< Projects

How to Solve Meeting Culture

MY ROLE | Co-founder / Product Lead:

  • Generated the initial idea for the product

  • Defined go-to-market strategy

  • Interviewed target users to better define the problem space & uncover opportunities

  • Created design prototypes to showcase product vision + scaled down MVP

  • Worked with co-founders to build working MVP based on prototypes

  • Created one-pager, PRD, pitch deck, MVP scope

  • Participated in the Buildspace Nights and Weekends creator program

DURATION | ~4 months (part-time weekend side project)

IMPACT |
Accepted into Antler, an investment program for startup founders.
Generated a waitlist of 10+ users and 3 companies interested in joining our Beta program.

DIRECT STAKEHOLDERS | 2 technical co-founders

METHODOLOGIES | Figma prototyping, Moderated interviews, Unmoderated interviews, Concept Evaluation

 

A quick intro/demo I created for Buildspace.

 
 
 
 

Design prototypes created by myself in Figma. Rapid iterations allowed us to design, evaluate with users, and quickly make improvements, as well as explore different options for our MVP. Please contact me for links to the prototypes.

 
 

Background & problem

Meetings mostly suck. What makes a meeting “good” or “bad?” A simple solution might be able to improve meeting culture company-wide, so we set out to build it. Read the one-pager I wrote below:

 
 
 

Desired outcomes

  1. Better meetings

  2. Less meetings

  3. Less time in meetings

 
 

methods

semi-structured interviews

  • What most gets in the way of your productivity at work?

  • Can you describe meeting culture at your company?

  • Has your company taken any initiatives to improve meeting culture? If so, what have they done? Has it worked?

  • From your perspective, what makes a meeting “good” or “bad?”

concept evaluation

After conducting the interview, I would introduce our business idea / product concept to get feedback on the overall idea. I would then send them a link to our prototype and ask them to complete a basic task.

We wrapped up the session with some follow-up questions to get their feedback on not only the overall solution, but also specific design decisions.

 
 
 

key findings

users are hesitant to say “no” to meetings

Often this is due to the meeting scheduler being more senior, or due to the social stigma around turning down a meeting.

“Even if I know it will probably be a waste of time, I still go”

Product decision: Empower users to give meeting feedback before the meeting even occurs & reduce the social stigma around turning down meeting invites

  • Ask for more details on agenda and/or role

  • Allow users to anonymously say “this should be an email”

  • Include an RSVP option: “Message me if you need me to hop on the meeting, but otherwise I will continue working”

 

meeting setup needs to be easy, but not too easy

When meetings can be created in 10 seconds, they will be. And the quality of that meeting will suffer because of it. We need to add friction to the meeting creation process without making it difficult or frustrating to create a meeting.

Product decision: Reduce the friction (amount of clicks / typing) by using AI/ML/Templates to complete some of the annoying parts of meeting setup; add friction where it matters.

  • Ask users what type of meeting they want to setup, and provide a template to make agenda creation easier

  • Use AI/ML to scan a users’ recent contacts & provide suggestions for attendees

  • Encourage users to slow down and review their meeting details before proceeding to the next step — find the delicate balance between creating quickly and creating intentionally

 
 

Job Map depicting the end-to-end product.

 

We are no longer pursuing this idea for a multitude of reasons. Please reach out to me for more information: nathanyoung253@gmail.com