MappleMate
● 3 Nearby
Mike S. — Plumbing
Verified · 4.9★ · 8min away
Book
Sarah L. — Plumbing
Verified · 4.7★ · 14min away
Book
$0
Booking Fee
4.9
Avg Rating
8m
Avg ETA
01 — Case Study · Marketplace & Product Strategy

Maple
Mate

Reimagining on-demand home services in Canada — from a fragmented, trust-deficient market to a scalable service infrastructure built around verified providers and zero-fee booking.

Role
Lead Strategic Designer
Type
Marketplace · UX · Brand
Status
● Active Venture
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The Thinking
01 — Problem

The market was broken — not the services.

Home service booking in Canada was fragmented, trust-deficient, and entirely offline. Homeowners had no reliable way to find, vet, or book a verified provider. The pain was real — the solution didn't exist.

02 — Insight

Trust is the product. Everything else is interface.

Users didn't want speed — they wanted confidence. The real design problem wasn't the app's UI. It was building a trust infrastructure first: verified profiles, transparent pricing, zero hidden fees.

03 — Strategy

Design the marketplace model before the UI.

Restructured the entire model around verified providers, $0 booking fees, and real-time matching. UI followed strategy — not the other way around. A rare inversion that changed the outcome entirely.

Real-Time Provider Map
Active Request
Plumbing Repair
Burnaby, BC · Today 2:00pm
3 providers nearby Match
4.9★
Rating
8m
ETA
$0
Fee
Book Now — Always Free
Execution
01 — Product

Real-time matching with built-in trust signals

Designed a matching system surfacing verified providers by proximity, rating, and availability. Instant confidence — no searching, no guessing, no risk. Provider verification is mandatory, not optional.

02 — Business Model

$0 booking fee to destroy the conversion barrier

Zero booking fee removes the biggest drop-off point. Revenue built on provider subscriptions and premium placement — aligning incentives with quality, not transaction volume. Rare for a marketplace.

03 — Brand

Canadian-first identity built for trust at scale

Built a brand system communicating reliability, local pride, and warmth. Every visual decision — from the maple-inspired mark to the typography — speaks directly to the Canadian homeowner.

Impact
35%
Reduction in
booking friction
3×
Faster provider
matching speed
$0
Booking fee — driving
adoption over competitors
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