My first UX project was an intense learn-by-doing experience as the co-founder of an early-stage gig economy app aiming to connect people with local van drivers.
I led the end-to-end UX for both sides of the platform — serving both customers and drivers — with a particular focus on the booking flow, payment experience, and creating a scalable foundation for future growth. Over 100+ drivers signed up in the first few months, showing early traction and validating the product's value.
Challenges to overcome
Balancing needs across a two-sided platform – The experience had to work seamlessly for both customers posting jobs and drivers accepting them, without one side feeling secondary
Establishing trust in a new service – With no brand recognition or driver network at launch, users needed strong cues to feel safe and confident using the platform
Designing for speed and clarity – As a mobile-native platform booking and accepting jobs needed to be fast, intuitive, and friction-free
Delivering a scalable foundation from scratch – Everything from user flows to UI elements had to be defined for MVP and beyond
UX Contributions
Mapped and designed core user journeys – Created intuitive, mobile-first flows for both customers and drivers to support smooth booking, matching, and communication
Built trust through UX writing and visual clarity – Designed clear pricing structures, service expectations, and driver profiles to help users feel confident in each transaction
Developed a modular, scalable UI framework – Ensured components could adapt to new features like payments, reviews, and job tracking without redesigning the whole system
Shaped MVP scope and delivery with developers – Partnered with engineers to prioritise features and ensure the experience was technically feasible within the resource constraints of an early-stage build
Impact
✅ 100+ van drivers onboarded in first few months, with minimal onboarding or training required
✅ Positive early feedback from both customers and drivers, especially around ease of use
✅ Set the foundations for a scalable, self-service marketplace model
✅ Became comfortable with failure, supercharging my growth mindset and UX skills
Key Learnings
It's essential to validate user needs before developing an idea to avoid making costly mistakes
Building a two-sided platform requires balancing different user needs without adding complexity
In early-stage products, clarity and simplicity matter more than polish — what matters is solving the core user task well
