This case study outlines the digital transformation journey of a traditional business venturing into the e-commerce space with a B2C portal. The focus is on enhancing the online customer experience to match the in-store shopping experience.

The client is an established brick and mortar business selling computers and accessories. They are specialists in assembling gaming PCs and have been in the industry for the past 15 years They wanted to digitize their operations by launching a B2C e-commerce portal. Their core concern was ensuring that online customers received an experience comparable to in-store shopping.

Key Challenge: Transforming the business digitally while providing an online experience that mirrors the in-store shopping experience.

Will online customers have the same level of service and satisfaction as in-store customers?

How to cater to different customer segments with varying needs and expertise?

Human-Centered Design: Focusing on the needs and behaviors of the customers.

In-Store Research: Conducting research to understand the in-store customer experience.

E-commerce Experience: Leveraging expertise in online retail to design effective solutions.

In our Research, we could find two distinct user groups:

Observed interactions in physical stores to understand how users sought information and assistance. Key Observations: 

Amateur gamers frequently sought staff advice on compatibility and performance.

Pro-users spent more time comparing specifications and asking detailed technical questions.

Conducted sessions with groups of amateur gamers and pro-users to gather qualitative insights. Key Insights: 

Amateur gamers appreciated tools that simplified complex information.

Pro-users valued detailed specifications and customization options.

To further illustrate the insights, consider the following data points:

To address the needs of the identified user groups, two key features were developed:

1. Suggest Me Module (Catering to Amateur Users)

Objective:&nbsp;The Suggest Me Module aims to replicate the in-store experience for amateur gamers by providing personalized PC build recommendations based on the user's selected games, ensuring optimal performance and price balance. This feature is designed to guide less technically savvy users through the process of ensuring their gaming systems meet the requirements for the games they wish to play.

Game Selection:&nbsp;Users select the games they want to play from a list.

Automated Analysis:&nbsp;The system analyzes the hardware requirements of the selected games. Evaluates different performance levels needed for each game (e.g., minimum, recommended, ultra settings).

PC Build Recommendations: Suggests various pre-assembled PC configurations.

Categorization: Categorizes recommendations based on performance levels (e.g., entry-level, mid-range, high-end) and price points.

Personalized Suggestions: Suggests the best PC options for the user's selected games, balancing performance and cost. Provides detailed specifications for each recommended build, including components like CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage.

Customization: Users can customize and tweak the recommended builds based on their preferences.

2. Build-Yourself Module (Catering to Pro-Users)

Objective: The Build-Yourself Module is designed for pro-users who enjoy the process of building and customizing their PCs. This feature provides detailed information and interactive tools to support advanced users in selecting and configuring components.

Component Database: Extensive Catalog: Includes a comprehensive database of PC components (e.g., CPUs, GPUs, motherboards, RAM) with detailed specifications and compatibility information.

Compatibility Checker: Ensures selected components are compatible with each other, highlighting any potential conflicts or issues.

Performance Insights: Provides performance insights and benchmarks for different component combinations, helping users make informed choices (Didn’t build due to scope creep)

Purchase and Assembly Support: Buy Now Options and Assembly Guides (If users wanted to assemble themselves): Offers step-by-step assembly guides and tutorials, helping users through the building process. (Didn’t build due to scope creep)

The implementation of the above solutions resulted in significant positive outcomes:

Increased Revenue: The client reported that 20% of their revenue in the first three months came from online sales, demonstrating the effectiveness of the digital transformation.

Enhanced Customer Experience: The designed modules provided tailored experiences that closely replicated in-store interactions, satisfying both amateur and professional users.

The digital transformation of this traditional business through a carefully designed B2C portal not only addressed the client’s concerns but also significantly boosted their online sales. The human-centered design approach and thorough in-store research were crucial in creating a successful online shopping experience that met the diverse needs of their customers.

UI/UX Design: Mohan Sr. and Mohan Jr. (Yes we have two Mohans :D)

From Brick-and-Mortar to E-Commerce: The Digital Transformation Journey of a Traditional Business

Increased revenue 20% by replicating in-store experience

Led product growth initiatives, including go-to-market strategies, resulting in a 20% increase in user base and generating $110,000 in monthly revenue by aligning product features with user needs and market demand.

Collaborated with the head of product to implement agile methodologies by acting as the product owner, driving a 20% faster sprint completion through prioritisation, backlog management, and fostering cross-functional team alignment.

Redesigned the payment system to accommodate both Crypto and Fiat transactions by integrating secure and scalable payment gateways, leading to a 30% increase in transaction volume within the first three months of implementation.



