VentVest · Client success story
How VentVest helped GESA turn a founder’s vision into a working platform
Ilana O’Malley knew what the Global Emotional Support Alliance needed. VentVest listened in her language and helped turn her ideas into the platform she envisioned.
Read the case studyIn Ilana’s words
“Somehow, they were able to listen, understand exactly what I was trying to achieve, and translate those ideas into actual technology.”
- Client
- Global Emotional Support Alliance (GESA)
- Founder & President
- Ilana O’Malley
- Engagement
- Custom platform development
A clear vision, expressed in everyday language
When Ilana came to VentVest, she knew whom she wanted GESA to help, what she wanted it to achieve and how she wanted it to work. As a non-technical founder, she needed help translating that vision into the decisions involved in building a platform.
Ilana naturally talked about GESA through ideas, feelings and what she imagined was possible. Those descriptions carried information a development team needed. They gave VentVest a sense of who the platform was for and what Ilana wanted the experience to be like.
“I explain things through ideas, feelings, and what I imagine is possible.”
How VentVest worked in Ilana’s language
VentVest met Ilana in the terms she used to think about GESA. She could explain the project by talking about people, outcomes and possibilities. The team listened for what those descriptions meant for the platform and took responsibility for figuring out how to build it.
Who she wanted to help
Knowing whom GESA was meant to serve gave VentVest a reference point. The team could interpret Ilana’s ideas in terms of what the people using the platform should be able to do.
What she wanted to achieve
When Ilana expressed an idea as a feeling or a possibility, VentVest listened for the outcome she was describing. That gave the team direction even when the need was hard to put into words.
How she pictured it working
Ilana could describe what she imagined happening when someone used GESA. Thinking in terms of what a person would do and what should happen next gave VentVest a way to translate that experience into software behaviour.
That division of work kept Ilana’s knowledge of the people and purpose behind GESA at the centre of product decisions. She could guide the outcome in her own words, and VentVest could carry that intent into the build.
A team Ilana felt comfortable reaching out to
Ilana singles out the team’s patience, kindness and communication. When she reached out, she felt there was someone there to help, whatever day of the week it was. That made a difference when she was trying to explain an idea she could picture but found difficult to articulate.
“I never felt that I was just another project.”
A working platform for GESA
VentVest helped GESA complete the platform it needed. For Ilana, seeing her ideas take shape as working technology showed her that the team had understood what she was trying to create.
She credited VentVest with helping bring GESA to life and said she looked forward to continuing the work together.
For non-technical founders
Tell us what you want to build, in your own words.
Start with who you want to help and what you want them to be able to do. VentVest will help you work out what the software needs to do to make it possible.
Talk to VentVest about your idea