Constructed a business model that keeps the software free for users while still providing for-profit revenue
Atelier
Reducing waste through DIY
Our team found a way to capitalize on a thriving, niche group of people to find product-market fit, driving a product built for the good of society.
Project Highlights
Conducted intensive market research to identify and isolate a specific target audience
Built an Agile-first team that valued fail-fast mindsets
Key Skills
- SaaS
- B2C
- Mobile Apps
- User Research
- Product Management
- Product Discovery
- Strategy
- User Experience Design
- Market Research
- Agile
- Web Apps
- Leadership
- People Management
Promoting waste reduction through accessible DIY
Atelier is a free and open-source platform that teaches builders and creators to reuse materials they already have in new DIY projects. Atelier removes barriers from novice and expert DIY projects by providing transparent, up-front, and credible projects in an accessible manner.
Watch the vision videoFailing fast to discover unmet needs
I served as the Project Lead for Atelier. I pushed my team to employ multiple research and discovery techniques to gain a deep understanding of our users. We didn't do this in a waterfall methodology: instead, our team developed ideas early and often, continuously testing them using product hypotheses to learn quickly. While designing without a clear understanding can be uncomfortable, the value gained from immediate user feedback quickly proved valuable. This allowed us to create a product that met our users' exact needs as quickly as possible.
Designing products on revenue-generating foundations
As a free, open-source platform, Atelier draws from our community’s natural desire to do good and contribute to something larger than themselves. The platform helps creators feel welcomed and open to post, encouraging users from all backgrounds to engage in the community and contribute to a growing library of knowledge. Additionally, like other do-good platforms such as GoFundMe and Wikipedia, Atelier relies on donations and merchandise sales to power its technology. Last, creators can participate in a social media-like creator program, allowing them to receive a portion of ad revenue.
Leaning into unmet needs to drive product-market fit
Marketing ourselves as accessible required we lean hard into the user insights we discovered during our rapid iteration process. We had to quickly develop a deep understanding of how our target user approaches DIY projects, both with and without technology at their side. By identifying our users' unmet needs, we uniquely positioned ourselves to fill gaps left unmet, nearly guaranteeing product-market fit.
Want to hear more?
Or read a case study: