HUSTLE HUB
HustleHub is your dynamic launchpad for student entrepreneurs in Ontario, it simplifies the hustle by offering expert insights, resources, and a vibrant community. Unleashing creativity and innovation, dive into entrepreneurship seamlessly with HustleHub – where ideas meet action.
Product Experience
Problem background
HustleHub caters to the entrepreneurial aspirations of post-secondary students in Ontario, recognizing their unique challenges and ambitions. Through qualitative research, including interviews with 10 students spanning various fields, a profound understanding of their struggles has emerged.
User pain points
Diverse Disciplines:
The student base encompasses various fields, not limited to business majors but also including STEM disciplines. This diversity highlights the widespread interest in entrepreneurship beyond traditional business studies.
Information Accessibility:
A significant concern is the limited access to information on initiating low-capital entrepreneurship ventures. Surprisingly, 30% of surveyed students faced difficulty finding adequate resources to guide them in this pursuit.
Confusing Resources:
Among the respondents, 10% managed to find information but were hindered by its complexity. The confusion surrounding available resources adds an extra layer of difficulty for aspiring student entrepreneurs.
Capital Constraints:
Financial constraints pose a substantial barrier, with 20% of students expressing a lack of capital as a hindrance to kickstarting their business ventures.
Mentorship Gap:
Another challenge is the absence of mentorship, as 10% of students indicated a need for guidance in the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey.
Marketing Tools Deficiency:
A notable 30% of students lacked essential marketing tools, hampering their ability to effectively promote and grow their ventures.
Discouragement and Dropout Rates:
The struggles faced by student entrepreneurs have tangible consequences, with a staggering 50% reporting discouragement that led them to contemplate discontinuing their pursuit of entrepreneurship.
The Urgent Need for HustleHub:
The evident gap in support for student entrepreneurs is underscored by their struggles to access crucial resources and guidance. HustleHub emerges as a crucial solution, aiming to bridge these gaps and empower student entrepreneurs in Ontario by providing expert insights, accessible resources, and a vibrant community. The platform seeks to transform these challenges into opportunities, ensuring that every student entrepreneur can navigate the entrepreneurial landscape with confidence and resilience.
User Stories:
- As a student entrepreneur in Ontario, I want to easily navigate the market and access crucial marketing resources, so that I can effectively promote my low-capital business and build a strong customer base while balancing school commitments.
- As a young makeup artist who recently moved to Toronto, I want assistance in establishing myself in the local market, finding clients willing to pay fair prices, and efficiently managing my business alongside other responsibilities.
- As a baker in Ontario, I want support in marketing my baked goods, securing dedicated customers who appreciate quality, and overcoming the challenges of managing my business while attending school.
Proposed Solution
HustleHub proposes a comprehensive platform that offers student entrepreneurs in Ontario access to a centralized hub of marketing resources, business management tools, and a supportive community. By providing tailored guidance and fostering connections, HustleHub empowers users to effectively navigate the market, balance work and school commitments, and build a loyal customer base.
Scenarios
Market Navigation:
Definition of Done: Users can easily access and navigate marketing resources relevant to their business, leading to improved visibility and customer engagement.
Balancing Act:
Definition of Done: Users successfully integrate business management tools into their routine, resulting in a more efficient balance between academic and entrepreneurial commitments.
Customer Acquisition:
Definition of Done: Users get new customers that were initially out of their reach, due to their business profiles being searchable on the platform.
Measuring Success
Co.lab Success Metrics:
- My goal is to have a comprehensive and meticulously crafted spec document, PM Portfolio write-up, and pitch that address the problem space, solution, and goals I aim to achieve with HustleHub.
Product Success Metrics:
Engagement Velocity
Market Navigation:
This metric focuses on the core functionality of navigating marketing resources. A higher percentage of monthly active users engaging with these resources indicates success in providing valuable content and tools.
Balancing Act:
By measuring the average session duration and the frequency of tool usage, you can gauge how effectively users are finding balance between academic and entrepreneurial commitments. Increased engagement signifies the platform's impact on helping users manage their time effectively.
Customer Acquisition:
The growth rate in successful customer acquisitions and transactions becomes the primary indicator of the platform's impact on business growth. This metric aligns with the core goal of helping users build and expand their ventures.
Milestones & Timeline
Platform Launch (Month 1-2): Roll out the HustleHub platform, allowing users to create profiles and access basic resources.
Resource Expansion (Month 3-4): Introduce additional marketing tools and learning resources on HustleHub to enhance user support.
Community Building (Month 5-6): Focus on building an engaged community on HustleHub through events, forums, and collaboration opportunities.
Feedback Iteration (Ongoing): Regularly gather user feedback on HustleHub and make iterative improvements to the platform based on user needs.
Demo Day (End of Project): Present a fully functional HustleHub platform with a thriving community, showcasing the achieved success metrics.
Open Questions / Appendix
User Feedback Mechanism: How will HustleHub gather and incorporate user feedback for continuous improvement?
Marketing and Outreach Strategy: What strategies will be employed to attract and onboard a diverse range of student entrepreneurs to HustleHub?
Scalability Plan: How can the HustleHub model be extended beyond the initial project, ensuring long-term sustainability and impact?
References
1. Reviewlution. (n.d.). Entrepreneur Statistics. Reviewlution. https://reviewlution.ca/resources/entrepreneur-statistics/#:~:text=The%20other%20most%20common%20reasons%20why%20startup%20businesses,1%207%25%20didn%E2%80%99t%20have%20the%20right%20business%20model
2. Fraser Institute. (2023). Why We Need Reform to Support Entrepreneurship in Canada. Fraser Institute. https://www.fraserinstitute.org/article/why-we-need-reform-to-support-entrepreneurship-in-canada
3. Link to results from survey: Understanding Low-Capital Entrepreneurship Challenges for Post-Secondary Students in Ontario (google.com)
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Sherabo Karen Nazze Naava
As a PM, I have learnt to patiently identify the challenge before I introduce the solution. It is important to gather data and identify user pain points before concluding one has a solution.
There are 3 major obstacles for student entrepreneurs in Ontario; capital, marketing tools and inconclusive information
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.