How I got 700+ followers and 50 users in beta for a
new auto community website
Role
Founder, Product Designer, Product Manager
Team
Product Designer, Product Manager, Engineering
Overview
Vinstripe is a project car sharing platform designed for auto enthusiasts to showcase their builds, discover events, connect with like-minded individuals, and gain industry insights—all in one place.
Problem Statement
Automotive enthusiasts struggle to find events when traveling, connecting with other enthusiasts, sharing their work and knowledge in the auto industry. Auto events are scattered all over the internet, and Facebook and Instagram just aren’t a good way to connect with others.
Research and Discovery
To initiate the research, I distributed a survey to gather insights on how users engage with car projects, their roles in the industry, and the difficulties they face. The survey results helped refine our interview questions and uncover recurring themes, ensuring meaningful conversations. Based on the responses, I interviewed 20+ users to gain a deeper understanding of their challenges with existing products.
The survey shows what people do with cars, how long they have worked on cars, and how many they have ever worked on. This survey also included age, gender, and other items like income and location.
User Personas
Based on the interviews, I developed user personas to define our target audience. Analysis of survey responses and interviews revealed that the typical user is a male between the ages of 25 and 60.
Survey
I sent out a survey to assess what people are doing when they work on cars, how long they've been working on them, the number of cars they work on, type of work, where they go to buy/sell parts, how much they spend and more.
Examples and Quotes
"We always pick a spot to stop along the way, chat for a bit, take photos with a nice backdrop and get on our way."
– William Cuddy, 58, Ireland, Model T Club
"My auto community wants to interact with others that share their passion. There's a unique culture where everyone is able to collaborate and connect."
– Alex Baker, 19, JMU'24, Madison Motorsports Club
Analyzing Feedback
From the interviews and feedback we analyzed, there are 3 major pain points in the industry:
1. There isn't a good place to share the work people do on their car, and share the progress from start to finish.
2. Events are scattered all over the place and it's hard to see everything that is going on
3. Rare parts are hard to find, and there's also no good way to learn how to make updates on your car, make repairs etc.
Based on this feedback, I knew I had to create a platform that had all of this in one spot. A place to share project cars, find events on a map or sort by dates, and buy/sell rare parts to unique cars.
Wireframes and Mockups
I created wireframes using Adobe XD, including pages for events, and one for project cars, as well as a place to find rare parts in a marketplace.
Beta Testing and Signups
Before launching, we built a landing page for user pre-registration, gathering 50+ sign-ups in two weeks to gauge interest. I also created social media pages, growing them to 600+ followers in less than a year. With strong early traction, we moved forward with development, preparing for a beta launch in March/April 2022.
We ended up getting 40+ people to add their car to the platform. We continued speaking with these users to hear their thoughts on what they like and don't like about the site.
Update: I have unfortunately decided to cease work with Vinstripe. I hope to transition it to something else or continue building and growing the platform in the future!