AroundLIVE: The journey behind the app
We are the Phoenix team and we are here to analyze the thinking behind our Startup idea. Our team consists of:
Sofia Pavlidou vlahou eleni Ελένη Πούλιου
Themis Spyropoulou & Christos Papagiannis
In the previous episode we were asked to introduce our innovative idea about a startup via the Medium’s platform. Basically, we had to explain our “philosophy” and inspiration.
However, right now, we will dive into the intricate details of our application and step by step will try to present you with the whole procedure. Please follow at your own risk.
The personal research
At first, when we were asked to form an idea that would boost the music industry in our country, we took some time alone to introspect. The basic question was rather simple but complex at the same time: “What do we need that does not exist? Which problem are we being faced with and need to put an end to?”
The brainstorming phase
So as soon as every group member reached some conclusions, we knew that brainstorming time was around the corner and that is what we did. We set a date, brought our laptops, our notebooks and our possitive vibes and sat around the Round Table. A few hours and cups of coffee later, we defined the need and how we can possibly solve it in a viable, realistic manner.
After thoroughly checking that no app exists regarding our idea or even looks like it in Greece, we started designing it and solving one need at a time. We wanted to help everybody find nearby live events quickly and easily and provide them with the option of viewing via a streaming service.
At the same time,we felt the need to help the struggling musicians better promote their work in an efficient and cheap way, since Social Media promotion is constantly disappointing and confusing.
This is when we formed our Value Proposition Canvas and defined the needs, the possible solutions and our potential customers.
Later on we moved on to forming our Business Model Canvas. We are going to be honest here. We threw 3 or 4 of them in the dumpster before feeling satisfied with the result. The Business Model Canvas seems really direct and it sure is, but it puts you across your idea and makes you find the weaknesses as well as figure out an answer to every tinee- tiny question.
Research
After defining our 3 personas, aka our 3 potential clients (the musician, the one who wants to attend a live event and the one who wishes to stream the event), we organized a fοcus group to accumulate some data. We actually asked 5 semi- professional musicians ages 18 to 35 and 13 participants 18 to 40 to answer to a few questions.
The results reassured us that there really is a gap among the Greek market. Musicians cannot promote their music and people cannot keep track of live events. To be exact, 4 out of 5 participants claimed that they need an app like that but the vast majority wouldn’t pay for it.
Finding a catchy name and a logo
After completing the Primary as well as the Secondary Research, we started working on the application beginning with the logo and the name. Having known how important is to keep in mind building a brand from the first moment, we spent a significant amount of time on these two. We wanted it to make sense and to be catchy. Surveys have shown that our generations have a really small attention span, so keeping it simple but memorable is the way to boost customers’ engagement.
We came up with AroundLIVE, clearly mentioning the app’s purpose and for the logo we used a snail with a play button. We picked this animal because it has “antennas” and its body looks like the location pin. Location and connection are key words to our app and the play button reminds everyone that we are providing access to multimedia, live music or live videos.
The Prototype
The time came to start creating our vision. Using Proto.io we created the prototype of AroundLIVE. From the very first moment we had in mind what we learned in the Heuristics Evaluation session and tried to make it efficient and easy to use. We used two different menus for the two main customer groups, the Users and the Musicians.
The Users
For the Users we made a simple registration form that through easy steps would guide them to choose if they wish to attend a live event or stream it, pick a date, a location and finally choose the event.
The Musicians
For the musicians who wish to register we also created a simple but more detailed form since they are the ones who are going to upload footage.
They can create their own profile page and post their coming events. For the musicians there is a free trial of 2 events and afterwards there is a small fee depending on how many events they will upload per month. They can also create streams of their events for the Users to view.
To sum up
We are going to conclude this article with our Key Value Proposition. The current financial crisis that Greece is going through for more than 10 years has urged people to use their expertise in finding a job. Thus musicians perform locally to small live places. AroundLIVE can make these places from small bars and performing halls to big live stages in an easy and cheap way. Musicians are offered quick and efficient promotion and users can find a vast range of events that wouldn’t know of otherwise.
This is why we strongly believe that AroundLIVE is revolutionary for the Greek market and a necessity!
At this point we would like to thank Ms Betty Tsakarestou and Ms Domnika Skreta for their invaluable lessons and feedback during this semester at our Start Up Lab. Without their priceless guidance that derives from great experience, we wouldn’t have reached this point.
Sofia Pavlidou vlahou eleni Christos Papagiannis Themis Spyropoulou
