Repositioning Australia’s First Student VC Fund NextGen Ventures
Product Design, Web Design
Growing a garden of tall poppies
Date
July 2025 to Dec 2025
Role
Designer
Fields
Product Design
Web Design
Team
Me
Zahir Hassan
Tools
Framer
Figma
Overview
NextGen Ventures is Australia’s first student-focused VC fund, for students, by students. Their mission is to back the next generation of ambitious founders with capital, community, and cultural change.
I joined the team to reposition their website, making it reflect the true depth of what NextGen offers from founder stories and early investments to grassroots programs like Foundershack. The goal was to evolve the site from a simple information page into a brand platform that communicates who NextGen is, what they stand for, and the movement they are building.
My role focused on restructuring information architecture, refining hierarchy and messaging highlighting key differentiators, and developing a scalable design system.
Results
The redesigned site received strong stakeholder satisfaction, surfaced portfolio companies more effectively, and strengthened perceived credibility through improved hierarchy, credibility and legitimacy.
Before Redesign
Gaps in the existing site
Despite strong community momentum and early investments, the existing website did not reflect the depth of NextGen’s impact.
A closer analysis of the existing site revealed several structural and positioning gaps:
Messaging & Value
Messaging lacked clear differentiation from other funds
Key initiatives like FoundersHack were buried or visually disconnected
Visual hierachy felt informational rather than mission-driven and actionable
Legitimacy
Absence of dedicated portfolio page and testimonials limited perceived legitimacy
Consistency & Scalability
Inconsistent components and static layouts made team and careers pages difficult to scale
Direction
Based on the identified gaps, these priorities guided the strategic direction of the redesign.
Clarify Positioning
Restructure the hierarchy and information architecture to clearly communicate how NextGen differs from traditional early-stage funds.
Make It Actionable
Use hierarchy and calls to action to guide users toward next steps.
Surface Credibility
Introduce a dedicated portfolio system, testimonials, and clearer proof signals to strengthen perceived legitimacy.
Design for Scale
Develop a consistent design system and CMS to support ongoing growth across startups, team, and careers.
After Redesign
Design Decisions
Positioning
Reframed the homepage with a clearer value proposition and narrative flow to establish differentiation immediately.
CMS Systems
Designed a CMS-powered startups, team and career pages to provide scalable pages to showcase investments, the team and opportunities.
Actionable
Added a clear CTA to reduce friction and drive action.
Teams & Careers
Built scalable page templates to support future growth.
Design System
Refined unified typography, colour, spacing and components.
Live Website
Results
Following the launch, the founding partner leveraged the updated site to engage new partners and stakeholders, such as OpenAI. Feedback consistently highlighted the site’s clarity, consistency, and distinctive brand presence - particularly the footer section, which captures the long-term vision and ambition of NextGen Ventures.