Technology

Feasibility

Busines
Human Values s
Desirability Viability
Usability

Helping Build Great Web + Mobile

Product Management Services Products
For Startups
Quicksand Design + Innovation
Mobile & Web Startups need to scale
quickly
size of network

critical time
mass

Network Economies... ...leading to consolidation

Great products can help startups achieve scale

through
Higher Customer Conversion (from awareness)
Customer Loyalty (not leaving)
Customer Contagion (telling your friends with/without incentives)
Great products need multi-disciplinary
inputs
Product Management

Business Technology Design

•A genuine need •Appropriate •User empathy &

being addressed architecture deep insight
•Viable business • •
case •Bug free execution •Visual design
•Understanding of • •
macro trends and •Satisfying •Usability
industry performance •
•Constant benchmarks and
improvement through expectations
analytics etc.
•

However, many startups lack this multi-

disciplinary approach to products.
 Reasons for sub-optimal product management
The Genesis Of Startups

•2 engineers come together to start a startup. They have less than perfect understanding of customer
research / analytics / usability.
•2 IIM batchmates come together. Plan the venture by spreadsheet without a deep focus on actual
customer activities or the importance of great design.
•

A Lack Of Understanding

•First time web / mobile entrepreneurs in India may not understand what product management is about or
even the individual disciplines of user research / design / usability / elements of technology
•
Flawed Beliefs + Misaligned
Incentives
•The ready, fire , aim philosophy
•Mistaking activity / business for effectiveness (very common startup syndrome)
•“Research is expensive”
•Iterative development means that you will ultimately figure the right product / market mix
•Hiring a product manager is not worth it pre positive cash flow
•Product management services are an expensive and unnecessary overhead
•External consulting firms that might be brought on time to time haven’t been part of VC funded startups,
don’t understand the culture and have no stake in the long term success of the business
•

Cost Constraints At Startups

Quicksand Product Management Services
Quicksand Understands Startups + Entrepreneurship Really
Well
Between the Quicksand team, we’ve founded or
been part of the founding teams at 6
ventures: VC funded + bootstrapped.

We understand the constraints that startups work

under and also the constant tinkering /
experimentation and self belief that startups need
to succeed.

We feel passionately about new ideas and are

launching our Product Management services to
partner with high-potential startups in India and
help them succeed.
Quicksand Product Management Services

Product Management

Product Roadmap definition

Product Roadmap Ownership: Definition + ownership

Business + Technology + Design

Macro research + Liaison with technology Visual Design

competition tracking teams

Technology partner
User research + insights Usability + Interaction
selection +management

Analytics implementation +
ongoing management
 Engagement Models: Tech-Heavy Startups
Model 1
We assume total ownership
for the product wrt
business + design aspects

Model 2a Model 3a
We assume
responsibility for
Business Design We assume
responsibility for
the user insights, the visual design
macro research & Macro research + Usability + Interaction + interface
competition tracking
analytics
Visual Design Model 3b
User research + insights
Model 2b We do fixed
We do fixed Analytics implementation
outcome consulting
outcome consulting + ongoing management engagements on
engagements on design and
this. usability
 Engagement Models: Business Heavy Startups
Model 1
We assume total ownership of the
product wrt technology + design
aspects

Model 3a
Model 2a We assume
We assume Technology Design responsibility for
responsibility for the visual design
managing the Liaison with technology Usability + Interaction + interface
technology function teams
including vendor Visual Design Model 3b
selection and Technology partner We do fixed
management selection
+management outcome consulting
Model 2b engagements on
We do fixed outcome design and
consulting usability
engagements on this
Collaboration Modes

Service Fee Reduced Fee Equity

+
Equity

For an appropriate For startups with

Quicksand engages high potential, in
as a consultant and equity stake,
Quicksand reduces our areas that we are
charges a project excited about, we
based service fee or service fees
take an equity-only
a retainer remuneration.
About Quicksand
Team
Business
Nirat Bhatnagar: ~ 7 years of product management
experience in VC funded startups, management
consulting. Founder: Chahiye.info / Good Crowds .
Founding employee: Isango. Online travel startup
with USD 12 million in funding. Headed Marketing
with SEM / Product Management / Analytics
responsibility. IIM Bangalore. IIT Kharagpur.
Ayush Chauhan: ~ 8 years exp in product and
service innovation. Founder Quicksand Design.
Deep experience in design research + design led
innovation with clients such as Google, PATH
(Gates Foundation ), Cisco, Coca Cola. IIM
Ahmedabad. IIT Delhi.
Babitha George: ~ 8 yrs experience in
innovation, creative arts, education. She has
worked for PepsiCo, iDiscoveri, Nicholas Piramal
and The Azim Premji Foundation before deciding
to pursue her interests in the creative arts and
design-led innovation at Quicksand. Managed
design led innovation projects for clients such
as International Youth Foundation (Quest
Alliance), Cisco etc. IIM Ahmedabad.
Design + Research
Rajesh Dahiya: ~ 11 years experience in interaction,
brand and graphics design. Graphic Design graduate from
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India and
attended the masters program in human-computer
interaction design at the Interaction Design Institute,
Ivrea, Italy. Has worked extensively in areas of brand
communication and human-technology interaction with
Infosys and Human Factors International. Rajesh leads
Brand Development and User Experience.
Mohor Ray: ~ 5 years of experience in brand
development , visual design and communication
experiences in real and virtual spaces. Mohor leads
brand communication projects. NID Ahmedabad: Graphic
Design
Avinash Kumar: ~ 10 years of experience in user
research + product innovation. Leads Design Research at
Quicksand. Deep experience in study users in urban /
rural contexts. VJ with highly acclaimed electronic
music band called B.L.O.
Neha Singh: ~4 years of experience in design resarch +
product innovation. . She has led user research
projects with clients such as PATH (Gates Foundation),
Cisco, Ideo etc.
Rikta Krishnaswamy: Product Design graduate from the
Symbiosis Institute Of Design, Pune. At Quicksand, Rikta
has been a key design researcher on the Path, Safe
Water project. She has also been part of conceptual
design projects for organizations such as Nokia and
Renault
What Does This Mean ?

