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@trav-erse
Introducing...Dash!
My latest project, created at Hack Princeton 2014. http://challengepost.com/software/dash-lqumf
Tweet turn-by-turn directions, right from ur ride /cc @boostedboards @GarryTan @HackPrinceton @ohhaiwalid pic.twitter.com/WyFLdIMgam
— TwitterDev (@TwitterDev)
November 16, 2014
My First Thanksgiving
Well, sort of. My family has never sat down around a table and eaten dinner together on thanksgiving, and probably never will. Chinese New Year seems to be a more popular time for that.
A friend of mine sent me a note last week, saying he appreciated my friendship and that he really enjoys seeing me in class every week. It was a nice honest note, reflecting something we'd discussed in class earlier that week: if you were to die today, does everyone who matters in your life know how much they mean to you? I was completely flattered by this simple gesture, and also inspired by one of my professors who has a tradition of sending out Thank You cards for thanksgiving, I decided to do the same.
I picked out five individuals who have influenced me the most over the past year, and sent them all notes saying thanks. Five role models that I'd feel guilty if I died today, and they didn't know how much they have inspired me.
Thank you Professor Finnerty, for inspiring me to start my own Thanksgiving tradition.
Friday Nights
I headed downtown to the General Assembly alum meetup/happy hour, and I was talking to this guy Courtney about this idea. He mentioned that the market size may not be that great, since most people fly regardless of where they're going out of convenience, and many people's jobs pay for their flights, so price is not an issue.
He suggested I go sit in Union Station while people are waiting for trains, and ask them how they ended up picking the train over a bus (in the same terminal) and if they considered flights at all. What a brilliant idea.
+1 friend +1 great customer interview spot
Can't believe I didn't think of this earlier!
Food for Thought
#foodforthought What if you could take every non-personal phone call, and make an app that serves its purpose? #entrepreneurship #innovation
— Taylor (@taylorwants) October 16, 2014
Week 3: Next Steps?
My next steps are to now take this new idea, a result from multiple pivots, and really figure out how I want to monetize and advertise. Do I want to focus on the user experience of "creating a journey"? Do I want to just be a conglomerate of train/plane/bus, as per my original idea, and just incorporate what I've learned from all my customer interviews? What features do I want to incorporate?
I have many decisions to make in order to define this product at a more concrete level.
I want to learn more about behavior and how likely people really are to download an app like this, and how I can optimally serve their needs. This is similar to what I've been doing these past two weeks, but I'd like to now dive deeper into the psychology of it all.
Some more concrete steps include building a landing page, learning more about the technologies behind current gps software to determine how feasible the idea is, and getting people to sign up for exclusive beta access.
Week 3: Approach
I found people to interview mostly via classes I have and people I've networked with in the past. A lot of the time, I'll end up having coffee with someone and I'll mention that I'm working on an idea, and they'll be interested in hearing more about the product. Instead of telling them about it, I'll interview them instead and reveal the product at the end.
I started my interviews by asking about how often they travel, and for a story about their most recent trip. I asked about travel habits and how they build their itineraries. This would vary from person to person depending on their response, but generally I would next tackle the things that bother them, or take too much time. For example, many people hated delays and were stressed out by traveling in general. I tried to gauge emotion rather than what they were saying, because it tended to be a better indicator of what they may want.
I picked up a lot of new features just from complaints. "I wish there was an app that just could tell me if something was delayed!" Well, I guess I can do that.
I would reveal the product, and ask for suggestions on how they can see this app benefitting them, and how it can better serve their needs. I would finish off by asking them about different monetary models in a non-passive manner (i.e. here's the app, give me $5. my approach also varied by person here).
Week 3: What I Learned
The customer interviews were a success in that I've learned a lot about how people travel, their habits, and what bothers them while they travel. However, they were also to a degree unsuccessful in that I still am unsure about what would better serve them.
