complete.so

From Spreadsheets to Strategic Planning: How Foundational UX Research Shaped a Y Combinator Startup's Product Direction

Complete.so is an agile compensation planning platform designed to replace error-prone spreadsheets with real-time, intelligent tools, empowering HR teams to transparently model, manage, and communicate compensation for every employee and scenario. As Founding Product Designer at this Y Combinator startup, I led the foundational user research that defined our product strategy during our Series A to Series B growth phase. Over 6 months, I conducted rapid prototyping and user validation with dozens of HR teams, discovering critical insights that shifted our entire approach from bulk policy management to individual-focused compensation planning.

Project Impact:

Foundational research with 12+ HR teams revealed that managers prioritize individual adjustments over bulk policies, leading to a complete product pivot. Research insights directly influenced Series B funding discussions and established the UX foundation for the platform's core workflows.

Role

Sr. Product Designer

Duration

12 months

Team (Besides Me)

2 PM, 4 Eng, 6 existing customers

The Challenge

Complete.so needed to solve the fundamental problems plaguing HR compensation planning: manual spreadsheet errors, lack of real-time collaboration, and inability to model complex scenarios. However, as a founding designer at an early-stage startup, my challenge wasn't just designing solutions—it was rapidly validating assumptions and establishing product-market fit under intense resource constraints.

The technical requirements were complex: allow budget setting, enable both bulk and individual changes, support commenting and collaboration, provide real-time budget updates, and account for hiring/termination events. But the real challenge was understanding how compensation planning actually happens in practice versus how we assumed it should work.

In other words / TL;DR…

Validating product assumptions while racing toward Series B funding
Replacing error-prone spreadsheets with intelligent compensation tools
Limited resources for comprehensive user research at startup pace
Complex technical requirements meeting unknown user workflows
Need to establish foundational UX strategy for entire platform

The Challenge

In other words / TL;DR…

Validating product assumptions while racing toward Series B funding
Replacing error-prone spreadsheets with intelligent compensation tools
Limited resources for comprehensive user research at startup pace
Complex technical requirements meeting unknown user workflows
Need to establish foundational UX strategy for entire platform

Compensation cycles were chaotic, spreadsheet-based, and filled with risk

`Establishing Context`

Why this project mattered for `HR teams`

Adoption Success:
Intuitive experiences that HR teams would actually want to use over familiar spreadsheets.

Collaborative Efficiency:
Needed seamless teamwork around sensitive compensation decisions.

Workflow Accuracy:
Designing compensation planning around how it actually happens, not how it should happen.

`Establishing Context`

Why this project mattered for `HR teams`

Compensation cycles were chaotic, spreadsheet-based, and filled with risk

`Establishing Context`

My contributions

Rapid Prototype Development → Created extensive library of low-fidelity clickable prototypes in Figma, enabling fast iteration and user testing without expensive development cycles during resource-constrained startup phase.
User Research at Scale → Conducted validation interviews with 12+ HR teams, asking targeted questions about current compensation planning workflows, pain points, and solution expectations to establish foundational user insights.
Insight Synthesis and Prioritization → Used sticky notes and whiteboard analysis to identify the three most critical themes from user feedback, providing clear direction for product strategy and development prioritization.
Cross-Functional Collaboration → Worked directly with CEO and CTO founders to translate user research into technical requirements and strategic decisions, ensuring research insights drove both product and business strategy.

The Process

`Process Step #1`

Prototype of 1st-pass mid-fidelity wireframe

Based on initial data we built an MVP for comp planning that tried to marry bulk changes and individual changes. This tool allowed comp / HR teams to model out multiple different budgets and generate reports to compare them.

`Process Step #2`

Research & Insights

From the initial prototype, we rapidly iterated and tested with actual customers.

`Process Step #3`

Distilling Feedback into Mid-Fi Mockups for Further Testing

Below are some examples of the main takeaways which resulted from live testing.

