Start-Up Week at Masters’ Union
“Create a product that they can’t ignore”
While I was still figuring out how Product Management works, right in the 3rd week of our product management masterclass at Masters’ Union, we were asked to come up with a company and its new product around Hospitality & Tourism for the Start-Up week. All I could think of was pitching the idea just like how it was portrayed on TVF pitchers. Soon the teams were announced. I was part of team 6 which had 5 people from Cohort 3, including me, & 1 person from cohort 2 who backed out at the very beginning before we could even meet.
Of all the 8 teams, we were the only team who had no one from the prior product management cohorts or anyone who has an experience in product management which made it very difficult for us to even think of a core problem.
We met on Monday and quickly decided on a product. We thought we were good. We have to decide on the features it offers and design a wireframe. We met the next day, some had doubts/unclarity about the product however others were very confident. We wrote our problem statement, how are we solving and why is it the right time to solve it. When we met on Wednesday, that’s when the equation changed. We had solid user interview data with us.
After talking to one of the PMs, we understood that the problem we’re solving is not a core problem and can be implemented by anyone by rolling out a feature. We should focus on a core problem. From the user interviews, we had data and understood 2 core problems however we didn’t have a perfect solution to solve them.
After brainstorming, we came up with a solution to ease the problem. We were sure this is a great idea to start our first start-up week at Masters’ Union. On Friday morning, we had a mentoring session with an industry expert. After the mentoring session, we got feedback that we’re thinking along the right lines, however, we need to curate an experience for the users.
The key takeaways for me after the mentoring session were:
1. Start small
2. Give an experience to the user
3. Build Trust and then scale
On Friday night, to curate an experience for the user we came up with the final product which we presented on judgement day. We found our problem statement, how are we solving the problem? We prepared wireframes, marketing strategy, expected growth, required investment, & CSR plans.
I decided to take a lead on presenting and pitching our idea on the judgement due to my experience of 2 years of Toastmasters.
We pitched the idea. After the presentation, we were happy just to go through the journey of coming up with ideas, rejecting the ideas, agreeing/disagreeing with our teammates, and finally coming up with the product with everyone on board.
Now, you must be wondering what the product is.
We found out that there is a barrier between tourists & local culture.
We came up with the brand LOCULT, which is an amalgamation of Local Culture with a tag line “Experience the True India”
Tourists put a lot of effort into researching travel to experience local culture. We decided to design a product to curate an immersive experience of local culture for tourists. We will organize trusted partner-led group tours where tourists get to learn about local culture by indulging in local activities, accommodation in silver/gold certified homestays, exploring hidden gems, and also local shopping recommendations. This will not just give a local experience to the tourists but also give them chance to learn the local culture and build the economy for the local community. Our entire focus was to create an experience for them so that they have a story to tell even after 10 years of the trip.
This product does not exist as of now, however, we would love to see something along the same lines which will fill the gap between tourists and the local community.
The start-up event was itself a learning experience for us as all the teams came up with so intriguing products. From medical hospitality & tourism to gamifying hospitality & tourism, it had all the ideas one cannot imagine. And then it was time for the results. With so many beautiful products and learning, we were also rewarded as the 2nd runner-up at the event.
And all I can say is:-
“All’s well that ends well”
