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KNAC Website

A Bold New Website for a Game Changing HR Startup

The Challenge

Ariel and Sarathi co-founded Knac because after over a decade in the in the industry, they realized the modern recruiting system is broken. Over 85% of resumes don’t get screened. Only 2% of applicants are ever called for an average job opening. Recruiters are overwhelmed. Volume makes it impossible to screen. Needless to say, the status quo for hiring is worse than most think. Not to mention, a missed hire costs the average company almost $250k.

Knac was founded to transform the recruiting industry by making the job search more human. They built a platform that allows recruiters to automatically screen 100% of resumes. They’re using data to remove bias in the application process while improving the candidate experience.

They spent the last couple years building partnerships in private beta. They had some traction and a working product. But as they prepared to release v2, they needed a website to market themselves and capture all the great work they do. So they reached out to us to do the honors.

The Solution

Visual

Visual Design

We helped Knac develop a full marketing site for their startup. We helped them identify the core pages needed and used their brand guidelines to inform the design. The goal was to design a site that felt modern and clean, with just enough accent to delight the eye.

Knac’s original brand used puzzle pieces to symbolize the goal of creating a rich and diverse workforce. It showed us how we need to come together in order to get the full picture.

We appreciated this as an artistic way to show the importance of diversity and inclusion while showcasing the brand’s mission.

We used this concept to create the graphic styles for the website. We create a set of accent shapes that line the perimeter of the background or outer borders of images. This makes the content more visually appealing and engaging.

User Experience

User Experience

In designing the content, our first step was getting some background on the target audience. We outlined:
Who the primary audience was
Why they were visiting
What their needs were
How we can add value through the website
Our objective was to create an informational marketing site. So the content and overall user experience was designed around educating the audience and giving them the information they need.

Our primary audience was recruiters and talent execs at tech companies. We needed to:

Highlight the product and the benefits
Build trust and confidence in the team
Driving consideration and engagement

Benefit

Highlighting the product and the benefits

The product is the belle of the ball. So we made sure she got her shine. On the home page we designed an illustration to show how Knac allows recruiters to combine all of their tools into one. We also created a call out section that breaks down all of the benefits Knac offers to recruiters, with a clear link to the full product page.

On the product page, we break down each of the use cases of the app in greater detail. Pairing each section with a UI illustration that shows the flow.

Build trust and confidence in the team

Trust and credibility are critical for early stage startups. We helped Knac achieve both by:
  • Focusing on their mission and telling their story on the company page
  • Use third party data to validate the problem space
  • Highlight press features as social proof
    • On the company page we go in depth on the origin story and introduce the founders to make the site more personal. All throughout the key surfaces, we highlight how many resumes are overlooked and what this costs the average corporation. This helps reinforce the seriousness and urgency of the matter.
    One of the team’s differentiators is their extensive track record in the industry. There’s no denying they know the space. Over the last 10 years, they’ve amassed tons of press features and thought leadership pieces in leading publications.

    So we scraped all of them from across the web and created a press page. We also have a press feature module that is shown on the site to provide a birds eye view of the team’s credibility.

    Driving consideration and engagement

    B2B SAAS sales cycles usually have more touchpoints. This is why content is king. Leads look to content as a form of social proof for additional confirmation. During the design, we worked with Knac to better understand their sales process and goals. We designed a set of templates that they could use to engage leads all throughout the sales cycle.

    This includes:

    A Case study template for them to use for white papers and reports
    An FAQ template to help answer commonly asked questions
    A testimonial page to capture positive affect from the community
    A blog and article template to share company updates and thought leadership
    A digital resources hub for any freebies, guides, or lead magnets they want to share
    Lead capture forms for them to book demo appointments and newsletter optins directly on the site

    Product UI

    Parting Thoughts

    Knac was one of the most established startups we’ve helped and a pleasure to work with. We met the founders several years ago when they spoke at a conference we attended. It’s been inspiring to see their continued progress. From landing partnerships with some of the country’s biggest brands and they’ve even joined the Google Black Founders Fund. It was an honor helping them bring their vision to life and usher in a new era of growth for the company.
    If you’d like to learn more about Knac or discuss potential projects, feel free to shoot me a ping.
    Till next time — own your power, give back, and leave no stone unturned.
    Black Lotus Out.
    www.BlackLotus.co