Ana Nicolau . Pebble Preview

I joined Pebble shortly after it launched to market fresh out of BCG Digital Ventures incubation program. At the time, the product was a single user journey experience allowing parents and guardians to book individual sessions for their child at their registered nursery only.

When I came on board, I was the only Product Designer in a startup of 8 people working directly with the CEO, CPO and CMO, and trusted to develop the product to allow multiple bookings across network and external nurseries, plus create a new marketplace feature to list third-party classes and activities.

This was both a strategic and hands-on role. Responsibilities ranged from discovery, user research and user testing to end-to-end product development from concept to completion–ideation, low and hi fi wireframes, UX/UI, dev delivery.

Pebble was quite an early stage product with limited capabilities. Having just launched to market with a few registered nurseries you could count in one hand, the business plan was to grow the product to:

B2C
• Allow parents to book nursery sessions at non-registered nurseries within the same network at different locations (eg. Busy Bees)
• Allow parents to book nurseries sessions at non-registered nurseries outside of their original nursery network
• Adding the ability for parents to book classes plus pre-school and post-school activities for their children in addition to nursery sessions

B2B
• Help nurseries approve nursery sessions requests faster online via Pebble’s B2B bookings management platform
• Enable nurseries to approve children registered at other nurseries
• Adding the ability for nurseries to offer hourly custom sessions rather than full morning, afternoon and all day bookings only
• Adding the ability for nurseries to host classes and activities for registered children, non-registered children and post-nursery age children
• Adding the ability for nurseries to host classes and activities with third-party suppliers at their site
• Adding the ability for third-party suppliers to list their classes and activities to all Pebble users (parents and nurseries)

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Ana consistently demonstrated a deep understanding of the customer’s needs and was always able to translate those insights into effective design solutions. Her approach to design is rooted in a clear understanding of problem spaces, ensuring that every design decision is not only intuitive but also aligns with both business goals and user satisfaction.

Jamie B.

Product Manager @ The Instant Group

Ana had a great impact on a very important new product we were developing. She has helped us think holistically about the whole product with her structured approach and communicated clearly to involve the different team members & stakeholders. She also ramped up quickly and helped us elevate our design practice by listening actively and contributing where needed.

Baptiste P.

Head of Product Development @ Cognism

Ana is a great product design contractor. She is very knowledgeable about the B2B space and a great problem solver. She is happy to work with lots of constraints and requirements, making pragmatic calls when necessary. Any team is lucky to have her expertise.

Sandra G.

Director of Product Design @ Trustpilot

Ana's work is not only technically proficient but also incredibly innovative. She has a unique ability to turn complex ideas into intuitive and visually appealing designs that captivate users. Her contributions were invaluable, consistently exceeding expectations.

Neel G.

Head of Engineering @ Pret-A-Manger / Photon

Thanks to her, we were able to focus on researching and analyzing certain aspects of our product and quickly visualize the complexity we have built over the years. This has been the fundamental basis for our further discussions and exploration of new ways to deliver value to our users faster. I can only recommend working with her on both a professional and personal level.

Mihael S.

Senior Product Manager @ Bitmovin

Ana balances a drive for results with her robust sense of aesthetic value. Her keen eye for detail and technical knowledge would be an asset to any business. Her pragmatism and ability to manage complex and demanding stakeholders impressed me more than once.

Michael M.

Head of Customer Value @ The Times

Ana did an absolutely phenomenal job at working with many cross-functional teams to make massive pieces of nerve-racking deliveries go-live. It is rare to come across someone as sincere, committed, knowledgeable & experienced as Ana and it has been an absolute honor to have gotten the opportunity to collaborate with her. Ana is exceptional - an absolute rockstar!

Anjali S.

Delivery Manager @ Pret-A-Manger / Photon

From day one, Ana brought a unique blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and a user-centered mindset that had a real impact on our projects. Ana was always thoughtful, proactive, and incredibly easy to work with. She consistently pushed for the best experience, while remaining laser-focussed on delivering business value.

Suneer S.

Director of User Experience @ The Instant Group

Ana has a drive for delivering quality user experiences. I had the pleasure of witnessing this first hand on a 3D project that pushed the boundaries of conventional user journeys and design. I would recommend her as her abilities to bring ideas to life and add business value are second to none.

Hartley R.

Senior Software Engineer @ Dentsu Aegis Network

Pebble

Pebble is a marketplace listing nursery sessions, pre and after-school activities & flexible childcare.

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My role at Pebble

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