Beams - Builder marketplace
Role: Senior Product Designer
Company: Beams Renovation
Year: 2025
Impact: +133 % sales conversion | –58 % time-to-conversion
A platform transformation that turned Beams from a managed renovation service into a scalable marketplace connecting homeowners and builders - increasing conversion by 133 % and cutting sales time in half.
About Beams
Beams helps homeowners plan, design, and manage renovations, while giving builders tools to grow and get paid securely.
As Senior Product Designer, I led the Builder Marketplace from discovery through launch, partnering with product, sales, and engineering to drive measurable growth.
The challenge
Our “full-service” model caused friction
We needed to evolve from service provider to trusted connector.
Discovery
Interviews and funnel data revealed clear pain points:
Homeowners:
“I want to meet someone on-site”
“I want to see who’s building my project.”
Builders:
“We’ll commit if we can own the quoting process.”
“Your prices are too low”
Data:
25-day average to sale | Conversion dropping | Deals lost to independent builder
Average time taken to conversion:
Opportunity
Enable builders to quote directly and homeowners to compare transparently, while removing Beams’ manual overhead.
A two-sided marketplace where builders set prices, homeowners choose, and Beams connects.
Design solution
Homeowners
View builder profiles • Book site visits • Compare quotes side-by-side • Select builder
Quote comparison view
Desktop
Mobile
Builders
Receive qualified leads • Submit structured quotes • Manage projects • Track payments and milestones
Quote submission view
Desktop
Mobile
Manual pilot
A three-week low-tech test proved demand:
Key learnings:
Scheduling only needed homeowner availability.
Profile visibility built trust.
Line-by-line quoting made the process clearer and reduced back-and-forth between builders and homeowners.
Result
Increased conversion
Proof of concept (POC) launch
I designed and shipped the live proof of concept in three weeks.
Key improvements included:
Work orders sent via emails & PDFs → Automated links & notifications via platform
Phone scheduling → In-platform scheduling + internal Slack alerts
Lump sum quotes via email → Structured line-by-line quote form & homeowner comparison view
Work orders
Results
Builders became true partners, homeowners gained confidence, and Beams cut operational friction.
Active builders
+328 %
Change
Metric
+133%
Sales conversion
–58 % (25 → 10 days)
Time-to-conversion
Admin workload
–70 %
Time-to-conversion
Role & collaboration
Led discovery → userflows → wireframes → final UI
Ran user testing & iteration
Worked cross-functionally with product, engineering, ops
Presented findings → aligned company on product vision
Learnings
✅ Validate manually first → fast insight, low risk
✅ Transparency builds trust → higher conversion
✅ Empowerment scales better than control
Outcome
Beams’ Builder Marketplace transformed a labor-intensive service into a scalable digital marketplace that balanced user trust, builder empowerment, and business growth.
