Imagine Amazon Web Services (AWS) relying on partners like Netflix to promote its cloud solutions. Netflix’s engineers might recommend AWS in industry talks or business meetings, but AWS has no clear way to track or verify this influence. Without a transparent system, commissions are often disputed, sales influence is overstated, and valuable partnerships suffer.

Opvia, an early-stage SaaS startup, set out to break this cycle of lost revenue and disputes by creating a platform that would bring clarity and fairness to partner sales attribution, but with a limited budget, they needed a fully designed platform in just three weeks to present to potential customers and secure buy-in before approaching investors. Plus a logo and lean visual identity to go with it.

I had a plan.

I would start with planning the overall information architecture and some low-fi wireframes for key screens to get going and review with the client. Then, I’d refine wireframes into high-fidelity UI designs before developing four requested interactive prototypes, two for Vendors, two for Partners, to showcase all functionality.

But that plan quickly hit roadblocks.

The founder had provided a 30-page PDF outlining his vision in a lot of detail. But as a non-technical new founder, it lacked a user-centred perspective and was very confusing. It took a long time to understand and break down what was actually required. I had to strip everything back and rethink everything from the ground up.

The app itself was another challenge. It contained extensive sales information, making it hard to structure without clutter. I had my job cut out for me to keep layouts clear while ensuring users could log and verify interactions efficiently.

And then, the biggest challenge, the deadline. With just three weeks, I had to move fast. I streamlined workflows, prioritised the most important features, and delivered the prototypes on time while ensuring usability, all while also writing the entire copy within the prototypes. Every piece of text had to flow seamlessly, making sure that data, company names, and interactions made sense in context for the clickable prototypes, which. This was very time-consuming, as everything needed to reflect real-world partner relationships and keep the user journey smooth and intuitive.

All this on top of designing an impactful logo and basic lean visual identity.

Despite the challenges and quick turn around, Opvia received 4x prototypes for two user types that addressed their core pain point in B2B sales partnerships.

Further impact TBC as they seek further investment.