About the company and my role
1
What is Genially and how did you join them?
Genially is an online platform I had the pleasure of being a part of for nearly seven years. It's a tool that empowers users to create interactive and animated content like presentations, infographics, and quizzes without needing advanced technical skills. What makes Genially special is its focus on interactivity and animation, bringing static content to life and enhancing user engagement.
During my time there, I saw Genially grow from a promising startup to a significant player in the interactive content creation space. It became particularly popular in education, where teachers use it for interactive lessons, but it's also widely used in business for marketing materials and training content.
The platform's user-friendly interface, coupled with its advanced features, allowed it to cater to both beginners and experienced users, which I believe contributed significantly to its rapid growth and millions of users worldwide.
2
How did your role at Genially evolve over time?
My journey at Genially began through a master's program in design and marketing with a company internship. I initially joined the company to create templates and provide support, both through chat and by writing articles for the help center. This early experience was crucial as it allowed me to understand the intersection between the platform's capabilities and the users' needs.
It was during this time that I realized what we now call User Experience was at the heart of my work. The connection between the platform's functionality and addressing user problems sparked my interest in Product Design, leading me to specialize in this field.
Challenges and solutions
3
Can you elaborate on your key responsibilities and achievements at Genially?
Absolutely. My journey at Genially was truly transformative, both for me and for the company. I joined when it was just the CEO and CTO, and by the time I moved on, we had grown to over 50,000 registered users and around 100 employees. This rapid growth provided me with a unique opportunity to wear many hats and contribute to various aspects of the business.
My key responsibilities and achievements included:
User Research: I conducted extensive user research to understand and gather our users' needs, pain points, and behaviors, which informed our product development decisions.
User Stories and Design Proposals: I created user stories and design proposals, translating user needs and business requirements into actionable items for our development team.
Design System Collaboration: I worked closely with our design team to develop and maintain our design system, ensuring consistency across the platform.
Help Center Management: I oversaw the help center, creating and managing content to support our users and reduce the load on our support team.
Customer Support: In the early days, I was heavily involved in customer support, which gave me invaluable insights into user challenges and needs.
Template Creation: I designed templates that helped users create engaging content quickly, contributing to user satisfaction and retention.
Event Attendance: I represented Genially at various events, which helped increase our visibility and gather feedback from users and potential customers.
Strategic Planning: In the later stages of my tenure, I was involved in strategic discussions about the new version of Genially, a project I was part of for two years.
Hiring Support: As we grew, I assisted in the hiring process, helping to build out our team with the right talent.
This diverse range of responsibilities allowed me to develop a holistic understanding of product development, user experience, and company growth, which has been invaluable in my career.
4
How did your initial experience in support and content creation influence your approach to UX and product design?
My background in support and content creation was invaluable in shaping my approach to UX and product design. It gave me direct insight into user pain points, common questions, and feature requests. This first-hand knowledge of user needs and behaviors informed every aspect of my design process.
For instance, when designing new features or improving existing ones, I could anticipate potential user confusion points and address them proactively in the interface design or accompanying documentation. This user-centric approach, rooted in real user interactions, helped ensure that our product evolution was always aligned with genuine user needs.
Interdepartmental collaboration and leadership
5
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges was balancing the need for innovation with maintaining simplicity in the user interface. As Genially grew and we added more features, there was a risk of overwhelming users, especially those who were less tech-savvy. This challenge was compounded by the pressure to innovate rapidly to stay ahead of competitors like PowerPoint, Canva, Pitch, and Kahoot.
To address this, I advocated for a modular design approach, where advanced features were available but not intrusive for basic users. We also implemented progressive disclosure techniques in the UI, revealing more complex options only when users were ready for them.
This approach allowed us to cater to both novice users and power users without compromising on functionality or user experience.
Another significant challenge was keeping up with the rapid pace of change in the design and tech world while ensuring our product remained consistent and user-friendly. I overcame this by collaborating on a robust design system that allowed for flexibility and scalability while maintaining a coherent user experience across the platform.
However, the most formidable challenge I faced was contributing to the development of the new version of Genially. This project was particularly complex as it involved multiple areas of the business, including Sales, Marketing, Product, and Development. We needed to fundamentally change our approach to pricing and storage management, considering both Education and Enterprise environments, and balancing B2B and B2C models.
This required extensive cross-functional collaboration, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of our diverse user base. It was a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience that pushed me to expand my skills beyond traditional UX/UI design into broader product strategy and business considerations.
Lessons learned
6
How has your experience at Genially shaped your professional outlook?
My time at Genially has profoundly shaped my professional outlook. It taught me the importance of adaptability, as I transitioned from a support role to a key player in product design. It also reinforced my belief in the power of user-centered design and the impact it can have on a product's success.
Moreover, being part of Genially's growth journey has given me valuable insights into how startups evolve and scale. This experience has made me a more well-rounded professional, capable of seeing the bigger picture while still paying attention to the details that make a product truly user-friendly.
As I move forward in my career, I carry with me the lessons learned at Genially: the importance of user empathy, the value of cross-functional collaboration, and the need for continuous learning and adaptation in the fast-paced world of technology and design.