows up. From there I'd refine the AI matchmaking with real usage data and explore live, in-event networking.