I've pivoted many times throughout this process, and I found it difficult to go through each iteration and ask people's opinions on each one. I would typically mention the original (price/time comparison tool) and the current product (total time/price/experience/reminder/etc.). It's gotten to a point where it's a little convoluted and the idea is a bit too complicated, and I'm not sure what I should simplify the product to.
I definitely found a lot of potential, and my idea was validated by some of the audience, but definitely not all. I found this discouraging at first, but I realized that not everyone uses the same apps and some will be more successful with different audience groups. I wasn't too surprised that even within the student interviews, habits varied tremendously.
The good news that the idea wasn't completely invalidated by anyone, and I definitely learned and grew from people who said that they wouldn't necessarily use the product today.
Customer Interview: Cherie
Student, Georgetown University
Thoughts on app
She travels primarily by bus, mostly to home and back. She always uses megabus, because it's cheap and she is familiar with the company and prefers it to other bus services. She finds other services to be pricier and less convenient, though she doesn't know of too many other services.
It's faster for her to compare prices between companies in different tabs, and it's already pretty convenient. However, it could be nice to have a single interface for it.
She would like it if it were easier to put in her travel dates, she doesn't like the current calendar view. There can be a lot to scroll through before she gets to the date she wants. She would like something that might suggest dates throughout the year, like newsletters that would remind people that they should start buying their tickets.
The app can help people who tend to be late better gauge travel time, and it would be nice if it would point out food along the way of your travels, and perhaps take into account the amount of time you want to take to eat.
Would pay?
Maybe not a $2 service fee, but $1 + 1% is fair.
Customer Interview: Landon
Student, Georgetown University
Thoughts on app
He usually covers short distances by car, but now that he doesn't have a car, he flies all the time. He needs to fly home because it's too far a distance for the train. He needs to go to NY in a month, and compared train, bus, and flight tickets. WanderU was a useful tool he used to compare bus prices.
He ended up using Megabus for booking the trip, and finds it annoying that he was redirected to Megabus's main page rather than just a checkout page where he could just pay and be done. Many sites do take you straight to checkout now, but staying on the same site would provide a smoother experience.
His travel also depends on how much baggage he has, and he'll decide to take uber or metro accordingly. He hates checking in at security, and would like to cut down on down time between flights. Long lines are annoying for him.
Interestingly, he doesn't consider getting to and leaving the airport a part of his travel time. He also doesn't care much about delays, and is kind of annoyed by notifications that tell him if things are late--the delta app and passbook already tell him that.
He would like something that would allow him to scan his phone as a boarding pass. It would be cool to integrate with Passbook. As long as he can scan the QR code at the gate, he would use it.
Would pay?
If he could book everything at once, he would definitely pay a $2 service charge. He probably wouldn't pay for the app, and $1 + 1% wouldn't be a bad fee.
He'd be interested in a subscription for a frequent traveler.
Customer Interview: Riya
Student, Georgetown University
Thoughts on app
She usually drives or takes the subway to travel around in California. She usually has a specific timeline, so she just chooses whatever plane would fit her schedule the best.
She took the plane to Boston, and got directions for the T via Google maps.
She decides when to leave the house based on a number of factors, including how much baggage she has.
In an unfamiliar area, she's unsure about how hard it would be to find a taxi, and whether there will be traffic.
She wouldn't abide by an itinerary provided by the app. She would read it over and take suggestions, but she would rely on her own knowledge and the knowledge of locals more than that of an app, even if it draws from data from the past few years.
She would be interested in getting live updates for delays, but airplanes already text her alerts so she wouldn't be interested in that.
Customer Interview: Demetrius
Student, Georgetown University
Thoughts on app
He usually takes a plane unless it would take less than 4 hours for a bus or train. He has only taken the train once, but he loved it and would definitely do it again. He prefers train to bus because of comfort.
He usually goes to each website to compare prices between Amtrak, Megabus, and Bolt bus. He uses Google flights to find plane prices. He finds it easier to go to each site, and trusts their information than a conglomerate site like Hotwire.