We are able to bring a very

eclectic, multi-disciplinary
and creative approach to
problem solving, innovation &
new product development.
Our Existing Service Offerings
Experience Blueprints
Ethnographic Research
Rich Media Documentation
Synthesis leading to deep user
insights

Consumer
Insights

Brand Product
Innovation Innovation

Brand Experience Architecture User-centered product & service

Visual Identity creation
Packaging Product / service prototyping
Spaces Co-creation workshops
Select Work Within User Insights + Product
Innovation + Usability
Case Studies
Product Management, Marketing + Analytics / Isango.com (Nirat
has deep experience with Isango. This was not a Quicksand client)

Isango.com is a leading online

travel startup that aggregates and
sells “travel experiences” across
the world to a global audience.
With around 3,500 products in over
70 countries, Isango is one of the
largest sellers of such experiences
globally.

It has offices in UK & India and

has raised ~ USD 12 million of VC
money so far.

Nirat was the founding employee at

Isangoand headed multiple
responsibilities such as online
marketing, product management &
user insights (a combination of web
analytics + customer research).

Through such activities, the

booking run rate increased to
around 60 / day .
New Product Development (AP, India) / Client: Safe Water Project, Path

PATH is an international non-profit that creates

sustainable, culturally relevant solutions enabling
communities to break long standing cycles of poor health.
As part of a global project on Safe Water, Quicksand was
commissioned to:
•Document and understand user experiences around
household water treatment and storage (HWTS) products for
low income consumer groups in India
•Recommend design interventions at a systems level that
can mobilize uptake and sustained use of HWTS products
and practices
•Leverage the study findings to develop a reference
design in collaboration with engineering, technology and
manufacturing teams spread over India, US and China
New Product Development (AP, India) / Client: Safe Water Project, Path
 Fuzzy Front End of Mobile Products / Client: Google, USA

Google’s product development efforts in India entailed a

research study to document people’s information needs and
identify viable new opportunities for the brand. A design
research study* was conducted amongst users in the
cities of Surat & Mumbai, who had unusual information
needs. Research teams included designers, Google’s user
experience group from Mountain View, California and their
product R&D teams from Bangalore, India.

Screenshots from
research films > {

* Project details with-held as falling under an NDA >

 Design Research For Mobile Phones / Client: IDEO (US+UK)

Design firm IDEO is one of world’s most respected

design studios & ranked amongst the most
innovative companies globally.

Projects with IDEO * entail managing and

facilitating design research for global mobile
services brands in emerging markets such as
India. Services rendered include:

* research planning & design

* ethnographic research
* cultural guiding
* rich media documentation
* data synthesis

Research formats range from shadowing sessions to

fly-on-the-wall observations, contextual inquiries,
group sessions and usually involve a combined
design team of the two studios.

* Project details with-held as falling under an NDA >

 User-Centered Mobile Interfaces / Client: Sony
Ericsson

Earlier limited to metropolitan and large cities, mobile telephony is rapidly

becoming a part of rural India. The project was about using User Centered
Design principles to make cell phone interactions for Hindi speaking rural
India, a more comfortable, confident experience.

The project ran over several phases, starting from design research to develop
a holistic understanding of context and people. To then developing appropriate
inferences that would guide the design of prototype solutions. Paper
prototypes for these designs were created to test appropriate design elements.
These prototypes and designs have since been incorporated in Sony Ericsson’s
design strategy for India.

Major outcomes and findings of the project have been in interaction

constructs to support text entry in Devnagri, design of easier navigation
experience, and identifying factors affecting cell phone experience for Rural
Indians.
Enabling Communities. Client: Quest Alliance

The Videoshala project created by Drishti Media,

Video Volunteers and Udaan with the support of
the QUEST Alliance, has created four Education
Community Video Units (ECVUs) in partnership
with local NGOs in Gujarat. Locally trained
producers from the community produce educational
videos and screen them in schools. The videos
address difficult spots in the curriculum, while
stressing active learning and localised,
relevant content. Videoshala is more than just
an education technology project - it empowers
local communities to actively participate in the
education of their children.

