DesignCar
DesignCar gave car fans a place to build their dream garage and compete with their designs. I founded the Porsche Digital spinout, raised $3M+, and led it from an idea to 300K+ downloads in under six months.
- Team
- — 15+ across product, game design, visual design, engineering, 3D, and growth
- Industry
- — Gaming, Automotive
Tools & technologies
The Problem
Car fans could configure a purchase, but had little room to create and compete.
The approach
How the work took shape
Turn enthusiasm into a business
The idea began inside Porsche Digital: a creative game for players, and a way for brands to understand what enthusiasts liked to design. I developed the business case, raised more than $3M in internal and external support, and brought together a team of 15+ to build the first release.
Give each design somewhere to go
Players customized 3D vehicles, entered themed challenges, and voted on each other's work. Rewards opened up more vehicles and modifications. We connected the garage, customizer, and challenge system so a finished design became the start of another reason to play.
Grow the game and the roster
I led acquisition, licensing, and partnerships alongside the product roadmap. Meta campaigns brought installs in below $1 CPI. Relationships with automotive brands expanded the licensed roster, while sponsored challenges with partners such as Turo, Rally, and BBS gave players new briefs and prizes.
The hard parts
The constraint
Players wanted freedom, while licensed brands had requirements for how their vehicles appeared.
The decision
We built customization and approval rules around licensed models, then used challenges to give that freedom a creative brief.
The constraint
We needed to learn whether the game could attract players at a workable cost.
The decision
I paired a focused first release with paid acquisition tests and frequent challenge updates. Campaign costs stayed below $1 per install.
In-Game Experience
Product UI
Challenges, the 3D customizer, profiles, and collections form the route from a brief to a finished design.
Challenge Browser UI
Creative prompts and rewards help players choose what to design next.
Challenge Reward UI
Partner prizes add a reason to enter beyond currency and community recognition.
Dream Garage
The collection gives each player a place to keep the vehicles and designs they care about.
Challenge Environments
A finished vehicle becomes an entry that other players can see and vote on.
Licensed Roster
More than 60 vehicles from 10 marques brought different eras and styles into the game.
The outcome
What changed
The result
- ✓Raised more than $3M and led a team of 15+ through launch and continued development.
- ✓Reached more than 300K downloads in under six months, with paid acquisition below $1 CPI.
- ✓Built a licensed roster of more than 60 vehicles from 10 marques.
- ✓Created sponsored experiences with Turo, Rally, BBS, Porsche Drive, and other partners.
Looking back
Licensing influenced what we could build and when we could release it. Those conversations had to happen alongside design and engineering.
New vehicles and challenges gave acquisition campaigns something fresh to offer. Product and growth planning worked best together.
Where I contributed
Product
- Built the business case, raised funding, and led the team, roadmap, and commercial partnerships.
Design
- Directed the garage, customization, challenge, and voting experience.
Engineering
- Set priorities and tradeoffs across the 3D client, content pipeline, performance, and live services.
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