ITALIANO
ENGLISH
Reduce friction: +3% conversions and -15% support requests in 8 hours.
How in just 8 hours of hackathon we transformed a complex onboarding process into a linear and intuitive flow for merchants.
Summary:
Results achieved:
New homepage and access flow dedicated to professionals, with clearer language and distinct calls to action.
Type of work:
navigation audit, UX analysis, rapid prototyping with a B2B perspective.
Delivery:
Narrative concept based on archetypes and interactive prototype of homepage + professional onboarding.
Team:
Giacomo Dalia with the support of Bikeen representatives during the hackathon.
My role:
UX/UI Designer – gathering insights, defining pain points, narrative ideation (“Sherpa”) and designing key flows.
Curiosity:
the entire project was developed in just eight hours, from the first interview to the final prototype.
Context:
The collaboration with Bikeen was born in a particular context: Design4Startups, a hackathon organized by LeVillage that presented us with a tough challenge – eight hours to gather insights, interview business representatives, understand the main friction points, and propose a concrete improvement to the experience.
Bikeen, a portal dedicated to the buying and selling of mid-to-high-end bicycles, despite the accolades received and a solid growth path (from the Media Star award in Milan to a crowdfunding round with the entry of the Intergea Group holding), faced a crucial dilemma: the platform worked well for individuals but struggled to convince professionals – retailers and rental points – to adopt it. These key figures, essential for building a sustainable ecosystem, were lost in a homepage that only spoke to those wanting to buy a bike.
A tight flow: from the meeting to the first insights
The rhythm of the hackathon imposed a precise schedule of activities. At the outset, we directly confronted Bikeen representatives: a developer, a communication officer, and, via a call, the CEO. That dialogue was crucial for gathering the first signals: on one hand, the solidity of the product, on the other, the difficulties in truly reaching the professional target.
From there, we moved to a rapid audit of the current design. Analyzing the homepage and navigation paths, it became clear how unbalanced the communication was towards individuals. Professionals landing on the site found no reference points: no dedicated claims, no CTAs guiding them to open a profile. The bulk of B2B conversions occurred thanks to the direct work of Bikeen sales agents, who proposed the platform to retailers, finding themselves forced to guide them step by step in opening a professional profile, thus compensating for the structural shortcomings of the site. An unsustainable model in the long term.
The situation worsened further at the registration stage: the path reserved for merchants was long and cumbersome, and especially deferred cost transparency to the last screen. It was precisely at that point that most drop-offs concentrated: data showed that over 40% of merchants abandoned the registration when costs were revealed at the last step. This not only generated distrust and frustration but also represented the most critical point of the funnel, where much of the potential for conversion was lost.
From analysis to archetypes
With the pain points clearly identified, the next step was to translate the problem into a narrative key capable of guiding messages and interface, making it clear to stakeholders what the goal we wanted to achieve was.
I introduced an approach based on archetypes, identifying two central figures:
The Explorer, embodying the spirit of the cyclist, freedom, and the outdoors.
The Guide, representing the need to accompany professionals through a simple and secure process.
I then humorously summarized these figures in the concept of the Sherpa, the guide of the Himalayas: someone who doesn’t walk for you but allows you to travel the path without getting lost. This metaphor made the concept of a platform that not only offers tools but makes them usable, accessible, and reassuring more identifiable, providing a clear direction for the redesign of the user experience.
The redesign proposal
With the Sherpa archetype as a compass, we tackled the proposal. The prototype overturned the logic of the homepage by first introducing a tab above the search bar.
This allowed distinguishing between buying, selling, and renting, making it immediately identifiable which path to take based on the need. Since those selling can be either individuals or merchants, we provided a clear fork, highlighting each target's path right from the start.
The professional flow, which previously lacked clarity, was rethought to open immediately with a set of evident advantages: sales assistance, dedicated support, and better traceability of the sales point.
The registration was reduced to three linear steps, eliminating the cognitive overload of the old complex and demotivating single form. The most significant change was to bring forward the presentation of pricing plans, before data entry, as previously, users were asked to enter personal data before revealing costs, creating a critical drop-off point and undermining user trust. With the new approach, the experience is more transparent and the conversion path smoother.
