Repositioning Australia’s First Student VC Fund NextGen Ventures
Web Design, Brand
Growing a garden of tall poppies
Timeline
July 2025 to June 2025
Role
Designer
Team
Me
Zahir Hassan
Fields
Web Design
Brand
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 young ambitious with the first check through 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
Redesigned core pages including the home, startups, and team sections, introducing a structured startups page to better surface portfolio companies and initiatives. The work improved clarity, hierarchy, and usability, strengthening how NextGen Ventures is perceived by founders, partners, and stakeholders.
Before Redesign
Gaps in the existing site
The redesign process began with an audit of the existing platform, analysing the experience through both a user and brand lens. Looking at the site structure, messaging, and founder journey alongside websites by leading startup organisations, three key issues emerged: unclear positioning, low-actionability, and limited transparency.
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
Lack of Credibility
Absence of dedicated portfolio page and testimonials limited perceived legitimacy
Lacked Actionability
Key pathways to understand NextGen and take action were buried within the site structure. Important actions, such as founder and investor enquiries, lacked visibility and clear user flow, reducing usability and engagement.
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.
Iteration
The redesign was an iterative process in close collaboration with the founding partner and wider team, with ongoing feedback shaping structure, messaging, and prioritisation. Overall feedback was highly positive, with refinements focused primarily on surfacing the right information and visuals in the right order to ensure the site communicated clearly and consistently for any audience engaging with NextGen Ventures. Key feedback and changes included:
Ensuring images promote diversity and are founder focused
The copy is aligned to NextGen's goals and concise for users to understand effectively
Order of navigation bar items which demonstrate what NextGen prioritises
After Redesign
Design Decisions
Credibility and Transparency
Introduced a new portfolio page to surface founders and endorsement to shape the brand presence.
Positioning
Reframed with a clearer value proposition and narrative flow to establish differentiation immediately.
Actionable
Added a clear CTA to reduce friction and drive action.
CMS Systems
Designed a CMS-powered startups, team and career pages to provide scalable pages to showcase investments, the team and opportunities.
Design System
Refined unified typography, colour, spacing and components to ensure consistency and scalability.
Live Website
Results
Credibility & Positioning
The redesigned site strengthened NextGen’s credibility by clearly communicating its portfolio, programs, and vision. Improved messaging hierarchy helped partners and stakeholders quickly understand what differentiates the fund. Became an key tool in bringing new partners such as OpenAI.
Memorable Brand Expression
Feedback consistently highlighted the site’s distinctive visual identity and cohesive brand presence. In particular, the footer section centred around “growing a garden of tall poppies” became one of the most memorable parts of the experience, capturing the long-term vision, optimism, and cultural ambition behind NextGen Ventures.
Portfolio Visibility and Engagement
The startups page became one of the most active sections of the site, generating 1.4K+ page views and 780+ unique visitors. It now ranks as the second most visited page post-launch, indicating strong ongoing engagement from founders, partners, and ecosystem stakeholders. (Metrics as of May 2026)
Founding Partner at NextGen Ventures
Forbes 30 under 30
"Hansen played a key role in evolving our website into something that genuinely reflects what NextGen is about. He brought a strong sense of clarity and structure to the project, helping us better communicate our portfolio, programs, and overall vision.
Beyond the website, he also contributed across our broader brand and content, bringing greater consistency to how we present ourselves as a firm.
Since launching the new site, it has already been a valuable tool in engaging partners and communicating our vision more effectively. He is proactive, detail-oriented, and great to work with."
Learnings
Designing Beyond Aesthetics
Working with an active and ambitious venture firm revealed how design shapes more than usability or visual appeal. The challenge was translating complex ideas into a digital experience that clearly communicated NextGen’s vision, credibility, and positioning. This shifted the project from simply designing a website to designing for perception, trust, and strategic communication.
Designing Through Story & Detail
This project reinforced the importance of thoughtful detail in creating experiences that feel memorable and aligned. Strong design decisions came from understanding the story, ambition, and long-term vision behind the brand, ensuring every element contributed to a more cohesive and intentional experience.
Designing Through Story & Detail