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Platform Setup
Goal: by the end of this guide, your org structure, users, and Innovation Hub are fully configured so teams can start creating and tracking projects.
Note: if your contract includes Data Migration/SSO, reach out to your account manager — large parts of the team, department, and user setup are handled as part of that process.
When you first open the GlassDollar platform, there are a few things to set up before it’s ready for operational use — from naming your System Admin to defining how projects flow through your pipeline. Work through the steps below in order.
Quick checklist
- Set up teams & departments
- Add your core team as admins
- Choose your System Admin
- Set your allowed domains
- Build your Innovation Hub
- Configure your projects flow
Step 1 — Set up teams & departments
Teams and Departments are the organizational scaffolding everything else in GlassDollar hangs off — every Admin User you add in Step 2 gets assigned to a Team, and every project gets tagged with a Department for cross-department filtering, reporting, and stakeholder alignment. Setting these up first means the people and projects you add in the steps that follow are organized correctly from day one, instead of being retrofitted later.
Go to Settings → Teams and Settings → Departments.
How-to guides:
Step 2 — Add your core team as admins
Add your core innovation team as Admin Users from Settings → Users. Admins have full platform access: they can search for solutions, drive projects through the VCL funnel, and access analytics.
Tip: start small — invite your core innovation team as admins first. To get started, you don’t need to add individual BU stakeholders directly to the Directory — this can happen on the go, as pain points and projects come in.
How-to guide:
Step 3 — Choose your System Admin
The System Admin is the account owner — the role with full visibility and control across your entire GlassDollar organization. They manage all users and org-wide settings, and are the only role that can edit the project flow configuration (see Step 6).
Your contract defines how many System Admin seats (x) your organization has — check with your account manager if you’re unsure how many you’re entitled to.
Assign this role from Settings → Users when inviting or editing an Admin User.
Tip: choose someone who’ll stay closely involved with the platform long-term — typically the innovation lead or VC program owner — since org-wide settings and project flow configuration both route through this role.
Step 4 — Set your allowed domains
While you’re in Settings → Users, set your allowed email domains. This is what lets internal collaborators — Pain Point Owners, Project Sponsors, and other stakeholders — access the Innovation Hub when an admin shares a link with them. Without an allowed domain configured, those shared links won’t grant access to people at your organization.
Step 5 — Build your Innovation Hub
The Innovation Hub is your organization’s internal storefront for innovation — a single, shareable space where stakeholders across the business learn about your venture-clienting (VCL) program, see what’s happening, and submit their own ideas and pain points. It’s the front door for anyone at your organization who isn’t a full Admin user.
Recommended pages to start with:
| Page | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Landing page | Introduce your VCL program — what it is, how the process/workflow works, and how people can get involved |
| About page | Your innovation team — who they are, their mission, and how to reach them |
| Topic / team sub-pages (optional) | Dedicated spaces for specific departments or focus areas (e.g. “Sustainability Innovations”) — add these over time as your program grows, no need to build them all upfront |
Go to Settings → Innovation Hub.
How-to guides:
- Build Your Innovation Hub ↗
- Create Your “About Us” Page ↗
- Create an Innovation Hub Sub-Page ↗
- Share the Innovation Hub Link ↗
If questions come up while building your Hub, reach out to your account manager — they can guide you through it.
Step 6 — Configure your projects flow
Before creating your first project, decide how projects should move through your pipeline — the stages, tasks, and approvals your organization wants to enforce. This is configured once, and only your System Admin can edit it.
At a high level, you can define project types (named workflows tailored to how different kinds of work move through your org), rename groups and phases to match your own terminology, and set up tasks with owners and approvers at each phase.
Go to Settings → Projects for the full breakdown of project types, group/phase labels, and health status options. To see how projects work day-to-day once they’re up and running, see Projects in the Product Guide.
Common pitfalls
| Pitfall | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Adding users and creating projects before setting up Teams & Departments | Everything you add later has to be retrofitted with the right Team/Department — messier reporting and filtering down the line. |
| Choosing a System Admin who won’t stay closely involved | Org-wide settings and project flow configuration only route through this role — if they disengage after initial setup, small changes later need to go through someone who’s no longer close to the platform. |
| Inviting BU stakeholders to the Directory before the Innovation Hub is built | Their first impression of GlassDollar is an empty or half-built Hub. Get the Hub in reasonable shape first — stakeholders can always be added on the go. |
| Skipping the allowed-domain step | Admins share Innovation Hub links expecting stakeholders to get straight in — without the domain configured, those links won’t actually grant access, and the failure isn’t obvious from the sharing side. |
| Creating real projects before deciding on project types, groups & phases | Groups and phases can be renamed later but not added or removed — decide the shape of your pipeline before live projects depend on it. |