In just a few hours, we managed to transform a dispersive process into a visual narrative capable of guiding professionals from interest to action, without forcing them to continually rely on the help of sales agents.
Results
Despite the "experimental" nature of the hackathon, the solution was implemented on the platform and the data collected in the following months confirmed the effectiveness of the work:
+3 percentage points in the B2B conversion rate (from 12% to 15%), thanks to more visible CTAs and a clearer informational path.
-15% in support requests, resulting from small improvements already introduced immediately after the event, such as more direct claims and simplified buttons.
+7% average time on onboarding pages, a sign that users were no longer getting lost but were delving deeper into the content.
Positive qualitative feedback: sales agents reported a significant decrease in requests for “improvised tutorials,” confirming that the platform finally managed to speak for itself to professionals.
Conclusions
The hackathon with Bikeen demonstrated how a time constraint can be an accelerator. The sequence – confrontation with representatives, rapid audit, definition of archetypes, redesign – was key to achieving a concrete result in just eight hours.
The concept of the Sherpa did not remain just a creative metaphor: it became a true product direction, capable of making Bikeen a reliable guide for professionals and reducing dependence on commercial support.
In this sense, the experience was not just a design exercise under pressure, but the beginning of a path that has concretely improved the adoption of the platform in its most strategic segment.
ITALIANO
ENGLISH
Reduce friction: +3% conversions and -15% support requests in 8 hours.
How in just 8 hours of hackathon we transformed a complex onboarding process into a linear and intuitive flow for merchants.
Summary:
Results achieved:
New homepage and access flow dedicated to professionals, with clearer language and distinct calls to action.
Type of work:
navigation audit, UX analysis, rapid prototyping with a B2B perspective.
Delivery:
Narrative concept based on archetypes and interactive prototype of homepage + professional onboarding.
Team:
Giacomo Dalia with the support of Bikeen representatives during the hackathon.
My role:
UX/UI Designer – gathering insights, defining pain points, narrative ideation (“Sherpa”) and designing key flows.
Curiosity:
the entire project was developed in just eight hours, from the first interview to the final prototype.
Context:
The collaboration with Bikeen was born in a particular context: Design4Startups, a hackathon organized by LeVillage that presented us with a tough challenge – eight hours to gather insights, interview business representatives, understand the main friction points, and propose a concrete improvement to the experience.
Bikeen, a portal dedicated to the buying and selling of mid-to-high-end bicycles, despite the accolades received and a solid growth path (from the Media Star award in Milan to a crowdfunding round with the entry of the Intergea Group holding), faced a crucial dilemma: the platform worked well for individuals but struggled to convince professionals – retailers and rental points – to adopt it. These key figures, essential for building a sustainable ecosystem, were lost in a homepage that only spoke to those wanting to buy a bike.
A tight flow: from the meeting to the first insights
The rhythm of the hackathon imposed a precise schedule of activities. At the outset, we directly confronted Bikeen representatives: a developer, a communication officer, and, via a call, the CEO. That dialogue was crucial for gathering the first signals: on one hand, the solidity of the product, on the other, the difficulties in truly reaching the professional target.
From there, we moved to a rapid audit of the current design. Analyzing the homepage and navigation paths, it became clear how unbalanced the communication was towards individuals. Professionals landing on the site found no reference points: no dedicated claims, no CTAs guiding them to open a profile. The bulk of B2B conversions occurred thanks to the direct work of Bikeen sales agents, who proposed the platform to retailers, finding themselves forced to guide them step by step in opening a professional profile, thus compensating for the structural shortcomings of the site. An unsustainable model in the long term.
The situation worsened further at the registration stage: the path reserved for merchants was long and cumbersome, and especially deferred cost transparency to the last screen. It was precisely at that point that most drop-offs concentrated: data showed that over 40% of merchants abandoned the registration when costs were revealed at the last step. This not only generated distrust and frustration but also represented the most critical point of the funnel, where much of the potential for conversion was lost.
