So yesterday I experienced an amazing real-world UX case of how bad UX is costing a smallish business a fortune in time, money, labour, and happiness.

I normally rate these rodeos 4/5, but knowing it’s a 60-year-old lady on the bull, she deserves more than five out of five.

So it’s Monday morning.

My phone rings.
Truecaller says: Spam → Caller name: Dr GSV Rudy.

I ignore it.

The phone rings again.
Still spam.
Ignore.

Third time. I answer.

An already annoyed lady asks if she can speak to “M. Gerstein.”

I immediately go defensive.

“I’m W. Kirstein.”

“Do you know him?”

So I say it’s not me and I don’t know him → then I hang up.

But something about the call felt legit — especially because she sounded Afrikaans, and my wife had broken her arm recently — so I phone back.

A very irritated receptionist answers and you know she’s already had a long day before 9AM.

I explain that I’m both “M” and “W” Gerstein, since it’s probably my handwriting.

She immediately confirms.

Turns out she’s calling about one of my wife’s ER bills from when she broke her arm about two months ago. Apparently, the medical aid or gap cover still hadn’t paid.

I tell her I never received anything.

She confirms my email address in a very condescending way. Because clearly, this woman does not make mistakes.

Then it clicks when she says:

“I’ll resend it… It opens with your cellphone number.”

And hangs up.

Now pause there for a second.

Stay paused a bit longer and reflect… because that one tiny UX decision is costing them a fortune — and slowly killing this lady’s happiness.

When I receive the email, I realise I had seen it before.

I just couldn’t open the attachment because I tried my ID number.

The instruction about using my cellphone number was probably buried somewhere in the email… but we’re all on autopilot these days. And honestly, who reads bills to the end… if at all?

And suddenly this entire experience becomes a UX problem.

Think about what failed here:

• The sender appeared as spam.
• The naming mismatch created distrust.
• The mental model for opening the document didn’t match user expectations.
• The payment process between provider and medical aid already created frustration before human interaction even started.
• The receptionist inherited the emotional fallout from a system designed by someone who decided 20 years ago to use a cellphone number instead of an ID number.

What’s interesting is that fixing just one UX issue might solve half the chain reaction.

If the document simply opened with the identifier people naturally expect — like an ID number — maybe:

• the bill gets opened immediately,
• the claim gets processed faster,
• fewer follow-up calls happen,
• fewer people mark the number as spam,
• and the receptionist doesn’t start every call already irritated.

That’s the thing about UX.

People think it’s about screens.

Most of the time, it’s actually about emotional debt created by systems that don’t align with human behaviour.

Years ago in the early 2000s Apple changed my view on design and introduced me to design thinking. With a borrowed idea.

Japanese kitchen appliances had been using magnetic cords for years. The thinking was simple — if someone trips over the cord, it releases. No pull, no spill, no mess.

Apple had the same problem on their hands. Broken ports, damaged laptops.

Engineering kept reinforcing the hardware. But the hardware wasn’t failing — people were just tripping over cables. That’s not a design flaw… It’s just Tuesday.

So they applied a kitchen fix to a computer. A connector that releases the moment it’s pulled. MagSafe launched in 2006 and people loved it immediately — not because it was clever, but because it just made sense.

That’s the thing about good design. It doesn’t always come from reinventing anything. Sometimes it’s just paying attention to what’s actually happening and being open enough to find the answer somewhere completely unexpected.

A deep fryer solved a laptop problem.

Nobody saw that coming.

Building the wrong thing.

For the product owner — wasted sprints, missed market, team credibility gone. For the investor — burned runway, no traction, no exit.

Same fear. Different seats. Same bill.

And here’s what most investors don’t realise they’re funding when design is an afterthought — they’re funding assumptions. Unvalidated. Unchallenged. Baked into code before a single real user ever saw the thing.

That’s not a product risk. That’s a portfolio risk.

The best design process does one thing investors should care deeply about — it makes assumptions visible and killable before they become expensive.

A prototype costs days. A pivot costs months. A wrong product costs the round.

When you’re doing due diligence, don’t just look at the roadmap. Look at how they validate. Look at when design enters the process. Look at whether anyone has actually watched a real user try to use this thing.

Because a team that designs before it builds isn’t just more creative.

They’re less likely to burn your money.

Design isn’t the pretty layer on top. It’s the risk management your term sheet forgot to ask about.

Mind that gap.

Most corporate teams don’t have a design problem.

They have a speed problem.

Projects take months.
Decisions take weeks.
By the time something ships… the opportunity has already shifted.

And everyone knows it.

The Real Bottleneck Isn’t Design

It’s not a lack of talent.

It’s not a lack of tools.

It’s the way work moves through the system:

• Multiple stakeholders
• Layered approvals
• Risk management
• Constant alignment

All of it makes sense.

