Portfolio — AspireCONCEPTIn-house project · unpaid

A new era of investment, designed from zero to one

Aspire is a concept for a next-generation investment platform: investors discover startups worldwide, and startups receive transparent, milestone-based funding — smart contracts and stablecoins carrying the trust. My end-to-end design exercise across research, personas, journeys, and full mobile designs.

In-house studio project. Created independently by the Experience+ studio on an unpaid basis — not a commissioned client engagement.

Fictional portfolio concept

Aspire is a fictional UX/UI portfolio project created solely to demonstrate design work. It was never launched or operated. Nothing on this page is an offer, sale, or solicitation of securities, tokens, or any other financial product, and nothing constitutes investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. All companies, transactions, balances, returns, performance figures, and other data shown are fictional and do not represent actual or expected results. Aspire is unrelated to any existing company with the same name.

The problem

Barriers to entry, by design

Today's investment ecosystem raises barriers for everyday investors and starves early-stage founders of transparent capital. The concept answers with five design pillars:

01
Blockchain-powered security. An immutable record of transactions, designed to reduce the risk of fraud.
02
Milestone-based transparency. Investments structured around clear milestones with automatic verification of how capital is deployed.
03
Global access to capital. Eliminating geographic restrictions so investors anywhere can reach opportunities beyond their local market.
04
Efficient fund disbursement. Smart contracts automate distribution against predefined criteria, cutting processing time and overhead.
05
Fewer cross-border barriers. Stablecoins minimize currency-conversion friction traditionally attached to international investing.

The vision

Five commitments

Accessible investment that fosters economic growth and social impact — blockchain, smart contracts, and stablecoins making investing transparent, efficient, and open.

Democratize investment access for all
Ensure trust via smart contracts
Empower small businesses with funding
Promote impact-driven investments
Streamline cross-border deals

Try it yourself

Walk through the working prototype

I rebuilt the concept above as real, tappable code — a React/TypeScript app I built end to end, not a handoff — so you can browse startups, fund Umoja in stablecoins, and track milestone releases and impact, screen by screen. All data fictional.

The designs

From discovery to portfolio, on device

Seven final mobile designs walk the full investor loop — browse startups, evaluate a raise, fund it in stablecoins against smart-contract milestones, and track the portfolio. Click any render to view it full size. All names and numbers are illustrative.

Fictional interface data only. The companies, transactions, balances, returns, and projected performance shown below are illustrative and are not actual or expected results.

Featured startups and investment categories — discovery designed for browsing, not brokerage jargon.

01 / 07

Designing for a regulated space

Trust is the interface

Finance earns skepticism by default, and crypto doubly so. The concept's answer is to make every trust mechanism visible in the interface rather than promised in the fine print:

Staged releases, verifiable milestones

Funding moves in thirds: released on execution, after the first five customers, and at $1M ARR — every tranche visible in the app with its release reason.

Stablecoins explained in plain language

USDC/EURC selection states costs, settlement speed, and 1:1 redeemability up front — no jargon between the investor and the mechanics.

Audited updates, not vibes

Founder updates pair a CPA-audit stamp with performance metrics and downloadable quarterly reports.

Disclosures where decisions happen

Risk disclosures and FAQs sit inside the funding flow — one tap from the amount selector, not buried in a footer.

Evaluative research

Tested, scored, and acted on

I put the concept through moderated, think-aloud usability testing against a written research plan — four tasks, each rated on a five-point Likert scale, plus a persona-specific survey program designed to validate findings at scale. The top-line results, self-reported from the design exercise:

4.6

visual design and trustworthiness (of 5)

4.0

completing investments

4.0

monitoring investment progress

3.5

discovering investment opportunities

Net Promoter Score

What the testing changed

An onboarding video explaining the platform, added for first-time investors.
Navigation redesigned — a menu replacing the bottom bar.
Investment history made sortable for easier tracking.

Testers repeatedly praised the CPA-audit feature for reinforcing trust — and the lowest score, discovery at 3.5, is exactly where the roadmap went next.

Research that changed strategy, not just screens

A venture pitch surfaced the hard question — cross-border compliance at scale. The risk had already been identified through the research, and my conversations with domain experts led to a deliberate US-first strategy, sparing the concept a layer of regulatory complexity it didn't need on day one.

