Sacra
- Product Design
- Platform Development
- Email Templates
Sacra is the leading private market research and data provider, providing valuable insights and research that can’t be obtained elsewhere. They worked with Planetary to create a solid and trustworthy platform for their research.
Sacra’s research covers a wide variety of aspects across each organization or market on which it develops reports. The data often includes metrics, graphs, charts, and a full written report. As Sacra began to grow out of the bootstrapped toolkit they used for their initial reports, they turned to us to help design and build their new platform.
The platform needed to cut directly to the chase and get subscribers—investors, private equity, and finance folks who are metrics-focused and time-limited—directly to the critical information they need to make smart decisions. It also needed to make clear the interconnectedness of the data, between different organizations in the same industry, as well as the cross-over between related industries.
We worked with the Sacra team to roll out a new dashboard and platform, with iterative testing, design, and development over the course of 2021 through 2023.
340+
Reports on private startups completed
13,000
Email subscribers served weekly
200+
Screens and states designed across the platform
We began by designing Sacra’s pitch deck, which helped them secure their first round of funding.
Planetary was tasked with visualizing these ideas through a newly created brand identity and strategic product guidance. This initial work resulted in the successful raise of a seed financing round, enabling the Sacra idea to be brought to life.
Shortly after closing the seed round, Sacra engaged with our team to design the first version of their web product. We began with a simple content membership experience that would gate research content, offering paying members a detailed editorial view into the companies they profiled. Emphasizing simplicity and Sacra's philosophy of moving quickly and learning from users, we created wireframes and workflows that enabled paying users to access premium research.
After gaining a clear understanding of the information architecture and ideal user journeys, we set out to quickly move from wireframes to high-fidelity designs of each section of the dashboard. Utilizing clickable prototypes, we were able to quickly validate our thinking with the Sacra team, and move into finalizing and developing the experience.
We continued our collaboration with the Sacra team to design interfaces for profiled companies, displaying structured data and basic company information.
We provided varying versions for both members and non-members.
As Sacra continued to flourish, establishing itself as a leading provider of startup analysis, the product evolved in tandem. Long-form articles and Q/As were added, along with a rich interlinking experience that allowed users to locate sources and referring articles. This led to the creation of the web of content referred to as the Sacranet.
Feeds and Personalization
The addition of feeds and trending content ensured that users were presented with personalized experiences, receiving the most recent and relevant content. Smart search functionality further empowered users to quickly find the content they were seeking across the ever-expanding library.
We also partnered with the Sacra teams to design newsletters, transactional emails, and PDF exports. This collaboration allowed users to consume Sacra content in various formats that suited them best while maintaining a consistent brand experience.
Planetary’s involvement spanned the entire process, from initial wireframes and workflows to working with the client to refine their product offering through detailed clickable prototypes.
We collaborated closely with both the client's technical teams and our own to implement the designs into responsive, modern web interfaces.
Throughout our involvement with the Sacra team, our work has always been collaborative and iterative. This has afforded us the ability to be responsive to new learnings and changes in the business’ goals, needs, and plans over the course of their growth.
Want to learn more? Get the inside scoop on private markets from Sacra.