Led cross-functional teams of UI/UX Designers, Developers, and third-party vendors to develop edtech and fintech products, achieving a 40% revenue increase by delivering solutions that met stakeholder expectations.
Defined product vision and roadmap for 4+ digital products, leveraging Agile and Waterfall, resulting in streamlined execution. Managed project plans and reported to stakeholders using Kanban and Story mapping
Worked closely with IT and business leaders to align technical requirements with business goals and successfully shipped four digital products from concept to launch, generating an annual revenue of $29,000.


Co-founded the venture with a vision to become the 'IDEO' of India, implementing Design Thinking to solve complex problems and build human-centric products for SME entrepreneurs.
Conducted design sprints for diverse clients, from Gaming, E-Commerce to Fintech Startups, demonstrating versatility and innovative problem-solving skills.
Generated revenue of $1,600 but recognised that an 'Innovation-as-a-Service' model was not yet sustainable. Subsequently, pivoted the business by merging with Alfheimr Technologies to offer a more comprehensive solution, combining software innovation with development services.


In the rapidly evolving world of tech, being good at product thinking is key for product managers who want to make products that really connect with users. Product thinking is more than just making a product; it’s about fully understanding what users need, how the market works, and what makes a product truly necessary and not just useful. (Building features that are ‘must-haves’ rather than ‘nice-to-haves’)

At its core, product thinking is the art and science of crafting products that align with the specific needs and desires of users. It’s about peering beyond the surface to grasp the underlying motivations that drive user engagement and loyalty. This skill is not innate; it is cultivated through a relentless pursuit of empathy, observation, and a deep-seated curiosity about human behavior and technological possibilities.

Here’s how we used Product Thinking to build (or rather building 😉) DesignFolio&nbsp;

Shai and I came together to brainstorm ideas for our next product. The issue that really struck a chord with us was how design hiring is currently handled in companies, which we found to be far from ideal.

After identifying the broad problem area, we proceeded to outline the primary stakeholders involved in this process:

Once we did that, we mapped the most straightforward hiring flow that is happening right now in various organisations

This may not be exactly how all hiring is done, but it provides a bird’s eye view of the process.

We decided to deep-dive so as to get a precise problem statement over which to work. Looking at the process, it was evident that every candidate is needed to have a portfolio, as this is the starting point that every candidate needs to carry out to land a job.

We decided to go out there and talk with Product Design Aspirants to understand their POV with regards to the building of portfolios for job hunt.

Talking to some a slight clarity came into picture. Most of these aspiring product designers faced one of these two problems if not both.

So, now that we identified the major pain-points, we started to brainstorm and came up with the idea of Designfolio, which would be a No-BS portfolio builder.

But before going for product building, we both came into consensus that the product has to be Lean AF: no unnecessary features, no fancy animations, nothing flabbergasting, just a product which works seamlessly and caters to the pain points of the user.

But we had to make sure we were solving the right pain-points. So we decided to launch something called Designfolio Launchpad where we invited aspiring product designers to a 30 days case-study workshop. This move brought in around 180+ designers who wanted to test their Case-study creation skills!

There were basically two reasons we had in mind when we launched the DesignFolio Launchpad:

The Workshop was a learning journey both for us and the participants. We gathered alot of crucial points with regards to the product. We were confident that we were going in the right direction.

During the product development, both Shai and I had multiple feature ideas to be integrated into the product. But we fought with those ideas and managed to keep the product as lean as possible (even we are surprised how we managed it).

Finally our dev team managed to help us build a beautiful product which we lauched with waitlist. At the time of writing, one day after the launching the waitlist, we have 408 users joining our waitlist with more than 580 people visiting our website. That’s a conversion rate of over 70%, something I am drooling over right now!

That’s the brief journey of how Designfolio came into being.

Product thinking is not just a skill but a strategic asset that can differentiate a product in a crowded marketplace. It enables product managers to create products that are not only useful but also deeply resonate with users, fostering loyalty and driving growth.

Moreover, it contributes to a culture of innovation, where products are continuously refined and reimagined to meet evolving user needs and market dynamics.

So, here we are, building in public! The reason behind this is that we wanted to be transparent about our thinking processes and to grow together with our users. So, take a look at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.designfolio.me/" target="_blank">Designfolio</a>&nbsp;and let us know what you think!

<a href="https://medium.com/@aswathsubramanian5/www.designfolio.me" target="_blank">www.designfolio.me</a>

Feel free to connect with me on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aswath-subramanian-k-r-443892162/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;and follow me on&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/OneSouthIndian" target="_blank">X</a>

How Product Thinking Shaped Our Journey⚡️

Building Designfolio

Aswath joined us as a Junior Product Manager and quickly proved his capability. He demonstrated impressive learning agility and rapidly adapted to his role. His showed good leadership skills and was well liked by the rest of the team to drive results with a collaborative and strategic approach.

Increased revenue 20% by replicating in-store experience

Aswath Subramanian