`Process Step #4`

Update 1: General layout change

Maximizes horizontal space for the employee table (Theme #2) 
Removes navigation confusion where it doesn’t feel so simple to navigate to another part of the app while in the middle of a critical task (Theme #1)

`Process Step #4`

Update 1: General layout change

Maximizes horizontal space for the employee table (Theme #2) 
Removes navigation confusion where it doesn’t feel so simple to navigate to another part of the app while in the middle of a critical task (Theme #1)

Update 2: Collapsing a budget to just focus on one at a time

This was a major theme — salary and equity comp were not always worked on at the same time. Collapsing allows for more targeted work to get done. (Theme #3)

Update 2: Collapsing a budget to just focus on one at a time

This was a major theme — salary and equity comp were not always worked on at the same time. Collapsing allows for more targeted work to get done. (Theme #3)

Update 3: Sub-budgets

Allowing a higher-level user to delegate to managers they oversee (Theme #3)
When a lower manager views their own sub-budget they won’t see other sub-budgets, whereas the highest level user can see all activity, e.g. access control (Theme #3)

Update 3: Sub-budgets

Allowing a higher-level user to delegate to managers they oversee (Theme #3)
When a lower manager views their own sub-budget they won’t see other sub-budgets, whereas the highest level user can see all activity, e.g. access control (Theme #3)

Update 4: Removing the notion of “bulk policies” and focusing on changes at the employee level

To further help focus on one user at a time, allowing for contextual content to “slide in” so it’s not all hiding deep in the table (Theme #2)
Table includes a more actionable “Done” which is intended to help the user work through specific employees, keeping track of who is completed (Theme #1)

Update 4: Removing the notion of “bulk policies” and focusing on changes at the employee level

To further help focus on one user at a time, allowing for contextual content to “slide in” so it’s not all hiding deep in the table (Theme #2)
Table includes a more actionable “Done” which is intended to help the user work through specific employees, keeping track of who is completed (Theme #1)

Results

These most recent designs were turned into similar prototypes and shared with the same users and some new ones. Initial findings were: 

Users want flexibility. There are many ways to conduct this sort of activity and no two orgs do it exactly alike. Flexibility to “turn on/off” etc different components / data is key.
Something we missed in initial discovery is “runway.” Many young startups want to see how comp changes will affect their runway / time to raise more capital. Would visualize runway within the budget component

With more time I would

Conduct more research on the most important data points needed to inform comp decisions. 
Make the table more user-friendly. So much of this experience hinges on the fluidity/ flexibility of the table component.  
Solve the problem of “What next” once user has crystallized their changes
Define to a greater extent the “share” process. A very rudimentary version was shown, but this experience should be fairly robust (leaving comments etc)

Results

These most recent designs were turned into similar prototypes and shared with the same users and some new ones. Initial findings were: 

Users want flexibility. There are many ways to conduct this sort of activity and no two orgs do it exactly alike. Flexibility to “turn on/off” etc different components / data is key.
Something we missed in initial discovery is “runway.” Many young startups want to see how comp changes will affect their runway / time to raise more capital. Would visualize runway within the budget component

With more time I would

Conduct more research on the most important data points needed to inform comp decisions. 
Make the table more user-friendly. So much of this experience hinges on the fluidity/ flexibility of the table component.  
Solve the problem of “What next” once user has crystallized their changes
Define to a greater extent the “share” process. A very rudimentary version was shown, but this experience should be fairly robust (leaving comments etc)

Solution 2: A Unified, Visual Approach to Team Leveling

Integrated feedback from recruiters, HR, and candidates exposed major pain points: hidden pay bands, unclear growth paths, documentation sprawl.
Multiple prototypes and usability sessions ensured both recruiters and managers could find the right information in seconds.
Dynamic sharing and privacy settings prioritized both transparency and responsible information control.

Solution 2: A Unified, Visual Approach to Team Leveling

Integrated feedback from recruiters, HR, and candidates exposed major pain points: hidden pay bands, unclear growth paths, documentation sprawl.
Multiple prototypes and usability sessions ensured both recruiters and managers could find the right information in seconds.
Dynamic sharing and privacy settings prioritized both transparency and responsible information control.