Validating Product-Market Fit for an Innovative Real Estate Platform
Khome is a startup with an innovative proposition: providing access to a real estate data platform that aggregates and enhances information to assess asset risk, much like a financial rating agency. But who are the right target audiences? Who will be the users and the paying customers?
Client

Khome

Website
khome.immo
Durée
1 month
Rôle
Product Designer

The Challenge

The goal was to define and validate the paying and user audiences, identify key use cases, and prove to investors that the product could generate its first revenue—all within just four months.

The Solution

A structured product-market fit mission, divided into two phases:

Immersion & Market Understanding – Analyzing the market and consolidating the needs of potential target audiences.

Strategic Positioning – Defining a compelling value proposition, identifying key features and user journeys, and preparing for a Proof of Concept (PoC) to test market traction quickly.

A 3 steps design process

Identifying and Aligning Objectives

The process began with a goal-setting workshop to align all stakeholders on objectives, constraints, and KPIs.

Understanding the Existing Product

Khome is a SaaS platform focused on residential risk management, built around three core functionalities:

  • Property valuation
  • Risk assessment, including climate-related risks
  • Renovation cost estimation

Market Trends & Emerging Signals

We analyzed industry trends that shape the residential real estate market and consumer behaviors, including:

  • IPCC reports and the impact of climate risk on real estate
  • Regulatory changes due to the Climate and Resilience Law
  • The rise of thermal renovation obligations and Net Zero Economy goals
  • Growth of the proptech sector and AI-driven real estate analytics
  • The increasing digitalization of real estate asset management
  • New expectations from millennials in private banking

User Research & Needs Analysis

We conducted interviews with a diverse range of 20 key stakeholders, including:

  • Private investors
  • Banking network managers
  • Private banking advisors
  • Real estate investment managers
  • Property developers
  • Wealth management advisors
  • Municipal officials
  • Notaries

A set of tailored questions was prepared for each profile to understand their daily operations, challenges, use of digital tools, and reliance on external services.The data was then synthesized into three core personas, which became our primary target users.

Defining the Unique Value Proposition

The team participated in a workshop to refine the short- and mid-term vision and draft the product’s unique value proposition.

Core Service, User Stories & Key Features

We structured the essential functionalities for Khome’s MVP:

  • A centralized dashboard for managing client projects
  • In-depth property analysis reports
    • Rental yield and mortgage estimation for each property
  • Risk indicators
  • Renovation scenarios and ROI estimations
  • Cross-analysis reports for decision-making
  • Interactive data visualization
    • Maps and graphs to evaluate neighborhood dynamics and property risks

These features would empower professionals to make strategic, data-driven decisions while optimizing real estate risk management.

Brand Identity & UX Redesign

Mini Branding Sprint

Khome’s SaaS product lacked a strong visual identity to establish credibility and generate trust among potential customers. The team wanted to create an immediate "wow" effect during product demos.

Given limited resources, we adopted a "commando mode" approach:

  • Developed three visual identity concepts (moodboards) based on our strategic research
  • Selected the strongest concept, which guided the new brand identity
  • Designed a fresh, modern, and elegant visual style with a bright color palette and smooth, rounded UI elements

UX & Information Architecture Redesign

A user journey audit was conducted on Khome’s existing prototype, identifying UX pain points and new business opportunities.

  • Improved information architecture
  • Refined user stories and user flows
  • Integrated insights from our user research

Final Implementation & Results

The final phase involved delivering a fully interactive prototype in Figma to Khome’s tech team, incorporating:
New user journey, enhanced UX and UI, revised brand identity.

The result? Khome’s objective was to launch with a strong market position, onboard paying customers, and generate revenue.

Within three months, they achieved all three goals. The startup is now gaining significant attention—and we’re incredibly proud to have played a part in their journey!