The business framework will include:

• More relevant networking opportunities
• Better business partner matching
• Practical educational resources
• Guidance for starting and growing a business

5
User Interviews Conducted

1
Research-Backed Website Strategy Developed

To test the assumptions outlined in the Product Vision, we focused our research on entrepreneurs and freelancers as the primary target audience.

I conducted 5 in-depth user interviews to explore whether the hypothesized pain points were genuine and significant, how participants were currently addressing these challenges, and what they liked or disliked about their existing solutions. We also explored what types of networking opportunities, educational resources, and business services would provide enough value to make the proposed ecosystem worthwhile to them.

I synthesized the findings using affinity mapping to identify recurring pain points, needs, behaviors, and expectations. The research helped validate and refine our initial hypotheses and shaped a strategy focused on personalized networking, meaningful business connections, practical educational resources, and trusted business services to support entrepreneurs in their growth.

Questions asked:

• + Tell me about your business.
  • What do you do?

  →Establishes the participant's business context, experience, and situation so their subsequent answers can be interpreted in context.

• + What's the hardest part of growing your business right now?

  →Identifies the participant's most significant current business pain points and helps determine which problems are important enough to require support.

• + How do you currently find clients or customers?
  • What methods work best?
  • Which methods are frustrating?

  →Reveals how participants currently acquire customers, which approaches they rely on, and where they experience difficulties or dissatisfaction.

• + When was the last time you met someone who helped your business?
  • How did you meet them?
  • What came out of that connection?

  →Reveals the value participants place on professional connections and how networking has—or has not—contributed to their business.

• + Have you ever looked for a business partner, collaborator, or someone with complementary skills?
  • How did you try to find them?
  • How well did it work?

  →Determines whether finding business partners or collaborators is a genuine need and reveals how effectively participants currently solve that need.

• + Do you actively attend networking events, business communities, or meetups?
  • Why or why not?
  • What do you like about them?
  • What do you dislike?

  →Reveals participants' existing networking behaviors, motivations, and frustrations, helping identify what could make Ukrainian Business Hub's events more valuable than existing alternatives.

• + Have you ever needed help with things like marketing, website design, branding, or business planning?
  • What triggered that need?
  • How did you solve it?

  →Identifies which business services participants actually need, what triggers those needs, and how they currently address them.

• + If you could magically solve one business problem in the next 3 months, what would it be?

  →Helps identify the problems participants consider most urgent or impactful, revealing where the greatest perceived value may lie.

• + If there was a community that brought together Ukrainian entrepreneurs, freelancers, and professionals in Canada, what would make it worth attending?
  • What would you expect to get out of it?
  • What would make it a waste of time?

  →Explores participants' desired outcomes and expectations from the proposed community, helping determine what value proposition would motivate them to participate and what could make the experience feel irrelevant or not worth their time.