Smart strategy answers – right in your pocket
Complete overhaul of the mobile app to improve usability, streamline workflows, and enhance user experience transforming it into a strategic intelligence tool for users on the move.
CB Insights
Senior Product Designer
2 months, ongoing
Challenge
Customers are constantly on the move, at conferences, dinners, and in transit and often need to quickly:
Look up a company before or after meetings
Prioritize vendors at large conferences
Share insights with colleagues
Get alerted to breaking news that aligns with their investment strategy
Despite this, the existing mobile app had <50 DAUs (Daily active users) and poor usability feedback. Customers voiced a desire for a lightweight, intelligence-driven mobile experience.
Results
Within the first month post-launch, daily active users tripled, signaling strong early adoption. ChatCBI quickly became a core feature, accounting for 22% of all mobile interactions. The app’s usability improvements were reflected in user sentiment, with App Store ratings rising from 2.3 to 4.1. Notably, engagement among executive-level users (VP and above) increased by 40%, validating our hypothesis that a streamlined, intelligence-first mobile experience would resonate with strategic decision-makers. This launch unlocked a new segment of mobile-first users and significantly strengthened retention, positioning the app as a vital touchpoint in the broader CB Insights ecosystem.
40%
Executive users (VP+) engagement
3x
DAU increased within first month
2.3 → 4.1
App Store ratings improvement
Process
Research & Analysis: We conducted user interviews, app usage analysis, and competitor benchmarking. Key findings:
Top Task: Look up companies quickly while on the go.
Pain Points: Poor search UX, outdated data, lack of intelligence features like ChatCBI.
Opportunity: Users want quick facts, push alerts, and intelligent briefings without needing to be on a desktop.
MVP Scope: I worked closely with product and engineering to define and prioritize an MVP. Key features:
Universal Search (Companies, Investors, Research)
Personal Briefing Feed (One place for daily insights)
ChatCBI Integration (Conversational interface for quick questions)
Company Profiles (With proprietary insights, key people, and outlooks)
“ You're walking the CES show floor–20,000 steps a day, I want to narrow down which companies to focus on before I go. ”
Innovation leader
Design Approach
Design goals
Speed & Simplicity – One-tap access to insights that matter most.
Trust & Relevance – Deliver updated, curated data in a format suited to mobile.
Intelligence Anywhere – Enable users to ask ChatCBI questions and get real-time answers.
Visual Design Principles
Mobile-first typography and spacing
Emphasis on what’s new (e.g. Today’s insights)
Clean, digestible data blocks for on-the-go use
Conclusion
This project taught me that speed of trust is essential on mobile, especially for high-stakes decisions. Prioritizing the right features was key to delivering a focused MVP. I also learned that mobile isn’t about replicating desktop, but enabling the most critical decisions on the go.