The Problem

Investment bankers traditionally relied on manual methods to gather insights on target companies, such as scanning newspapers for news about mergers or leadership changes. This process was time-consuming and prone to oversight. Additionally, there was no centralized way to track internal connections with target clients across departments, leading to missed opportunities. Finally, without a structured system to log interactions, leads often went cold, jeopardizing potential business opportunities. Initial user interviews also revealed a significant challenge: bankers perceived the app as a threat to their roles, creating resistance to the project.

The Solution

Through targeted user research and iterative design, we redefined the app’s focus to complement bankers rather than replace their expertise. Key features included:

1. News Aggregation: Automated retrieval of relevant news articles about target companies using keyword matches, providing up-to-date insights directly in the app.

2. Connection Insights: Integration with LinkedIn and internal email systems to reveal colleagues with shared contacts, fostering collaboration.

3. Interaction Tracking: A centralized log to save meetings and email correspondence with timestamps, ensuring leads remained active and visible.

4. User-Centric Approach: By addressing bankers’ concerns and framing the app as a tool to simplify their daily tasks, we shifted perceptions and built trust in the product.