An ILO launchpad for new projects to raise initial Liquidity

How I designed a veDEX that helped bootstrap liquidity on a new blockchain and processed $8M in transactions during testnet.

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My Role

Product Design Lead
Business Developer
Strategy and Research
Testing and Launching

Team

Jeffery Akpoyibo, Product Owner
Braimah Destiny, Engineering

Duration

6 months
(July - Dec 2024)

Overview

Imagine you’ve built an innovative blockchain project, but you’re stuck—funding is scarce, investors don’t trust you, and launchpads make everything complicated. That’s exactly what Thrustpad was built to fix.

Thrustpad is a decentralized Initial Liquidity Offering (ILO) launchpad that empowers blockchain projects to efficiently raise funds, engage their communities, and ensure investor security.

As the Lead Product Designer, I was responsible for crafting an intuitive, seamless, and secure user experience that enables projects to launch effortlessly while ensuring investor confidence.

Total Projects

in 4 months

Fairlaunch created

$8M

in 4 months

Recognizing the Void

We noticed the problems projects faced when starting out and they are;

Limited Access to Funding- Projects often face high barriers to entry and stringent fundraising requirements that restrict access to early capital. For example; A startup wants to launch its token but struggles with complex requirements and high platform fees.
Trust & Transparency Issues- Investors hesitate due to the lack of visibility on token security, making it difficult for projects to gain credibility.
Take an instance; Investors fear rug pulls, so they avoid participating in early-stage fundraising.
Community Engagement Barriers- Post-launch retention remains a challenge as projects struggle to maintain investor and community interest over time.
Imagine After a successful token sale, projects often fail to keep their communities engaged.

Pushing beyond for Liquidity

Thrustpad isn’t just another ILO launchpad—it’s built to address real pain points in decentralized fundraising. With simple and easy project onboarding, automated security features, and a community-driven approach, Thrustpad transforms the way blockchain startups raise liquidity and build trust in Web3.

Analyzing the User Experience

We understood that there were other launchpads out there, but were they covering all of the pain points raised by projects and investors? We conducted in-depth research, analyzing existing launchpads and approached different types of web 3 project founders and investors alike. We interviewd about 50 participants in total

Key Insights from research

80% of Web3 founders said launchpads had complicated onboarding.

65% of investors cited security concerns as a primary reason for avoiding new token sales.

72% of projects struggled with post-launch community engagement.

Understanding User’s Pain point

After our sessions with blockchain founders and investors to understand key pain points. Our solution had to be intuitive, fast, and secure.

Ethan Carter

Blockchain Startup Founder

Ethan is a 32-year-old entrepreneur who has been working in the blockchain industry for the past five years. He has developed an innovative DeFi platform but is struggling to secure funding. His team is small, and he needs a seamless solution to launch his token and attract investors.

😓 Pain Points

Struggles to navigate complex ILO processes.
Concerned about investor trust and token security.
Limited experience in marketing and community engagement.

Sofia Martinez

Crypto Investor

Sofia is a 28-year-old financial analyst and an avid crypto investor. She is always looking for promising blockchain projects to invest in but often faces trust issues with new launchpads. She wants clear liquidity and staking features before committing funds.

😓 Pain Points

Worries about the credibility of new blockchain projects.
Finds it difficult to track token liquidity and vesting schedules.
Struggles with platforms that lack real-time analytics.

Navigating the sections

Through iterative design and testing cycles, we gathered feedback and refined our platform to maximize usability and security. We needed to properly structure and organize the functionality of the platform in an hierarchical way.

Prioritizing Key Features

To ensure a seamless and secure ILO process, we designed an all-in-one fundraising platform featuring:

Fair Launch

With Thrustpad, everyone gets a fair shot. No more whales dominating token sales or insiders getting preferential treatment. Our fair launch mechanism ensures that all participants have equal access, fostering trust and transparency in the ecosystem. Whether you’re an early supporter or a late adopter, you can participate knowing the process is unbiased and transparent.

Token Creation

Gone are the days when launching a token meant endless technical barriers. Thrustpad simplifies the process, allowing any founder (technical or non-technical) to create a token effortlessly. Users can customize the supply, distribution, and vesting schedules while ensuring smart contract security without writing a single line of code.

Lock Token

Investors want security, and projects need to prove their long-term commitment. Our token locking feature allows project owners to lock liquidity for a defined period, preventing rug pulls and ensuring investors feel safe backing a project. When users see that funds are locked, it builds confidence, making the investment decision easier.

Airdrops

Engagement shouldn’t stop after the token sale. Our automated airdrop system lets projects reward early adopters and loyal community members. Instead of manually distributing rewards which often leads to errors, our system ensures seamless and accurate distribution, helping projects retain and excite their user base.

Stake Token

Why just hold tokens when you can earn from them? The stake feature lets users lock their tokens in return for rewards, fostering long-term investment and community participation. By staking, users not only benefit from yield generation, but they also help stabilize token circulation, reducing volatility in the market.

Final thoughts & Learnings

Designing Thrustpad was a powerful intersection of Web3 innovation, fintech, and product design. It is more than just a launchpad, it’s a reliable ecosystem where projects and investors thrive together. I had to really put myself in the shoes of each personas to see how to solve the problem faced fom their point of view.

Understanding there would be non-technical founders, I embedded YouTube tutorials throughout the platform to guide them step-by-step.