A networking platform for entrepreneurs.

Mission

Born through a passion project that inspired me during the gap year after high school graduation in 2020. My team and I have previously worked on many passion projects and hackathons, but when we came together to work on what was later to be Loci, we realized that it was difficult to find another cofounder with our desired technical background and team dynamic. The rise in popularity of startup and entrepreneurship culture among college students has created a greater demand for effective team-building. Unfortunately, there is a lack of resources that offer valuable information about potential teammates and the right environment, making it challenging for students to find like-minded partners who share similar objectives and interests.

To validate that the problem exists, we surveyed 200+ students: Link to survey. We then conducted specific customer research through calling those with past startup experience and incorporated the findings into our product feature iterations.

ROLE

SKILLS

TEAM

Co-Project Lead • UI/UX Designer

Figma • Procreate • Wire-framing • CD Tracking • Prototyping • Market Research

Vivian Hu (Product & Visual Designer)

Problem Statement

How might we satisfy each individual’s requirements to find their desired teammates with shared objectives and interests? How can these solutions provide valuable information about potential teammates and create the right environment to facilitate effective team-building?

User Research

Users thought that existing networking platforms lacked personalized information, effective means of communication, and credible information about others. Further, users also stressed the need to find a platform that has an emphasis on startup culture that can attract the talent they’re looking for.

We surveyed 200+ students from colleges across the U.S. and found that 73.8% of those who are working/have worked on startups find it very difficult to build the right team. We then reached out to 10+ individuals from the list and followed up with their answers to elaborate on the specific difficulties of team-building.

What are the main reasons for this difficulty?

What are some personal reasons for this difficulty?

Users stressed the importance of personality and overall vibe when finding partners that is difficult to show through traditional social media platforms. Our focus would be to use the Myers–Briggs personality metrics as an indicator to match users together.

Market Research

We specifically targets startups/projects that are looking to onboard more members. Through primary market research, we understand and are implementing the following elements: a fully customizable portfolio, easy networking & communication portal, and functional search filter.

Survey questions:

Design, Iterate, and Re-Design

Idea 1:

Gamified social media platform where users can interact through joining mini games and study groups.
Emphasis on advanced search function that divides users by age, major, industry, etc.
Issue: overcomplicated, gamification requires extensive capital to maintain, and too idealistic.

Idea 2:

Gamified platform where users deposit money and win a pool of money if they complete the challenge.
Emphasis on personality traits and hobbies through creating a personality chart that algorithmically categorizes the different activities that consumes a user.
Issue: validity & accuracy of solution, gamification requires extensive capital to maintain, and unprofessional.

Idea 3 (final):

Networking application to connect entrepreneurs/project leads with interested users.

Main features include:

Users can upload their past & current projects and post them on their feed.
Interested users that want to join the project can reach out through our “handshake“ button.
Fully customizable user profile to build portfolio on.