Working Backwards: Defining the Experience
We started by simplifying the value proposition, ensuring the core concept resonated with both creators and curators. Once we validated messaging, the next step was designing a first-time experience that introduced users to the concept of a Crate—the fundamental unit of storytelling within the app.
A Crate is designed to tell a story. Through early user research, we realized that storytelling isn’t just about individual creators—it’s about the relationship between creators and curators. This insight led to a shift in strategy:
📌 Creators craft the narrative.
📌 Curators help refine, distribute, and group stories by topics or shared moments.
📌 Curators help refine, distribute, and group stories by topics or shared moments.
This dynamic unlocked new social behaviors that needed to be tested.
Mapping the Experience: From Concept to MVP
As we iterated on this framework, features started to emerge from real user learning. However, the process was far from linear. Each cycle of feedback refined and narrowed the feature set until we had a testable, lean MVP.
🎯 Key System Concepts
We introduced three core elements to structure content and interaction:
📦 Crates – The primary storytelling unit where content lives.
🗂 Collections – A place to save and organize content.
🔗 Clusters – The social layer where connections form.
🗂 Collections – A place to save and organize content.
🔗 Clusters – The social layer where connections form.
(Yes, we leaned hard into the C’s!)
By this point we had Beta Testers from BTS and Selena Gomez's Social Group. These entertainers unlocked user validation and feature priority.
learning and iterations started to happen quickly.
Iteration & MVP Launch
Through relentless testing, we stripped away the noise and built a true MVP that enabled:
✅ Decentralized content consumption, letting users experience stories in new ways.
✅ A creator-curator economy, ensuring both roles were incentivized.
✅ Documented moments, bridging ephemeral and lasting content for historical relevance.
✅ A creator-curator economy, ensuring both roles were incentivized.
✅ Documented moments, bridging ephemeral and lasting content for historical relevance.
Final Takeaways
By working backwards from the ideal user experience, we created a product that wasn’t just about sharing content—it was about preserving impact and rethinking digital storytelling.
Crate is more than an app—it’s a new way to document, categorize, and connect through stories. 🚀
I'd love to share more over a call, cheers!
