UX & Product at Shorter Loop

Shorter Loop was an early-stage startup aiming to help product teams conduct continuous discovery and build better products. I joined as the sole UX Designer and was later promoted to Product Manager after leading market and user research efforts and proposing a new roadmap backed by survey data. During my time, we raised $250K in funding and acquired our first paying customer, giving me valuable 0-to-1 product experience.

Highlights

• Led transition from UX to Product by identifying a misalignment between roadmap and user needs, and stepping up to drive research, strategy, and planning.

• Initiated and executed user research including surveys and interviews that reshaped product direction.

• Proposed and validated new roadmap introducing collaboration features like whiteboarding and docs based on real user pain points.

• Integrated generative AI into the product, enabling automated feedback analysis, persona creation, and user story generation.

• Helped raise $250,000 in funding by aligning product strategy with market needs and showing a clear vision.

• 0 to 1 product experience including shaping the core offering, refining it through iterations, and successfully onboarding the first paying customer.

• Worked cross-functionally with design, engineering, founders, and marketing to bring ideas from research to production and launch.

• Led GTM preparation through demos, events, and continuous feedback collection to prepare the product for launch and scale

The Journey

Joining the Team

I joined Shorter Loop as the only UX designer when the company was still figuring out its direction. The product aimed to help teams do better product discovery, but something felt off. The roadmap didn’t reflect what real users actually needed, and our feature set lacked the clarity and depth needed to spark real adoption.

Discovering the Gaps

I started by talking to users, running surveys, and doing competitive analysis to understand what product teams were struggling with. The insight was clear: they wanted better ways to make sense of feedback, define problems, and collaborate without jumping across tools. These findings helped me reframe our internal conversations from “what features should we add” to “what are users trying to solve?”

Proposing a New Direction

Based on these insights, I proposed a revised roadmap that focused on solving core discovery and planning problems. One major theme was reducing tool fatigue teams were bouncing between documents, whiteboards, spreadsheets, and ticketing systems. I introduced ideas around lightweight docs, in-app collaboration, and structured strategy tools.

Together with the founder, we validated these ideas through more interviews and early prototypes. We moved fast but deliberately prioritising what aligned with user pain points and where we could differentiate. These changes gave us a clearer message and helped shift our positioning from just another feedback tool to a continuous discovery platform.

Designing from the Ground Up

I led the design of several new capabilities end to end from research and prototyping to testing and launch.

Some highlights:

• Launched the User Persona Canvas, helping teams align on who they’re building for

• Built the Feedback Manager, enabling structured feedback capture and linking to delivery

• Introduced an in-app product strategy framework to help teams move from objectives to solutions with more clarity

Each of these was designed in tight feedback loops with users and tested before shipping. I also collaborated with engineering on feasibility and worked with the founder on how these would be demoed and positioned externally.

Bringing in AI

As generative AI gained momentum, I explored how it could meaningfully assist teams. We started small - auto categorising feedback and summarising insights. Over time, we expanded this to generate personas, suggest ideas, and draft user stories. The goal was always the same: help teams go from raw feedback to structured planning with less manual effort.

These experiments became strong demo points and differentiators during early conversations with potential customers and investors.

Raising Funds and Building Traction

The strategic direction and clarity we gained helped us raise 250000 dollars in funding. More importantly, it gave us something real to show. Interest in demos picked up, and our trial sign ups began increasing. Teams were more engaged, asking follow up questions, and seeing potential in the platform.

I actively supported GTM efforts by shaping demo narratives, building walkthroughs, and highlighting use cases that resonated with different types of teams—from startups to education and enterprise.

Getting to 0 to 1

We signed our first paying customer and started onboarding more teams steadily. That moment wasn’t just a milestone - it was proof that the problems we were solving were real, and the way we were solving them made sense.

The transition from designer to product manager didn’t happen in a formal way. It happened because I kept following the problem, took initiative on direction, and became accountable not just for what we built, but why we were building it. That journey gave me real 0 to 1 product experience and shaped how I think, prioritize, and lead today.

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