IFundWomen is the go-to funding platform for women entrepreneurs providing access to capital through crowdfunding and small business grants.
Challenge
IFundWomen is in the business of facilitating enterprise grants for women entrepreneurs. To address the specific requirements of our partners who prefer to direct grants to particular industries, we introduced the IFundWomen Universal Grant application. In response to the high demand for the right applicants, we implemented a temporary solution using Typeform.
The challenge we face arises from asking identical questions during both the account creation process and the Universal Grant application. This situation not only leads to inaccuracies in the data collected but also results in duplicated efforts for both the applicants and the reviewers. It is crucial to resolve this issue to ensure a more efficient, accurate, and user-friendly grant application process.
Goals
- Increase Account Creation Completion Rate: Our first aim is to enhance the user experience to ensure a higher number of users successfully complete the account creation process. We want to reduce any friction or obstacles that might deter potential grant seekers from signing up and applying.
- Streamline and Eliminate Redundancy in Questions: To provide a more efficient and user-friendly experience, we intend to streamline the questions asked during account creation and grant application. This will help avoid redundancy and make the process more straightforward for our users.
- Establish a comprehensive IFundWomen account profile for each user: This effort will contribute to the development of a unified source of truth system for data purposes. Having a single, reliable data source will enable us to enhance our understanding of user preferences and behaviors, driving more personalized and effective user experiences.
Hypothesis
Through the integration of purposeful questions in the account creation process, we anticipate that we can facilitate our users' journey through their grant applications while simultaneously gaining valuable insights into their preferences for IFundWomen products. This knowledge will empower us to make informed adjustments that cater to the specific needs and interests of IFundWomen users.
User Research
Users have expressed the desire for a more streamlined approach where they can provide their information once and then simply add supplementary components when necessary. This user-driven solution aims to improve the efficiency and user experience for grant seekers, eliminating repetitive tasks and simplifying the application process.
"Why do we have to fill this out twice?"
"I accidentally put the wrong information on my application. Can I edit it?"
Approach
We introduced the questions during the account creation process to specifically address the reality that the majority of entrepreneurs visit IFundWomen with the primary goal of applying for brokered grants. This strategic approach ensures that we cater to the core motivation of our users, making their experience seamless from account creation to grant application.
Stakeholder Feedback
Incorporating feedback from the sales team, we have received a request to substitute one of the grant application questions with an IFundWomen product-related question. This change is intended to gain deeper insights into our users' preferences and what they most desire from IFundWomen. By aligning our understanding of user needs with our product roadmap, we can make more informed decisions to enhance our offerings.
Furthermore, we propose the implementation of multi-select answers for all of the IFundWomen products. This will enable us to systematically track and evaluate what new users require the most. This approach supports our commitment to providing a more tailored and user-centric experience for our community.
Outcomes
By combining the first three most important grant questions into a single step. This approach will effectively streamline the process for users who have already created an account and have started their grant application.
By doing so, we can eliminate the need for users to answer the same questions twice, making the process more efficient and user-friendly. This not only saves time for the user but also ensures a more accurate and hassle-free experience.
