Pocket Watcher
Pocket Watcher is a community platform that provides a user-friendly site for beginning investors to learn about the stock market and ways to invest.
Problem Statement
How do we increase stock market knowledge so that investors, especially beginners, have no fear of the unknown and participate more consistently?
Problem Background
The customers we target are beginner stock market investors with limited knowledge of the stock market. These customers may feel overwhelmed or intimidated by the complexity of the stock market and are looking for a user-friendly tool/platform that helps them increase their knowledge. We are addressing this problem now because of the current social and economic uncertainty everyone is facing now. We know the long-term growth potential of investing in the stock market, especially at a younger age, is advantageous because you can use compounding and time to your advantage. According to CNBC, if you invested $500 a month over the past ten years in the S&P, you would have a total return of 225%, roughly $120,000. We also know investing in the stock market protects individuals against inflation, and social security may or may not be here in 30 years. We know the need for knowledge, or plain-out intimidation of investing, causes individuals to invest less or not at all in the stock market is a common theme based on our survey and articles provided.
Research Method
To truly build a product that would help inexperienced investors learn about the stock market, I used surveys, a quantitative research method. Surveys helped gather data amongst beginning investors. The survey included questions about current knowledge and confidence in the stock market. Additionally, the survey included questions on preferred learning styles and resources to help increase the knowledge among beginning investors.
Research Insights
Conducted a survey to see the data amongst beginning investors and their pain points when it comes to investing in the stock market. Despite the survey only receiving twenty-two respondents, I was elated to see roughly 90% were between 18 and 34. This serves as a great representation of who I deemed as the target consumer.
The results indicated that about 80% say stock market investing is important to reaching financial goals. Also, 70% state that they are somewhat or not satisfied with their current stock market investing knowledge. Lastly, an estimated 85% stated they do not invest in the stock market. According to our results, younger individuals would say stock market investing is important and would like to increase their knowledge, but they need an avenue that helps them.
Landing on the Solution
Based on the pain points of our potential users, it was identified that the main pain point was the need for more knowledge and confidence when it came to stock market investing.
This confirms our solution that a platform or social media tool that supports beginning investors by increasing their knowledge and confidence in stock market investing can be done through social investing.
Social investing is a term in which we believe novice stock market investors by introducing a new platform designed for users to become more knowledgeable about the stock market and investments. The platform is user-friendly and provides a plethora of information on investing in the stock market. Users can access educational content such as tutorials, videos, and articles covering various stock market aspects.
Users can interact with each other and share posts related to stock market investments, including their personal experiences and strategies. They can also create or join groups based on areas of interest and investment goals. The platform provides real-time updates and alerts on the stock market to inform users of the latest news.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Robert Adkins
As a product manager, it is always a good practice to define your problem early on to ensure you focus on one core problem. To discover one core problem, product managers develop product strategies by conducting surveys to understand market trends and customer needs.
Overall, it is important to understand that a product can be brand new or never thought of by anyone else. Still, it needs to have a well-defined problem space so that the design, engineering, marketing, and sales teams all have a product and overall business goals in mind.
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.