Strategic Design · Startup Collaboration · Ecosystem Innovation

The Warming Surfaces Company: Transforming ambiguity into actionable strategy

A case study in startup innovation - through workshops, ecosystem mapping, digital tool building, and narrative design.

Background picture of the HaliaLab project

Context & Brief

A project in collaboration with EIT Europe, D-Accelerate and IDBM, in which industry projects are assigned by industrial & business partners for developing innovative business concepts using design thinking tools and methodologies.

Worked closely with The Warming Surfaces Company startup to identify internal & external challenges and transform them into a streamlined, digital platform that allows the startup to understand their market & contacts better and improve their brand image.

Year
2023-2024
Timeline
7 months
Core role
Strategic UX design lead
Contributors
Brand designer
Marketing person
Business analyst
Industrial engineer

Startup and technology

The Warming Surfaces Company (TWSC) is an R2B startup coming from VTT, a Finnish state-owned research and technology organization.

Their technology, Halia® is essentially ultra-thin sheets of metal that can be embedded in different materials and objects like floors and furniture and warm them efficiently, helping people save energy and heating costs.

It can be controlled easily, installed in new or old buildings, and makes heating faster, cheaper, and more eco-friendly.

Closeup of TWSC technology - thin sheets of metal inside plastic film
A picture of TWSC team with their Halia technology in their hands

Initial Brief from TWSC:

"Help us become the leading startup for warmth."
With proprietary Halia® technology, many potential industries, and overwhelming uncertainty, our challenge was to create structure and a way for TWSC to enter the heating technology market.

  • Essentially a Market-entry and positioning brief

Outcomes & Impact

Outcome 📊

Designed the HaliaLab platform allowing TWSC to analyze the market and understand how to find a successful product in it.

Startup direction 🌐

Helped the company collect valuable product ideas and partners, and create a consistent brand.

Impact one year later 🚀

TWSC has launched their first product:
Outdoor heating tables
First 1:30 of our Pitch

Design process in detail

A diagram showing the seven different parts of the Halia project, coloring in the parts that I led and the parts that I only contributed to.
DiscoveryEcosystemResearchPivotPrototypePitchHandover

ACT1: Discovery

Discovery & Framing

  • Led a Point-of-View workshop session with the team and the CEO to define 'I wish statements' for the company direction.
  • De-structured the initial brief to come to a formal problem statement, and set expectations for the project, meeting points and milestones.
  • After converging through post-it notes, we arrived at two statements:
  • "I wish we knew the best product market fit."
  • "I wish we had a paid-for beta program."
Instructions for the post-it note workshop with the CEO
Workshop instructions
A full view of the whiteboards and everybody on the team working with the CEO to map out the core brief questions
Working individually
Picture of the TWSC CEO working with post-it notes
Highlighting notes with CEO
Final picture of all the notes and the key questions coming from the CEO workshop
Final board

Initial Problem Definition:

"HOW can we find the BEST product that utilizes TWSC's technology and how might we make it?

Ecosystem Research & Mapping

  • Analyzed 50+ potential collaborators (manufacturers, designers and brands) through an ecosystem analysis process.
  • Mapped the ecosystem mission in the center, and stakeholders around it.
  • Listed all the possible collaboration partners, key leaders and users, mapped out valuable contributions and capabilities for each core ecosystem member,
  • Looked at what different key stakeholders provide to each other, and thus where our pain points are and potential customers struggle areas.
A large view of all of the stakeholders in the heating ecosystem
Ecosystem overview
A matrix example of the ecosystem member profile of manufacturers in the heating industry, including their characteristics and contributions
Ecosystem member profiles
A motivation matrix explaining what each stakeholder gives to other stakeholders
Motivation matrix between stakeholders

UX & Field Research

  • Formulated a list of potential companies to talk to during first-hand interviews and discussions from the ecosystem analysis.
  • Visited the A@W Expo event in London to understand the ecosystem closely, map out possible companies and individuals TWSC could work with.
  • Created potential bridges between companies and TWSC.
A picture of the description for the Expo and Radovan's visitor badge
Ecosystem overview
A view of the CRM board for the London expo visit, with all the potential partners and how to approach them
Ecosystem member profiles
Multiple pictures of the team at the London Architect at Work expo
Expo visit pictures

Challenges after expo visit

  • Talking to partners did not help solve the core problem: understanding the product-market fit
  • Thus almost no valuable leads from 50+ conversations
  • It was at this time that our engineering teammate left the team.

ACT2: Direction

Strategic Pivot

  • Led a team reset, reframing the problem together with our mentor.
  • Looked at the entire average startup journey and understood where TWSC are struggling.
  • Mapped out the core problems that stop the startup from succeeding.
  • Systematically visualized the necessary steps to get an MVP out in the given timeframe we have to finish the project.
The entire pivot board captured on the screen
Actions for each problem
Closeup picture of Radovan working on a whiteboard sketching out the pivot
Sketching it out
Closeup of the simplified start-up journey of a an average company on a whiteboard
Start-up journey simplified
A digital picture of the startup journey and the three aspects for TWSC that are difficult
Start-up key challenge points
Miro notes of the different types of content that needs to go on the landing page of the platform
Content design for landing page
The necessary components to deliver the MVP
MVP necessities

Final Problem Definition

"TWSC doesn't need a product, they need a PLATFORM to test PARTNERSHIPS."

Prototyping & MVP

  • Co-designed the Beta platform structure prototype and MVP.
  • Helped design the two final parts: the submission form and the webpage together with our branding person and marketing person.
  • Designed the application flow and partner evaluation system.
The seven screens of the HaliaLab platform landing page
Description for all the types of questions one might be asked to enter the platform
Form element
Example of one of the questions one would be asked if they go on the HaliaLab website.
Form example question
Picture of the different branding aspects of the HaliaLab website, including typography, colors and elements

ACT3: Delivery

Storytelling & Pitch Design

  • Crafted the pitch narrative together with our mentors.
  • De-structured the final pitch into sections, and highlighted key aspects to convey to the audience.
  • Tested, practiced and refined the pitch.
  • Delivered the pitch together with a teammate at IDBM Gala event.
Miro board of the different components for the pitch
Pitching design
Picture of the analogies used in the TWSC pitch - the technology as sand and the platform as a sandbox.
Using analogies
Example of a slide from the Impact Gala pitch.
Example pitch slide
A picture of Radovan delivering the pitch in a test classroom
Pitch practice
Picture of Radovan delivering the final pitch at IDBM Gala
Pitch at IDBM Gala

Handover & Reflections

  • Led and organized an internal reflection workshop touching upon six important themes.
  • Compiled material to be handed over to the startup so that our project can be continued.
  • Created a handbook explaining our process and final outcome.
  • And one of my teammates even got hired after the project to continue working on it and refine it further.
Reflection session questions examples and the associated answers
Reflection session notes
A picture of our team and the TWSC team at the Impact Gala together
Our team & the TWSC team
Picture of the double-diamond timeline of the HaliaLab project
Example page from handbook #1
Secondary research page from project report, showing the different stakeholders we analyzed.
Example page from handbook #2
First 1:30 of our Pitch
A picture of Radovan pitching at the IDBM Impact Gala
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The cover background for the Asics project, crop of the shoes