Method note: scores are aggregate self-reported results from the design exercise's own testing program; participant-level records were not retained.

Investor personas

Three investors, three priorities

The research shaped three investor personas — community, impact, and crypto-savvy — each bringing a different definition of trust, control, and meaningful return.

Persona 1: The Community Investor

David and Sarah Mitchell

48 & 45 year old, Boulder, CO

David and Sarah are suburban investors passionate about local businesses and community-driven projects. They seek structured, milestone-based investments that provide financial returns while ensuring measurable community impact and business growth.

“I need a platform that's fast, transparent, and lets me stay in control of my investments. If I can track everything in real-time and reinvest seamlessly, that's a game-changer.”

Investment Style

Long-term, community-focused — interested in local business growth and economic sustainability over speculative returns.

Preferred Startup Types

Small businesses, local enterprises, sustainable agriculture, and impact-driven tech that strengthens communities.

Risk Tolerance

Moderate—willing to take some risk, prioritizing verified businesses with measurable impact and stability.

Tech Proficiency

Intermediate—comfortable with online investing and fintech tools, but prefers user-friendly platforms with clear impact tracking.

Preferred Platforms

Uses Honeycomb Credit, Crowdfund Mainstreet, and local investment platforms but finds them lacking milestone-based transparency.

Financial Goal

Build wealth while supporting local businesses and creating lasting community impact with measurable accountability.

How Aspire Helps

Blockchain-backed funding ensures funds are allocated based on milestones.
Smart contracts automate payments only when goals are met.
Real-time impact tracking gives visibility into business success and fund utilization.
Hybrid investing model supports community-driven growth with financial security.

Pain Points

Lack of structured milestone tracking in local business investing.
Difficult to verify how funds are used post-investment.
Few real-time updates on business progress and impact.
Traditional investments lack community engagement opportunities.

Investment Range

$2,500 – $20,000 per year—David and Sarah diversify across multiple local businesses, prioritizing stable, community-focused investments with clear growth potential.

Engagement Level

Active—regularly attends local business events, engages with founders, and follows business progress to ensure their investments create meaningful impact.

Customer journeys

From discovery to reinvestment

Each journey maps the decisions, proof points, and feedback loops that move an investor from evaluating an opportunity to tracking its progress and investing again.

Local community investors — discovery to portfolio growth around milestone-based funding.

01 / 03

Competitive analysis

Where the concept sits

The feature comparison mapped the concept against the categories investors already use — institutional funds, micro-lending, and rewards crowdfunding.

Feature	Aspire (concept)	Institutional funds	Micro-lending	Rewards crowdfunding
Investment model	Decentralized, milestone-based funding on blockchain	Large-scale institutional funds	Peer-to-peer micro-loans	Reward-based crowdfunding
Funding mechanism	Smart contracts release funds in tranches	Pooled funds managed by firms	Direct microloans to entrepreneurs	Lump-sum funding upfront
Investor type	Retail and impact investors	Institutional and high-net-worth	Socially conscious individuals	Consumers and early adopters
Returns	ROI through milestone-based payouts	Long-term appreciation / dividends	No financial return, repayment only	No financial return, only rewards
Accountability	CPA-audited milestones gate disbursement	Corporate governance, fiduciary oversight	Community trust-based lending	No enforcement of project success
Liquidity	Real-time milestone tracking and reinvestment	Limited until fund withdrawal	Funds repaid over time	Funds are a donation

The process

Full lifecycle

01
Generative research. Defining the problem through a problem statement and vision document.
02
Design. Competitive analysis informing wireframes, then high-fidelity visuals in ever-increasing detail.
03
Evaluative research. Qualitative and quantitative user trials measuring the success of the design.
04
Refine & build. Refinements from trial insights, then a working React/TypeScript prototype I coded and shipped myself.

The takeaway

Complex mechanics, calm interface

Aspire demonstrates fintech UX at full depth: smart contracts, stablecoins, and milestone verification translated into an interface a first-time investor can read. I ran the entire design lifecycle — research, personas, journeys, competitive analysis, and finished visuals — on one of the hardest trust problems in product design.

Fictional UX/UI portfolio project only. Never launched or operated. Nothing shown is an offer, sale, or solicitation of securities, tokens, or any other financial product, and nothing constitutes investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. All performance data is fictional and does not represent actual or expected results.