The Deal X Change

When we started working on The Deal X Change, the concept was already taking shape: build a digital marketplace where multifamily real estate sponsors could post investment deals and connect directly with qualified investors, without intermediaries.

A small beta version existed on Squarespace, but it lacked the functionality and structure needed to scale. The signup process was manual, legal agreements were handled offline, and there was no visibility into deal activity. The product needed to be rebuilt from the ground up as a proper web application.

Plum took ownership of the full product cycle. We began with a discovery phase to understand the two-sided marketplace dynamics: sponsors submitting deals through an approval workflow, and investors browsing, filtering, and connecting with opportunities. Each side had distinct registration flows, legal requirements, and interaction patterns that needed to be modeled clearly in the system.

The platform was built as a Rails application with a structured backend supporting role-based access for sponsors, investors, and administrators. Key features included electronic document signing via DocuSign integration, a CMS-driven deal submission and approval pipeline, automated email marketing, investor engagement tracking, and weekly reporting.

Design played a central role. The original brand identity was refined and a new visual system was developed, giving The Deal X Change a modern, trustworthy presence aligned with the US real estate market. The interface was designed to be clean and navigation-forward, ensuring that both sponsors posting deals and investors browsing the marketplace could move through their workflows with minimal friction.

Beyond the marketplace itself, the product included a member portal where sponsors could track their listed deals and investors could save and revisit opportunities. A private group feature enabled exclusive access to select investment deals for specific community members, adding another layer of engagement to the platform.

The project was delivered as an end-to-end product: from brand development and UX design through to a fully operational, deployed web application. The codebase and infrastructure were eventually transferred to the client, a milestone that reflects Plum's approach of building products meant to stand on their own.