Neat Work Platform Development
Led 0-to-1 product development for an internal networking platform that achieved 90% adoption and helped secure a $4M seed round.
Project Snapshot
Neat Work (via Philosophie)
B2B SaaS & HR Tech
February 2018 - October 2018
Product Strategist & Engagement Lead
React, Ruby on Rails, PostgreSQL, RESTful APIs, Agile Development
Product Strategy, 0-to-1 Development, Customer Discovery, Fundraising Support
Cross-functional team of 7: Product Strategist (myself), 2 Founders, 2-3 Developers, 1 Designer, 1 Product Manager
What It Was
A B2B platform designed to solve employee engagement and retention problems in large corporations. Neat Work created an internal social network where employees could discover and create opportunities like projects, events, and learning experiences with colleagues from other departments. The goal was to help employees network, upskill, and find better-fitting roles within their company rather than leaving for external opportunities.
What I Did
- Led the entire project from initial concept through customer launch and fundraising preparation
- Designed and facilitated 2-day kickoff workshops to establish product vision, create personas, and identify key risks and assumptions
- Guided founders through product strategy, feature prioritization, and technical decision-making throughout development
- Set up Agile development process with 2-week sprints, story pointing, and burn-up charts to track progress against fixed deadlines
- Conducted customer discovery research to validate assumptions and refine user personas for both buyers and end users
- Contributed to frontend development using React and Ruby on Rails to add final polish before launch
- Managed stakeholder communication and coordinated cross-functional team of designers, developers, and founders
Platform interface for discovering and creating workplace opportunities
What Came Out of It
- Successfully launched on schedule with first customer pilot at a 600-person company achieving 90% employee adoption
- Maintained strong engagement metrics with 60% monthly active users and 20% daily active users over 6 months
- Iterated based on pilot feedback to strengthen product-market fit and prepare for broader market expansion
- Helped Neat Work secure $4M seed round led by Slack Fund, validating the product vision and business model
- Generated significant equity returns for Philosophie when investors bought out the agency's stake, making it the most profitable project of 2018
What I Learned
Structured project kickoffs are critical for 0-to-1 products. Taking time upfront to align vision, identify risks, and build team trust pays huge dividends throughout development. Story pointing becomes especially powerful when working with fixed deadlines because it enables objective scope negotiations. Constantly reinforcing experiment goals helps teams ruthlessly prioritize features and stay focused on what actually matters for proving the business hypothesis.
Building a 0-to-1 Product?
Need help getting your MVP ready for customers or investors?