Quicksand was called in to document and identify

what made this experiment unique. What is
currently evolving is a comprehensive document
that attempts to build an active narrative
besides identifying future design interventions
in the project.
Service Design for Rural Education / Client: One World South Asia
(1 )

• One World South Asia is an international non-profit working towards democratizing

technology. The Lifeline for Education program being managed by One World, intends
to provide academic support to teachers in rural schools in India using accessible
communication mediums like mobile phones.

• We were brought in as the design research & development team to evaluate the
unique aspects of Indian education, including constraints on rural schools,
teachers, children, parents and infrastructure.
 Service Design for Rural Education / Client: One World South Asia
(2 )

• The research in turn led to

design recommendations on:

• Collaboration platforms
between various
stakeholders

• Concepts for content delivery,

interaction and system
interfaces

• A future blueprint of the

program

• Internal & external

communication

• Develop & design a web-based

interface for knowledge
management
 VeloWala.org / Biennale Internationale Design @ Saint-
Etienne, France

VeloWala.org (velo=cycle; wala=person) is an online

rich media of bicycle-based commerce commerce in
India.

Created as an accompaniment to the ‘Sounds of

Velocommerce’ installation at the Biennale,
VeloWala.org is a virtual installation that pieces
together the ecosystem of velocommerce in India.

Velocommerce is special because it exists at the

intersection of entrepreneurship, mobility,
sustainability, cultures, local economies and
decentralization.
Service Concepts for Telecom Users / Independent Project

As part of our ongoing efforts to document our context

and publish independent studies, we did a quick two-day
research in rural and semi-urban centers to peek into
the lives of consumers and get comments from them on
their service providers and the mobile devices they used.

The experience was captured through film and photography,

and the following images reveal some of the initial
insights an approach like this can be used to glean. The
survey is a visual snapshot of the diversity of telecom
users in our cities, reinforcing the fact that the power
of social media, particularly for the uninitiated
consumer, is the most defining influence on the choices
they make.

The research intends to trigger a dialogue on service

design & innovation and re-focus the efforts on the
wellspring of a great brand & service – the consumer.
Product Branding & Interaction Design / Client: Equals

The brand development exercise for

Equals operates on 2 parallel tracks —
Brand Identity Program and Design in
product / services development . Holistic
systems - thinking allows for a focused
exchange of learning and experience
between the 2 tracks ( product
development and branding ) and enables
the building of a consistent brand
experience .

The Brand Identity Program for Equals is

constantly evolving to express new ideas.
Through its implementation, the brand becomes
a virtual assistant for the user through
varied touch-points, like web-based
interfaces, mobile application, print
advertisements, posters etc.

Product development through creation of user

interfaces contributes to the brand
development. A positive and unique experience
with the product translates into creating
value and mindshare for the brand in the
user’s mind.
Product Branding + Interaction Design. Client:
Equals

Equals is a new company developing

communication technologies that provide
users choice and control over their
communications life. The Equals brand houses
a group of constantly growing technology
products and applications that work across
communication channels for selected target
audiences and their needs.

Brand and interface development for Equals

was centered around the core idea of
humanizing technology and putting the user
in focus as the controller of his/her
communications universe.
 Interactive Brand Narratives In Retail. Client:
Levi’s

Heritage is a key component of

the Levi’s brand persona. To
involve the user with the brand
it was essential to engage
him/her closely with the
evolution of the brand over 16
decades of world history.
\
Scope of work included in-store
signage and product descriptors
which were developed to
establish the unique museum-
like character of this heritage
store
Interactive Brand Narratives In Retail. Client:
Levi’s
A critical interactive component of the
store was a history wall - a 34 ft long
wall that narrates the story of the Levi’s
brand through a graphic-rich archive of
advertisements, catalogs, letters and
milestone garments, running alongside
concurrent world history.

A seamless narrative was created that

engages the user with the brand’s
travelogue through time. A ‘smart’ touch-
screen, combined with customized
electronics, slides along the length of
the history wall and detects the decades
mapped on the wall to reveal detailed
information for corresponding decade.
 River of Time | Xylys Stores / Client: Titan | Bangalore,
Hyderabad, Mumbai

The River of Time is an innovative ,

interactive installation , designed and
installed in select Xylys stores . In the
spirit of the brand ’ s unconventional and
innovative approach to design , it
encourages in - store customer
interaction with a hands - on exhibit ,
celebrating time .

The installation consists of a virtual river

flowing endlessly, as an apt metaphor of time.
‘Smart’ objects in the form of leaves and
flowers float past in random order and on
touch open to reveal 50 visually rich stories
on numerous aspects of time. The stories were
developed from researched historical,
scientific and literary content on ‘time’. The
narratives were designed to communicate
complex notions through simple, engaging and
graphic animated shorts.
River of Time | Xylys Stores. Client: Titan | Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai