tulip.

Overview:

tulip. is a new platform that combines real estate and investing in a way that has never been seen before. Users are able to invest in boroughs instead of individual properties.

Problem:

Traditional real-estate problems include barriers to entry, a lot of paperwork and time wastage, ambiguity and scams, and geographic difficulties.

Solution:

Create a platform that has low barriers to entry, eliminates ambiguity through a safe app, convenience of an application, and no geographic limitations.

My Role:

Co-Lead UX Designer

Helped create the previous website, curated research form and interview guide, created wireframes and prototypes

Team:

  • 1 Project Manager

  • 2 UX Designers

  • 1 Graphic Designer

Timeline:

  • 6 months

  • Research: ~2 months

  • Wireframes + Prototyping: ~4 months

User Research

One of our first steps in gathering information and data was to see whether or not users would be interested in investing in real estate as well as how many people are already investing in real estate. We created a Google Form focusing on these questions and got responses from over 1000 people!

  1. Do you already invest in real estate?

  2. Do you invest in fractional real estate platforms such as REIT or fundrise?

  3. Why do you not invest in real estate currently?

  4. Are you interested in investing in real estate to boost your passive income?

  5. How much have you currently invested in fintech platforms (like Robin Hood, Acorn, PayPal…)

  6. Would you sign an LOI to invest in an app allowing you to invest in fractional real estate with no minimums and no risk or hassles of property ownership?

Research Conclusions

It was evident that many people did not know much about investing in real estate, but many people were interested. Almost all of the respondents from the Google Form said that they would sign a letter of interest for the creation of this application!

Persona(s):

Sketches

During the initial process of creating the application, we each created an iteration of sketches of what we had in mind for the app. The images on the right were some of the sketches that were incorporated into the final wireframes that we had created. These sketches created a base for us to begin the prototyping process.

Prototype

When creating the prototypes as seen below, we wanted to make sure that the design was seamless, easy to use, and extremely accessible. With the click of a couple of buttons, users are able to invest in a borough of their choice in New York City. This seamless design allows users to begin investing in real estate with no issues.

Reflection

Overall, my experience working with the tulip. team was very knowledgeable. We participated in an event offered by the University of Illinois called Cozad, which allowed us to present this idea to potential investors and sponsors. Not only did this opportunity help me develop my designing skills, but also my communication and marketing skills to promote this startup.