But together… it slows everything down.

The Cost of Moving Slow

In a corporate environment, delays don’t always feel obvious.

But they show up in real ways:

• Missed market opportunities
• Low adoption of new features
• Internal frustration across teams
• Solutions that are outdated before they launch

And the biggest one:

👉 Loss of momentum

The Gap Between Strategy and Execution

Corporate teams are strong on strategy.

• Business cases
• Roadmaps
• Planning cycles

But where things break down is here:

👉 Turning ideas into something tangible, quickly

Because without something real to react to…

Everything stays theoretical.

The Case for Short Design Sprints

This is where short, focused design sprints change the game.

Not as a replacement for process.
But as a layer inside it.

A way to:

• Test ideas quickly
• Align stakeholders faster
• Create something tangible early
• Reduce risk before full investment

What a 5-Day Sprint Looks Like in Corporate

This isn’t chaos.
It’s structured speed.

In 5 days, you can:

• Align on a clear problem
• Explore and decide on a direction
• Prototype a real solution
• Get early feedback

Instead of weeks of discussion…

You get something people can actually see and respond to.

Why This Works in Complex Environments

Because it does three critical things:

1. Forces Decisions

Constraints remove endless debate.

2. Creates Alignment

People align faster around something tangible.

3. Reduces Risk

You test before committing full resources.

This Is Not “Fast Design” — It’s Smart Design

The goal isn’t to rush.

It’s to focus effort where it matters most.

Instead of spending months refining assumptions…

You validate them early.

Where This Fits Best

Short sprints are especially effective for:

• New product concepts
• Feature validation
• Process improvements
• Customer experience challenges
• Internal system optimisation

Anywhere there’s uncertainty…
and a need to move forward.

The Shift Corporate Teams Need

The companies that are winning right now aren’t the ones with the biggest teams.

They’re the ones that:

• Test faster
• Learn faster
• Adapt faster

And that starts with how quickly they can turn ideas into something real.

Let’s Help You Move Faster

If your team is stuck between ideas, approvals, and slow delivery cycles…

A short design sprint can unlock momentum.

In 5 days, we help you:

• Turn strategy into something tangible
• Align teams quickly
• Move forward with confidence

No disruption to your systems.
Just a smarter way to move within them.

Let’s build something real. Fast.

You don’t need another idea

You already have one.

Maybe more than one.

The real problem is this:

👉 You don’t know if it will work.

So you wait.
You think.
You tweak.

You try to get it “right” before you start.

And in the process…

👉 Nothing happens.

The Trap Most People Fall Into

They believe they need:

• a full website
• a finished product
• perfect branding
• everything in place

Before they can launch.

So they spend weeks… or months… building.

Only to realise:

👉 No one actually wants it.

The Truth About Business Ideas

Ideas don’t fail because they’re bad.

They fail because they were never tested properly.

What You Actually Need

Not a finished product.

Not a full build.

👉 You need proof.

Proof that:

• people understand it
• people want it
• people are willing to act

Without that, everything else is guesswork.

The Shift: Test Before You Build

Instead of asking:

“How do I build this?”

Ask:

“How do I test this?”

That one shift saves you:

• time
• money
• energy

What a 5-Day Test Looks Like

You don’t build the full thing.

You build just enough to answer one question:

👉 Would someone actually want this?

Day 1 — Define the Idea

What are you offering?
Who is it for?
Why should they care?

No fluff. Just clarity.

Day 2 — Shape the Message

How do you explain it simply?

If people don’t understand it immediately,
they won’t act.

Day 3 — Create the Experience

A simple landing page.
A flow.
A prototype.

Something people can interact with.

Day 4 — Put It in Front of People

This is where most people hesitate.

You don’t need thousands of users.

👉 You need real reactions.

Day 5 — Learn and Decide

Now you know:

• what works
• what doesn’t
• what needs to change

Or…

👉 whether to walk away

Why This Works

Because it removes:

• assumptions
• overthinking
• unnecessary build

And replaces it with:

👉 real feedback

The Biggest Mistake

People fall in love with their idea.

Instead of testing it,
they protect it.

And that’s what kills it.

The Real Advantage

When you move this way:

• you learn faster
• you adapt faster
• you waste less

And over time…

👉 you win more

The Hard Truth

The market doesn’t care about your idea.

It cares about:
👉 whether it solves a real problem

Call to Action

If you’ve been sitting on an idea…

If you’re unsure whether it will work…

Stop building.

Start testing.

Optional LinkedIn Caption

Most people don’t fail because their ideas are bad.

They fail because they never test them properly.

They build too much.
Too slowly.
With no real proof.

You don’t need a full product.

You need clarity.

Here’s how to test your idea in 5 days 👇

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