From analysis to archetypes
With the pain points clearly identified, the next step was to translate the problem into a narrative key capable of guiding messages and interface, making it clear to stakeholders what the goal we wanted to achieve was.
I introduced an approach based on archetypes, identifying two central figures:
The Explorer, embodying the spirit of the cyclist, freedom, and the outdoors.
The Guide, representing the need to accompany professionals through a simple and secure process.
I then humorously summarized these figures in the concept of the Sherpa, the guide of the Himalayas: someone who doesn’t walk for you but allows you to travel the path without getting lost. This metaphor made the concept of a platform that not only offers tools but makes them usable, accessible, and reassuring more identifiable, providing a clear direction for the redesign of the user experience.
The redesign proposal
With the Sherpa archetype as a compass, we tackled the proposal. The prototype overturned the logic of the homepage by first introducing a tab above the search bar.
This allowed distinguishing between buying, selling, and renting, making it immediately identifiable which path to take based on the need. Since those selling can be either individuals or merchants, we provided a clear fork, highlighting each target's path right from the start.
The professional flow, which previously lacked clarity, was rethought to open immediately with a set of evident advantages: sales assistance, dedicated support, and better traceability of the sales point.
The registration was reduced to three linear steps, eliminating the cognitive overload of the old complex and demotivating single form. The most significant change was to bring forward the presentation of pricing plans, before data entry, as previously, users were asked to enter personal data before revealing costs, creating a critical drop-off point and undermining user trust. With the new approach, the experience is more transparent and the conversion path smoother.
In just a few hours, we managed to transform a dispersive process into a visual narrative capable of guiding professionals from interest to action, without forcing them to continually rely on the help of sales agents.
Results
Despite the "experimental" nature of the hackathon, the solution was implemented on the platform and the data collected in the following months confirmed the effectiveness of the work:
+3 percentage points in the B2B conversion rate (from 12% to 15%), thanks to more visible CTAs and a clearer informational path.
-15% in support requests, resulting from small improvements already introduced immediately after the event, such as more direct claims and simplified buttons.
+7% average time on onboarding pages, a sign that users were no longer getting lost but were delving deeper into the content.
Positive qualitative feedback: sales agents reported a significant decrease in requests for “improvised tutorials,” confirming that the platform finally managed to speak for itself to professionals.
Conclusions
The hackathon with Bikeen demonstrated how a time constraint can be an accelerator. The sequence – confrontation with representatives, rapid audit, definition of archetypes, redesign – was key to achieving a concrete result in just eight hours.
The concept of the Sherpa did not remain just a creative metaphor: it became a true product direction, capable of making Bikeen a reliable guide for professionals and reducing dependence on commercial support.
In this sense, the experience was not just a design exercise under pressure, but the beginning of a path that has concretely improved the adoption of the platform in its most strategic segment.
ITALIANO
ENGLISH
Reduce friction: +3% conversions and -15% support requests in 8 hours.
How in just 8 hours of hackathon we transformed a complex onboarding process into a linear and intuitive flow for merchants.
Summary:
Results achieved:
New homepage and access flow dedicated to professionals, with clearer language and distinct calls to action.
Type of work:
navigation audit, UX analysis, rapid prototyping with a B2B perspective.
Delivery:
Narrative concept based on archetypes and interactive prototype of homepage + professional onboarding.
Team:
Giacomo Dalia with the support of Bikeen representatives during the hackathon.
My role:
UX/UI Designer – gathering insights, defining pain points, narrative ideation (“Sherpa”) and designing key flows.
Curiosity:
the entire project was developed in just eight hours, from the first interview to the final prototype.
Context:
The collaboration with Bikeen was born in a particular context: Design4Startups, a hackathon organized by LeVillage that presented us with a tough challenge – eight hours to gather insights, interview business representatives, understand the main friction points, and propose a concrete improvement to the experience.
Bikeen, a portal dedicated to the buying and selling of mid-to-high-end bicycles, despite the accolades received and a solid growth path (from the Media Star award in Milan to a crowdfunding round with the entry of the Intergea Group holding), faced a crucial dilemma: the platform worked well for individuals but struggled to convince professionals – retailers and rental points – to adopt it. These key figures, essential for building a sustainable ecosystem, were lost in a homepage that only spoke to those wanting to buy a bike.
