25A – What’s Next?

"What should we be doing that we aren't planning to do?"
A: I would suggest looking into high schools and middle schools. They might benefit from this app, too.
A: I think letting people connect across college campuses could be a cool option.
A: I think trying to use sororities and fraternities as a benefit could be interesting. I know it sounds like you are trying to compete with them, but instead you can try and partner with them to get more users. 

All interviewed future users said they agreed with and supported my idea of expanding internationally, especially the second interviewee, who said he'd love to interact with students in other campuses when planning his studying abroad.

All of these suggestions are really valuable. I would likely start out with my idea, without any of the suggestions. However, I plan on implementing the first and second ideas eventually, because they are really good ones. I would first look into expanding internationally. This idea would be great for those looking to make friends in different schools. I would make this an option people can select if they desire. I also would add a "studying abroad" sticker so people can see who they can connect with.

While I do like the idea of reaching more students, I may wait to expand to high school and middle school. This is because I would want to build an app that has credibility and coolness among my target market. Students who are 18+ may feel hesitant to join an app they see their young siblings on. I still will look into doing this, though, but only once its reputation is solid among my initial target market.

I asked two people who were 27 and 32, respectively, of their thoughts. They each expressed that this app, while unlikely to reach them, may be a great tool for people who move to new cities. They shared their experiences with moving to a new city and trying to make friends.

It appears that this app has the potential to influence the lives of may, not just those on a college campus, meaning my expectations were wrong. Though this new market is not as attractive as my existing market, I still think it could be something to keep an eye on. I may want to expand my app in the future to include this market.

The only issue I see with all of this is that my app was creating to be secure and a safe spot for users to know they aren't meeting a catfish. The way I want to go about this is by forcing security measures that make students sign up with a school email/ID. I cannot do this, nor attempt to guarantee safety, when I look into expanding to people who cannot be checked. The only solution would be having background checks, but that seems like too big of a requirement and commitment for people and I assume it would deter users from the platform.