GatherRound

Problem Space 

Problem Statement  

How might we simplify the planning and execution of casual gatherings for individuals managing multiple groups, so they can organize successful events without the hassle of juggling multiple tools and platforms?

Problem Background  

Humans are social creatures, and connection and gathering are essential components of our lives. Whether it's a family dinner, a game night with friends, or a community event, these gatherings provide us with a sense of belonging, purpose, and joy. In today's world, where technology dominates our interactions, it's more critical than ever to make time for meaningful face-to-face connections. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) states that social support is essential for mental health, and social isolation and loneliness can have negative effects.

In users we surveyed the primary motivation for 100% of our users to organize events is socializing with friends and family. Additionally, 50% of our users expressed the desire to build community through these gatherings. These insights highlight that the desire to connect and re-connect is there but there are several barriers that make it impossible to plan a gathering.

Organizing successful events and managing multiple groups can be a challenging task that requires time, effort, and resources. We honed in on the challenges or barriers that prevent our participants from hosting more events and 4 central themes started emerging:

1. Time: Coordinating everyone's schedules and finding suitable time slots for events is a challenge, leading to conflicts and difficulty in getting an accurate headcount.
   
   
2. Location: Finding a convenient and affordable venue with adequate space for hosting events can be problematic, especially when accommodating larger groups and adhering to restrictions.
   
   
3. Money: Financial constraints hinder the ability to host parties and plan trips, serving as a barrier to organizing gatherings.
   
   
4. Social Battery: Balancing personal capacity and dealing with social exhaustion after consecutive events or trips can be draining and impact the ability to host gatherings.
   

Any successful solution we propose will need to address these challenges in order to allow our users to plan more memorable and successful gatherings.

Research Insights

User Pain Points

Users often face pain points when planning gatherings, as their current tools lack the features and capabilities needed to streamline the process. 

Common pain points include:

• The need for a unified gathering planning experience.
• Users desire robust polling features within group messages, eliminating the reliance on separate platforms like Google Calendar for event invitations.
• Additionally, users prefer the convenience of planning events on popular platforms like Instagram, rather than less utilized apps like Facebook.
• Advanced functionalities like availability checking and task assignment are also missing from their current workflows, hindering efficient event organization.

Supporting Data

• 37.5% of users when asked how satisfied they were with the current tools said “Satisfied”
• 12.5% of users when asked how satisfied they were with the current tools said “Very Satisfied”
• Coordinating everyone’s availability and food and drink preferences accounted for many of the challenges people face when planning an event.

Feedback

It was surprising how satisfied users were with their current workflows. They would keep their current ways of planning an event even if they are slightly inconvenient or if they need to use multiple tools to plan a successful event

The majority of participants use casual gatherings as a means to socialize with their friends and family and not necessarily meet new people.

Landing on the Solution

Our solution aims to simplify the planning and execution of casual gatherings for individuals managing multiple groups, alleviating the need to juggle multiple tools and platforms. By leveraging our platform, users can effortlessly plan and organize get-togethers while enjoying a seamless integration with their preferred platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, enabling easy invitations and communication with friends about upcoming events.

We offer a range of affordable venue and activity options, removing the stress associated with finding suitable event locations. Additionally, our comprehensive library of resources and tools, including event planning templates, customizable invitations, and valuable tips for hosting successful events, empowers users to plan meaningful and memorable gatherings that will delight their guests.

Our solution also provides a convenient way to coordinate everyone's availability, as well as their food and drink preferences, all in one place, streamlining the event planning process. With our platform, users can enjoy the ease and convenience of planning enjoyable and unforgettable events that foster connections and create lasting memories.

Future Steps

To make sure we were designing a solution that would make a user switch from their current way of planning casual gatherings I would increase my sample size and try and segment the participants a lot more. I was able to get a broad idea of the customer segment but I’d like to dive deeper to further prioritize the features of GatherRound