Gravity | What if you could have a life-changing coffee with someone every week?
Building a solid professional network is essential for success, yet it can be challenging without the right resources. But imagine a world where connecting with interesting individuals who share your passions is just a click away. No need to imagine anymore — this is precisely what talents gain as a unique advantage of being part of Nova.
Enter Gravity, the platform that empowers members to effortlessly expand their network. Countless talents have already reaped the benefits, forging enduring friendships, launching exciting business ventures, and even finding meaningful romantic connections.
Isn’t it simply marvelous? But how did we reach this point? What has been the tireless work of our dedicated Product and Tech team in designing, developing, testing, and refining this extraordinary functionality? Let’s embark on a journey together to unravel the behind-the-scenes efforts that brought this remarkable vision to life.
Resilient solution in the face of adversity
The need to expand our network and meet new people has always been there, and in most cases, it has been achieved through events. The year 2020 showed us that we are stronger than we think, and in the face of adversity, our creativity is amplified. The restrictions and circumstances of the pandemic were not an obstacle to feeling the need to connect, but they were a barrier to making it a reality. That’s when Nova’s Product team created the most functional no-code version of Gravity, enabling weekly connections in abundance.
With tools like Typeform, Excel, Zapier, Google Meets and people’s energy, Nova was able to test this prototype. And it worked! Despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic, Nova created an environment where connections flourished and talents could come together regularly to share, learn, and collaborate.
Designing the experience
After 1 year in production, 1200 active users and more than 25000 connections, we recognized the opportune moment to provide even more dedication and attention from our talented Design and Technology teams. Acknowledging the significance of these insights and the potential for further enhancement, we were inspired to channel our efforts into refining and optimizing the experience. By combining the expertise of our skilled designers and technologists, we aimed to create an even more exceptional and fulfilling journey for all participants. This commitment to continuous improvement reflects our unwavering dedication to delivering a truly remarkable and transformative experience.
At this point, there were several important factors to take into consideration:
The algorithm and quality of connections
In the no-code version, matching scores were already generated by considering the needs or profiles of each member. Through a straightforward algorithm, connections were established. However, there were still finer details to be refined and additional information to be taken into consideration.
To achieve this, we replace the registration typeform with a onboarding process where users were asked about the type of Novas they wanted to meet. Each piece of information provided was assigned a score, which was then used to calculate the matching score for each connection and generate those with the highest value, as we used to do. In cases where there were no high-scoring matches, no connections would be presented to the user.
By carefully designing and fine-tuning the algorithm, we aimed to ensure that every interaction had the potential to be meaningful and worthwhile. Our goal was to create an environment where participants could forge genuine connections with individuals who shared their interests, aspirations, and values. This emphasis on quality connections not only maximized the value of each interaction but also enhanced the overall experience for all participants.
Maintaining a positive experience and ensuring kindness
It has been proven that when we feel that we are being evaluated, we tend to showcase our best selves. Since part of the experience was beyond our control, we decided to request ratings regarding the behavior of each connection and display them alongside the user’s profile. This served two purposes: to encourage a positive and considerate atmosphere and to address any no-show incidents effectively.
By incorporating user ratings into the platform, we aimed to foster a culture of kindness and accountability. Users could provide feedback on their interactions in platform, highlighting the courteousness and respect demonstrated by their connections. This not only promoted a consistently positive experience but also allowed us to address any instances of missed appointments or unreliable behavior.
Having visibility into these ratings empowered us to take appropriate measures, ensuring that those who repeatedly failed to show up for scheduled meetings could be identified and dealt with accordingly. By maintaining a system that emphasized the importance of reliability and courteousness, we aimed to enhance the overall experience for all participants and cultivate a community built on trust and genuine connections.
Providing tools for meeting management
We wanted to make things easy for Nova members and take the hassle out of managing the connection date in platform. That’s why we decided to keep setting a default date while giving them the freedom to reschedule whenever they wanted. Our goal was to simplify the process and allow our members to focus on the fun and meaningful aspects of their interactions, without the stress of scheduling logistics.
To minimize the need for rescheduling, we conducted a brief survey to gather input on the preferred day of the week and time slot for such meetings. The results were clear: the majority still highlighted Wednesday at noon or late afternoon as the most convenient options. Based on this feedback, we established the default connection time on Wednesdays at 13:00.
Additionally, we developed an in-platform rescheduling system for meetings, providing participants with the opportunity to suggest alternative dates and times accompanied by a message. This feature aimed to streamline the rescheduling process and ensure effective communication between users.
By providing these meeting management tools, we aimed to simplify the coordination process, reduce the likelihood of missed meetings, and enhance the overall experience for all participants. Our goal was to empower users to effectively manage their connections while maintaining a seamless and convenient scheduling experience.
Datadriven improvements
One of the advantages of having the entire Gravity experience in-platform is the ability to incorporate variables to track metrics and gain a deeper understanding of its actual performance. We utilize Mixpanel to create charts and analyze user behavior on a weekly basis. With the help of these metrics, we can draw meaningful insights and develop tailored solutions to address any identified issues.
One of the behaviors we observed was a high occurrence of no-shows. Approximately 7% of users who had connections did not attend their scheduled meetings.
As we didn’t have the exact reasons behind this phenomenon, we hypothesized that last-minute unforeseen events may be the cause. Since they couldn’t reschedule within 3 hours of the session, they had limited flexibility. To address this, we implemented the following measures:
- Modified and reduced the rescheduling lock-in period to 1 hour before the session.
- During this timeframe, we provided users with the email and LinkedIn profile of their connection, allowing them to contact each other in case of emergencies or last-minute changes.
- In some cases, there have been instances of false no-shows or delayed contact where users eventually met on their own accord. To address this, we introduced a message to the person who had been reported as a no-show, providing them with an opportunity to explain their situation and prevent any unfair impact on their rating.
However, despite our efforts, we noticed that the number of no-shows did not decrease significantly. This prompted us to analyze the data to determine if there were members who had accumulated multiple no-show incidents. As it turned out, there were individuals who may have left Gravity active but were not paying attention to the platform or the emails. To address this issue, we made the decision to temporarily pause Gravity for members who had more than 3 consecutive no-shows and sent them an email informing them of this action. This was done to ensure that no further members would be adversely affected by these situations.
Looking towards the future
Despite having made some improvements, we still have a long way to go. One of the challenges we have encountered and have yet to address is user engagement.
We have observed in Mixpanel graphs that new members sign up for Gravity as soon as they join Nova. However, the number of active users in Gravity does not increase over time. This indicates that users eventually become disengaged and pause Gravity or, after pausing it for specific periods such as holidays or vacations, they fail to reactivate it. This presents a significant challenge as we need to find ways to keep the engagement alive in Gravity. Although it is currently not within the scope of our plans, we have considered implementing gamification elements to maintain the spirit and prevent users from abandoning the platform.
This engagement challenges are something we acknowledge and are actively exploring solutions for. We understand the importance of keeping users engaged and excited about using Gravity, and we are committed to finding innovative ways to address this kind of issues and enhance the overall user experience.
