Tripled paying users by launching this AI search tool

I worked with a seed stage startup who was building an influencer marketing platform. Their goal is to make it easy for Chinese brands to connect with global influencers. Founders already knew they wanted to bake AI into the search experience but didn’t quite know what shape it would take. Their old search feature was clunky and not user friendly.

Enter me.

As a product manager, my first order of business was to understand the problem space. We do that by talking to users. But I had one hiccup - I didn't speak Chinese. So I shadowed users instead as they used the platform.

This research phase was key to understanding user pain points. I also identified key personas in the process and I mapped out a sample customer journey for them. I invited both the tech and leadership team for this workshop.

I quantified pain points through data and gave color through anecdotes

I defined and prioritized the problems we needed to solve

I articulated what our goal should be in a way that aligns with the business OKRs

I identified the metrics to measure that goal against

In six weeks, we built BoostBot, an AI-powered search tool that is a hybrid between chat and a traditional user interface. In September 2023, the team flew to Shenzhen, China for a product launch. Another six weeks later, we tripled the MAU on the platform, all of which are paying.

This engagement ended with the founders offering me a full time role. But due to other plans, I politely declined.