2. Overview
THE PROBLEM THE IDEA
Existing solutions for Develop a place that allows
collaborating and coordinating people to create, plan, and
amongst a group of people are collaborate on events.
inefficient, and fundamentally
broken: Eliminate the hassle, and
E-mail can be easily ignored, missed, or worry of planning, so the focus
lost; chains can quickly devolve into 40-50 can be on communicating
irrelevant message threads. information effectively and
Social Media serves a different purpose helping ensure everyone has a
for each individual. People often forget to
check Facebook groups, a lot of people great time.
aren't active on Google+.
Phone calls don't facilitate easy Provide a digital and mobile
communication between multiple people platform that provides access
and not easy to schedule for a large
group.
to key information anywhere.
3. Process
Create Collaborate Celebrate
Setup up your event Start new Get paid
Invite your friends conversations Share photos
Send out polls Save the trip for
Share inspiration memories
Create a dashboard
summarizing event
plans
4. The Opportunity
Everyone who participates in any social gatherings with
friends is a potential user for our platform.
3 specific areas of opportunity out of many
Fantasy Football: 27.1 million people
play every year, and growing
Spring Break: 19.7 million students
enrolled in College/University
Weddings: 2.1 million marriages a
year in the U.S., resulting in a huge
number of bachelor/ette parties.
5. The Technology
We are developing Software as a Service (SaaS) in the cloud, using open
source technologies. After launching an initial Web based version with "must
have" core features, the experience will be modulated and harmonized across
digital and mobile platforms.
Currently we are using following Technologies and Software Development
Tools:
● Dev Environment: Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP
● Framework: Yii or Drupal
● Code Version Control: TortoiseSVN
● Software Development Methodologies: Scrum and Agile
● Sketching and GUI prototyping: Evolus Pencil
6. Customer Insights
After conducting over 15 in person interviews, and having 100 people take our online
survey, we began to develop a better understanding of our potential users, and their
needs. This is what we learned:
+ People expressed excitement, and a strong desire for a dedicated space that was
built
with facilitating collaboration & communication while planning events as the primary
focus.
+ Almost 70% of the people we spoke with said they conduct the majority of their
planning activities on the web via personal computer.
+ Almost 50% of the people we spoke with said they conduct financial transactions in
cash, but 30% also indicated that the ability to conduct financial transactions on the
platform would be very important to them.
+ 97% of people said they are involved in the planning of an event every year, with 40%
of those people being involved in planning 4+ events a year.
+ Email is currently the preferred, and most effective way to collaborate with groups of
people. 53% of people indicated that email is the primary method they utilized when
engaging in coordination/planning. This is the case because people feel it is the best
available option, and something they have always used.
7. The Future
+ Build initial functionality for the site. Focus on features that will allow users to begin to
communicate and to collaborate on the platform.
+ Introduce core features: create event, invite other attendees, create separate areas to
discuss various aspects of an event (ex: Travel, Accommodations, Restaurants)
+ Conduct user research. The feedback we receive will help to inform future iterations
on
the product.
+ Continue to: reevaluate our hypotheses, refine our vision, re-research user
perspectives, and the the market we are trying to disrupt.
+ Extend the platform to iOS & Android- in parallel with testing of key website
functionality.
8. The Team
Khai Tang is an engineer located in California who currently works on developing software for entertainment
systems used in aircrafts. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of California, San Diego,
and a MS in software Engineering from California State University, Fullerton. As a passionate hang out with
friends enthusiast, he hopes to one day get his friends involved in planning events rather than just attending
them.
Kunal Tandon is a lifelong learner, with a passion for entrepreneurship, business development, and marketing.
He holds a BA in International Studies from Emory University. Having worked in a set of diverse industries
including finance, technology, and shipping; Kunal brings a unique perspective to the table. As a person who
has always been fascinated with the way people connect, and interact, it makes perfect sense that this would
be a project Kunal would pursue. Having planned two spring breaks, and two bachelor parties, he is still waiting
on the hundreds of dollars he will likely never be paid back.
Adam Weiner is always finding reasons to connect with his friends and family through extraordinary
experiences. And after planning, enjoying, and occasionally missing trips, it's his passion to develop a better
way to collaborate, plan, and ensure these memories aren't lost. He has a diverse background in finance,
branding and advertising and believes in learning by doing..
Aziz Ergashev is an engineer with more than 5 years industry experience in software development who is
currently pursuing his Masters degree in Computer Science at MUM. He gained hands-on experience with
startups such as www.kpi.com and www.tebecom.com where he has been engaged in all phases of
development lifecycle, starting from inception of idea, to transition, to ready product. His life motto "I will either
find a way or make one." Having an unpleasant experience by being the organizer of birthday parties and get-
togethers in the past, he has been excited to find a solution to the problem with like minded people.
9. Thank You
We are proud to share our vision of making collaborating
on creating the most important moments in your life more
enjoyable, and memorable. We look forward to sharing our
progress throughout this journey.
-Team Collab X
