How do you attract vendors, customers, and momentum in a high-stigma market? You start with radical simplicity and earn trust at every step.
Yesweed Platform
When I joined the Yesweed project, the cannabis industry was missing a centralized, user-friendly platform for both customers and vendors — especially for delivery-based market businesses.
I started as a UI/UX Designer, and soon took over as Project Manager, guiding the product from an ambitious concept into a functioning platform with real traction in a crowded and poorly-served market.
This wasn't just about design. It was about building trust, utility, and simplicity into a high-stigma industry with legal constraints and limited user confidence. With each iteration, we uncovered new ways to retain users, onboard vendors faster, and simplify order reservations — resulting in an MVP that hit product-market fit faster than projected.
Architected the UX from scratch, focusing on conversion and simplicity. Conducted usability testing across all major flows and translated complex user needs into clean, friction-free interfaces.
Hired and managed a cross-functional team of developers, content writers, and graphic designers across time zones. Drove platform strategy and translated fuzzy startup goals into focused, measurable outcomes.
From the beginning, the goal was clear: connect cannabis users with local vendors easily and legally, despite industry restrictions. We began with a structured research phase — competitive audits, user interviews, and marketplace analysis.
Starting Hypotheses
Customers want all vendor options in one place — not scattered across multiple platforms and directories.
Vendors want free promotion and direct orders without the friction of payment processing.
Both groups are underserved by incumbents like Weedmaps post-IPO — the market was ripe.
The research pointed to one major opportunity: streamlined data display and ultra-easy order reservation — without payments.
User research & competitive audit phase
Audit Dimensions
"If we make order reservation dead simple, users will adopt quickly — even without a payment system."
What we launched
Challenge identified
Too much information on the homepage led to drop-offs after 1–2 sections. Information overload was killing engagement.
MVP homepage — Yesweed v1
"Users need clearer segmentation between vendor discovery, deals, and reward programs."
What changed
Revised user flow & navigation
"Gamification via rewards and profile completion will increase 30-day retention meaningfully."
What we launched
Gamification & rewards layer
"Vendors want more exposure and control over how they're promoted — not just a listing."
What we launched
Vendor promotion dashboard
"This wasn't about building another vendor directory. It was about earning trust, reducing friction, and proving that a high-stigma industry could have a platform worth returning to."