InvestorPrism
Turning a multifamily deal board into a professional network that connects GPs with LPs
InvestorPrism is a platform where multifamily and commercial real estate syndicators advertise capital raises. For my Springboard Industry Design Project, our team worked with client Tony Tamales to add what the product was missing: a LinkedIn-style social layer, so general partners (GPs) could find co-sponsors and limited partners (LPs), and investors could judge who they were trusting with their money.
Multifamily deals run on relationships. The product only had listings.
In a syndication, a GP finds and runs the property, co-GPs help carry it, and LPs put in passive capital. Every one of those decisions comes down to the same question: do I trust this person?
InvestorPrism already let sponsors post deals and let investors browse them. What it couldn't do was help people find each other, see who they had in common, or start a conversation about working together. Tony wanted InvestorPrism to become the place those relationships formed — closer to LinkedIn than to a listings site.
Auditing the existing product.
The file started with the existing mockups: sign-up, a deals home, a flat profiles grid, a profile page, search, and deal posting. I reviewed them against the one job the client cared about — helping the right people connect.
- 01Issue foundCritical
No way to find the right people.
"Profiles" was one flat grid of cards with a name, a rating, and a bio. You couldn't narrow it to GPs, LPs, or sponsors in your market.
How I solved itDesigned My Network: a dedicated space with views for All Connections, Near You, GPs, LPs, and Co-GPs, plus search.
- 02Issue foundCritical
Profiles showed deals, not relationships.
A profile listed deals and reviews, but nothing about who the person already knew or had worked with.
How I solved itAdded connection and mutual-connection counts to the profile header and every card, so trust signals appear before the first message.
- 03Issue foundMajor
Wanting to co-sponsor was a line of text.
"Will Co-GP / Co-Sponsor" sat on the profile as a label, with no way to act on it.
How I solved itMade co-GPs a view of their own in My Network, and a "Requests to Co-GP" inbox in messaging (designed by Stas) so the intent turns into an action.
- 04Issue foundMajor
Home didn't know who you were.
Every user landed on the same list of deals, whether they were raising capital or looking to invest.
How I solved itDesigned a Home Dashboard around the user: their markets, closed deals, AUM, connections, followers and profile views, beside a feed and recommendations.
Ten tabs became five.
My first version of My Network mirrored every way a user might slice their contacts. It was complete — and nobody could tell where to click.
All connections, Near You, GP, LP, Co GP, Co Sponsors, Syndicators, Favorites/Shortlist, Following, Followers. Several were the same group under two names, and three were about social activity rather than deal roles.
All Connections, Near You, GPs, LPs, Co-GPs. Syndicators folded into GPs, co-sponsors folded into Co-GPs, and follow lists moved off the main row, so each view maps to one real role in a deal.
How should people be grouped in My Network?
Why: Syndicator and GP, co-sponsor and co-GP describe the same people. Grouping by deal role gave each tab a clear reason to exist, and put the question a user is actually asking — who can I raise with, invest with, or partner with? — in the tabs themselves.
What should you know before you connect?
The card is the unit of the whole network, so I explored six designs before committing. Each carried the same content — name, business city, role badges, follower count, deals closed, a short description, and mutual connections — and I brought them to the team and client asking which balance worked best.
Role first
GP, Co-GP and LP badges sit next to the name, so you know how someone fits a deal at a glance.
Proof over bio
Deals closed and mutual connections carry more weight than a self-written description, so they get the stronger visual position.
One clear action
Connect is primary; message, share and unfollow live in a "more" menu so a grid of cards doesn't become a grid of buttons.
A profile that answers "can I trust this sponsor?"
Profile went through three versions. Version 2 added everything an investor might want and grew to 6,340px tall. Version 3 cut it back to what investors actually use to decide, and the final landed at 4,180px — about a third shorter, with more signal.
- A header with role badges, location, connections and mutuals, and contact information
- Experience as numbers: year of first GP deal, deals led as GP, deals led as LP, deals invested passively
- Active Offerings and Current Investments, so an LP can see what the sponsor is raising now and what they're already in
- A section menu (General info, About, Experience, Active Offerings, Current Investments, Social links) that jumps within the page
- Premium detail behind a Gold Badge, supporting the client's subscription model
Home, built around the person logging in.
The dashboard puts the user's own standing on the left — markets of interest, property type, closed deals, AUM, connections, followers and profile views — the feed in the middle, and recently viewed and recommended people on the right. A sponsor raising capital and an LP browsing opportunities each land on something that's about them.
From a listings site to a network.
- A My Network area organized by deal role, cut from ten tabs to five
- A connection card designed around trust signals, chosen from six explorations
- A profile rebuilt around track record and live offerings, a third shorter than its longest version
- A personal Home Dashboard in place of a one-size-fits-all deals list
- A component library and handoff file for the client's developers
What I learned.
Complete isn't the same as clear
My ten-tab network covered every case and helped no one. Grouping by what people do in a deal, not what they're called, was the turning point.
Design for trust, not just information
In a market where people wire six figures to a sponsor, mutual connections and a real track record matter more than any bio. That shaped every card and profile decision.
Share the options, not just the answer
Bringing six card concepts to the client made the trade-offs visible and turned feedback into a conversation about priorities instead of taste.