Mars is a mobile app helping users nurture their most valuable network (their top 100 connections). The app enables users to build and maintain meaningful connections with their contacts, allowing them to expand their personal and professional network.

The dopey idea called Mars

We all get overwhelmed with the amount of contacts in our phone, email, and social. So what if instead you would have an app that helped you focus on the 100 people that you would want to be on the BFR to go with you to Mars? It was the antidote to the 'add connection' game of LinkedIn.

The app would help you nurture these relationships, and regularly review who would still be part of your 100 crew. If they fall outside of it, no worries, they get archived, but no more rat race trying to keep up with everyone. You only focus on the 100 most important ones to you.

The brand was inspired by getting to Mars (aka the red planet) on Elon's BFR and Supreme (increase perceived value through limited supply).

p.s. this was co-creation with Kickpush.co July 2020 (done in 5 days)

Our (intended) hook-model

I lived by this model for ages when designing new products. It's just so much harder in practice than filling out some details in a quadrant. Plus we had the constraint that we only had 5 days to design it all.

Onboarding that doesn't suck

Ok, having to sign in first maybe sucks, the rest we tried to keep light.

The Mars HQ

Navigation through swipes, pulling down would activate search, smart context-based reminders (in-app) and one big fat add new connection/interaction button.

The networked interaction #notes

Remember, this was before Obsedian and Roam got popular widely popular, and way before you could do it smarter with LLM-based products. Idea was that through simple use of hashtags we create networked notes on the most important topics for them.

Some cool details about search and tags

After pulling your screen down, search would appear, and you can search based on keywords and names through your connections and your interactions. Simple words like 'opportunity' would show the keywords you used, but you could also click on another keyword in the interaction that appeared and use that as a way to "network" your way down to other notes.

Rich profiles

We always thought that the way you had to manage contacts really sucked. It sucked on your contacts apps, on your phone, and on your CRM. You typically had to fill it all in yourself.

So we thought; what if... a user on Mars could fill in the info he would want to share to his most important 100, like a toggle he could decide to switch on/off Twitter (now X) profile, LinkedIn, or simply update his number. Also we would add some magic sourcing of contact detail if we had e.g. their email connected to LinkedIn or Twitter. Than you would have this information automatically synced and updated as another Mars user.

This would be a way to have a vested interest to create your Mars profile so you would invite others, as you wouldn't have to keep their data updated anymore.

p.s. this is now pretty standard in contact enriched CRMs such as attio.com - back then it was a bit more "grey area".

One of my favorite little touches

Part of the supreme feel branding, we also had to make it a little bit geeky, that we imagined what kind of symbols we might find on Mars, or start drawing on the planet's surface once we landed. We used these as profile place-holders in case we had photo shy contacts.