Strangers on the Hill — The “birth” of HeartTalk startup

Unknown involves risk and difficult decisions. The question is are we ready to take it, to get out of our safety? If you are ambitious and willing to succeed taking risks is maybe the only and most wise decision. Of course risk presupposes a background of knowledge and experience.

The “Strangers on the Hill” (Christina Baltouna, Eftychia Past, Elpiniki Primou, Socratis Pantelios, Basilis Filipakopoulos) team decided to confront with the challenge of risk and take a deep dive into the world of startups. Within the university course of “Introduction in Advertising and Public Relations”, five unknown people, representing three different generations and being each other in a certain point of life, met for the first time and begin a “journey” trying to connect, to communicate and cooperate in a common goal. Our different starting points did not, however, prevent us from “building” an interesting and effective cooperation, indeed it turned out to be an advantage as we successfully combine experience with freshness of youth.

Brainchild of this constructive cooperation was the “HeartTalk” startup, an idea “borned” through our common perceptions and sensitivities especially concerning sensitive issues of society. Our main goal was to have a useful and productive role in society, a positive impact to people who are most in need, mainly to those suffering from illnesses. We focused on creating something out of the ordinary and at the same time innovative, a startup which successfully combines classical and modern elements.

Sharing a common point of view and being people with sense of commitment to our fellow citizens, we joined our thoughts together and came up with an idea which “exploits” the digital environment and its potential for the benefit of citizens in need who afraid to come out and ask for it because of the prejudices and stigma that culture itself has cultivated. In a contemporary era societies ought to move forward, to be modernized, preserving however the values and principles have inherited over the years.

HeartTalk……a startup with purpose

HeartTalk is a community platform / application where people suffering from various illnesses can come together, exchange their thoughts and feel better thanks to empathy. This specific platform is not based on anonymity, on the contrary, it boosts patients to speak out about their illness and not be ashamed about that.

Creates an environment where each user can be emotionally able to identify himself/ herself with others mental state. Moreover creates an environment of trust — the most crucial point of the whole project — where users feel safe to express all their feelings and needs. People suffering illnesses will be able to talk with other people in same condition through a chatroom where they can have a conversation and exchange thoughts. Any time of day users have the chance to submit their thoughts at a frame with the 200 character limitation. By using an algorithm based on keywords, HeartTalk matches user’s thoughts and motivate them chatting privately.

HeartTalk cooperates with experts — mainly psychologists — who will be responsible to secure that people asking for help are really in need through inspecting the answers given to questions the users are requested to response in the form they have to fill in accessing the service for the first time. In the process experts will observe the patients conversations and will intervene with discretion in cases of real need or weird activity.

HeartTalk primary goal is eventually to offer — in the most effective way — the “tools” will pull people with illnesses out of their “isolation” and show them a way towards the optimistic side of life.

The “journey” — From idea to implementation

From the conception of an idea to its implementation you go through a long way full of difficulties, challenges and passion from creativity. “Strangers on the Hill” put ourselves in this process with the desire to explore something unprecedented for us and create something from scratch beyond our “limits” or the abilities we thought having at the certain point of time.

Having come to our idea, the first step was to frame the problem. Patients suffering illnesses come often into a situation they feel a strong need for support — mainly in the psychological field — wherever they are and whatever time it is during the day or night. They feel the need knowing that they are not alone, on the contrary, that there are other people experiencing the same health problem. This condition is a reality existing in our society more than ever and the question arises is how do we inform these people that they are not alone, how will we bring these people together.

And that’s how we came up with the design of HeartTalk platform, an online service which “break” the limits of time and space. Nowadays internet and general digital developments are the society’s operating factors, everything is mediated by web. So we decided to “take advantage” of internet capabilities to create a service with a good cause.

In a second phase, we went through creating the users experience map where is presented the given situation, how the “HeartTalk” platform works and what services is offering to its potential users. We analyse how the users can benefit using platform’s apps in an environment of intimacy and trust.

Our next step, in the context of design and implementing a startup was to drew up a questionnaire addressed to potential users in order to have a feedback on the application’s impact. We organized a database of people suffering from chronic diseases, whose data we collected, upon their approval, from Associations supporting people with health problems. Via email we asked 50 people to answer the questionnaire sent them so as to capture application’s dynamic and acceptance but also their comments on the services provided. We receive back approximately 30 completed questionnaires findings of which were of particular interest giving us the motivation and inspiration to keep up with our project. The questionnaire includes to the point questions on the application’s work and utility and provided services effectiveness.

Following the feedback given by potential users in the questionnaire / interview process, while taking account of the prior work in previous phases of project, we start creating our Prototype, the most demanding and important part of whole effort as it is the “mirror” of startup and will either lead to success or failure.

But before entering the final stretch we had the opportunity to participate in the Startup Speed Dating, a process which “forced” us to see our project from another perspective creating concerns that contributed to the upgrading of our startup. Through this process we came across with a variety of concepts and ideas, saw how other startups work and had acknowledge of an objective point of view upon our project Furthermore we observed how future potential users react to our idea, a first crucial sign of project’s impact. During this process members of each team exchange three key roles influencing the progress of the project and contributing in it’s success.

And the moment of truth is here. Having in our hands the feedback from startup speed dating process and generally all the necessaries informations and “tools”, we proceeded in the implementation of “HeartTalk” platform / application. With all of our creativity and sense of responsibility we offer to potential users a space of socialization and exchange of views and feelings, always with respect to every citizen’s rights.

https://basilisfilippako.wixsite.com/hearttalk

And what about…… making known your startup?

Implementing an idea, creating a startup is the halfway not the end of the road. The most crucial and vital part of the whole project is how you gonna lead your project to success, make your effort worth it.

And the question is how will we address to our target group our platform / application. In our case how will we inform potential users that they are not alone, how will we bring these people together.

Here it comes the communication strategy from which is depended the success of the project. Design of a good and effective communication campaign is οne of the key factors for every startup sustainability.

In this context our team designed a three phase communication plan contain a)the Pre-Launch, actions before the app goes in the market, b)the Launch, actions for when the app is available and c)After Launch, actions to make the app sustainable. Among others we created a twitter account and hashtags like #speak_out_about_your_illness, at the 12 May, International Awareness Day about chronic illnesses, we sent videos to our database asking them to upload it on their social media and making it viral as well as press releases to newspapers and tv/radio stations about our project.

https://medium.com/@eftychiapast, https://medium.com/@socratispan, https://medium.com/@elpiniki, https://medium.com/@b_filippako