A tight flow: from the meeting to the first insights
The rhythm of the hackathon imposed a precise schedule of activities. At the outset, we directly confronted Bikeen representatives: a developer, a communication officer, and, via a call, the CEO. That dialogue was crucial for gathering the first signals: on one hand, the solidity of the product, on the other, the difficulties in truly reaching the professional target.
From there, we moved to a rapid audit of the current design. Analyzing the homepage and navigation paths, it became clear how unbalanced the communication was towards individuals. Professionals landing on the site found no reference points: no dedicated claims, no CTAs guiding them to open a profile. The bulk of B2B conversions occurred thanks to the direct work of Bikeen sales agents, who proposed the platform to retailers, finding themselves forced to guide them step by step in opening a professional profile, thus compensating for the structural shortcomings of the site. An unsustainable model in the long term.
The situation worsened further at the registration stage: the path reserved for merchants was long and cumbersome, and especially deferred cost transparency to the last screen. It was precisely at that point that most drop-offs concentrated: data showed that over 40% of merchants abandoned the registration when costs were revealed at the last step. This not only generated distrust and frustration but also represented the most critical point of the funnel, where much of the potential for conversion was lost.
From analysis to archetypes
With the pain points clearly identified, the next step was to translate the problem into a narrative key capable of guiding messages and interface, making it clear to stakeholders what the goal we wanted to achieve was.
I introduced an approach based on archetypes, identifying two central figures:
The Explorer, embodying the spirit of the cyclist, freedom, and the outdoors.
The Guide, representing the need to accompany professionals through a simple and secure process.
I then humorously summarized these figures in the concept of the Sherpa, the guide of the Himalayas: someone who doesn’t walk for you but allows you to travel the path without getting lost. This metaphor made the concept of a platform that not only offers tools but makes them usable, accessible, and reassuring more identifiable, providing a clear direction for the redesign of the user experience.
The redesign proposal
With the Sherpa archetype as a compass, we tackled the proposal. The prototype overturned the logic of the homepage by first introducing a tab above the search bar.
This allowed distinguishing between buying, selling, and renting, making it immediately identifiable which path to take based on the need. Since those selling can be either individuals or merchants, we provided a clear fork, highlighting each target's path right from the start.
The professional flow, which previously lacked clarity, was rethought to open immediately with a set of evident advantages: sales assistance, dedicated support, and better traceability of the sales point.
The registration was reduced to three linear steps, eliminating the cognitive overload of the old complex and demotivating single form. The most significant change was to bring forward the presentation of pricing plans, before data entry, as previously, users were asked to enter personal data before revealing costs, creating a critical drop-off point and undermining user trust. With the new approach, the experience is more transparent and the conversion path smoother.
In just a few hours, we managed to transform a dispersive process into a visual narrative capable of guiding professionals from interest to action, without forcing them to continually rely on the help of sales agents.
Results
Despite the "experimental" nature of the hackathon, the solution was implemented on the platform and the data collected in the following months confirmed the effectiveness of the work:
+3 percentage points in the B2B conversion rate (from 12% to 15%), thanks to more visible CTAs and a clearer informational path.
-15% in support requests, resulting from small improvements already introduced immediately after the event, such as more direct claims and simplified buttons.
+7% average time on onboarding pages, a sign that users were no longer getting lost but were delving deeper into the content.
Positive qualitative feedback: sales agents reported a significant decrease in requests for “improvised tutorials,” confirming that the platform finally managed to speak for itself to professionals.
Conclusions
The hackathon with Bikeen demonstrated how a time constraint can be an accelerator. The sequence – confrontation with representatives, rapid audit, definition of archetypes, redesign – was key to achieving a concrete result in just eight hours.
The concept of the Sherpa did not remain just a creative metaphor: it became a true product direction, capable of making Bikeen a reliable guide for professionals and reducing dependence on commercial support.
In this sense, the experience was not just a design exercise under pressure, but the beginning of a path that has concretely improved the adoption of the platform in its most strategic segment.