Carvi

Client Snapshot

• Industry: Automotive / Marketplace
• Services: Product Discovery · UX Research · Prototyping & Wireframing · UX/UI Design · Marketplace Platform Development · Mobile Apps · Cloud/DevOps
• Timeline: 2019–2021
• Team: 1 Frontend · 1 Backend · 1 PM · 2 UX/UI · Architect · DevOps
• Business outcome: Raised pre-seed 3 months after launch; marketplace engineered to scale

The Problem

Carvi was operating in a high-friction environment where users hesitate because of uncertainty: vehicle condition, pricing fairness, seller credibility, and unclear transaction steps. The platform needed to:

• Establish trust from first interaction using credible UX patterns and consistent information architecture.
• Reduce marketplace friction across browse → evaluate → shortlist → inspection → purchase/resale flows.
• Differentiate in a crowded market by delivering a better decision experience, not just listings.
• Ship fast and validate assumptions while building a scalable foundation that could support growth and fundraising.

The Solution

We designed the product as a trust-driven marketplace system, optimizing transparency, operational control, and user confidence.

• Product Discovery & UX Research: mapped the decision drivers and drop-off points in used-car journeys, translating insights into prioritized product requirements and flows.
• Prototyping & Wireframing: produced iterative prototypes for conversion-critical workflows, reducing rework and accelerating build velocity.
• UX/UI Design + Branding: created a credibility-first design language and UX system that makes information easier to evaluate and actions easier to complete.
• Marketplace Engineering (Platform + Apps): delivered a multi-surface product ecosystem aligned to marketplace operations and growth.
• Client-facing portal & marketplace platform: the primary web experience for browsing, evaluating, and transacting.
• Admin platform: internal tooling for operational control, listing management, workflow oversight, and marketplace governance.
• Mechanic app for inspections: a dedicated app to schedule and manage vehicle inspections, improving reliability and throughput of the inspection workflow.
• iOS / Android apps for users: mobile apps designed for discovery, evaluation, engagement, and action.

Results

• Fundraising acceleration: Carvi raised its pre-seed round 3 months after launch, supported by a product that communicated readiness, scalability, and execution capability.
• Marketplace built for scale: delivered a multi-platform ecosystem (client portal, admin, mechanic app, iOS/Android) designed to support growth in users, listings, and operations.
• Improved customer confidence: reduced the “information gap” common in used-car transactions through clearer UX and stronger trust signals.
• Competitive positioning: strengthened Carvi’s ability to compete via a differentiated product experience, not just supply.

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KPIs

Pre-seed raised — Funding secured 3 months after product launch

4 platforms — Client portal + Admin + Mechanic app + iOS/Android, all delivered 2019–2021

Trust-first UX — Reduced used-car transaction friction through credibility-driven design and information architecture

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Team & Delivery Model

• Architect / Tech Lead: System architecture, domain modeling for marketplace workflows, engineering standards, and technical direction across platform + mobile.
• DevOps Engineer: AWS/cloud infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, environment management, monitoring/alerting, and release hardening for scale.
• Backend Engineer: API and business-logic development, data modeling, integrations, marketplace operations workflows, and performance optimization.
• Frontend Engineer: Client-facing web portal implementation, UX execution, UI componentization, and cross-browser performance.
• UX/UI Designers: User research synthesis, end-to-end user flows, wireframes and high-fidelity UI, design system/components, prototyping, and developer handoff.
• Project Manager (PM): Sprint planning and delivery governance, backlog prioritization, requirements management, cross-functional coordination, timeline/scope control, and release coordination.
• Operating model: Agile, milestone-driven delivery with iterative releases, UX validation before build, and operational readiness built into the platform.

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