He usually doesn't think about traveling to the station, and there's usually shuttles so it's not a big problem. Delays are unpredictable, but the app could help with time estimation.
Having a re-book option would be interesting, but it usually varies. He is also loyal to Delta airlines, so he sometimes opts for Delta just out of convenience.
He doesn't like signing up for a service before seeing the prices.
Would pay?
He would pay more for the app if he heard positive things about it from other people.
Waiving the convenience fee makes him more willing to buy his ticket online
He would pay $1 for a booking fee.
Customer Interview: Connor
Student, Georgetown University
Thoughts on app
He tends to travel around 10 times a year, and usually flies or drives with his parents. Trains are inconvenient for him to get home, so the other options are better. Sometimes a train is cheaper and faster than a plane, but he would never take a bus due to comfort.
He compares prices using Kayak and Amtrak, and usually cabs to the station. He's usually late for things, so reminders would be nice.
He would use the app if it was a seamless experience, since opening tabs isn't too much of a hassle for him.
He would be interested in having information about how long the lines at TSA are in live time.
He would like it to integrate with Apple Passbook. He likes having his departure time and gates and ticket on his phone, but he also likes having the option of having everything in one app so he doesn't have to change interfaces.
Customer Interview: Chloe
Student, Georgetown University
Thoughts on app
She travels a lot between home and school, and makes occasional trips to other cities if it's not too expensive. She travels a lot abroad, and finds that it's easier to schedule trains and navigate abroad because there are more options and it's more accessible. She likes the comprehensive rail options, and the methods of searching for a train are more developed and user friendly. There are more stops and you can go anywhere by train.
She likes using Google maps to visualize the place she's traveling to before she tries to look for transportation. Google only recommends one website for finding directions, and it would be nice if there were more. She usually has many tabs open between Orbit, Priceline, etc. just for comparing prices.
She usually gets dropped off at the airport by her dad, and she either spends money on a cab with her mom or they suffer through the French metro. She would like something that would allow her to carpool with strangers, split costs, and make friends. She doesn't like busses, and she likes to walk. She doesn't like to take taxis or the metro, but will settle for an uber when it is the best option.
Her favorite mode of transportation is the train due to comfort and convenience, and it is good for the environment. She doesn't always look at the difference between plane and train, partially because she is so partial to trains. She doesn't get motion sickness on trains, and it's just less of a hassle because she doesn't have to go through security. Trains are worth it for the experience. She doesn't like busses, so she will usually opt for the train whenever possible.
She has trouble calculating time backwards, so an app that would help her determine when to leave would be helpful. A calculator that subtracts time would be useful.
She would like reminders that tell her when to leave, and it would be helpful if there's live updates and notifications about train delays, etc. so that you can adjust your itinerary. You can better prepare if you have the information. She would like the ability to change her itinerary on the go.
She wants to have tickets stored on her phone, so when she's traveling, she can scan her phone for the bus, hop on, and once she gets to the train station, she can swipe that ticket away and her train ticket will be on her screen, which she can easily scan when boarding.
She would like the option to make notes for her self in the future, i.e. This trip was great, would be a good one to re-book.
Would pay?
She would probably pay $1, and she would be okay with ads if the app was free. She would be okay with a percentage charge, since $10 isn't a big deal if the trip costs $300.
She would not be happy with cancellation fees, and it could be tricky to handle refunds for canceled trains.
She would pay a monthly subscription of $8-12, or a yearly subscription of $80-100. She would be interested in a summer subscription or seasonal subscriptions for the holidays.
Customer Interview: Mairead
Student, Georgetown University
Thoughts on app
She travels primarily over big holidays, and takes road trips during the summer, and hopes to travel more after college. She likes to plan everything very exactly, and prefers to be early than late. She hates kayak/expedia, but always uses them. She wants less and more effective results, with good prices, and less ads.
She prefers train to bus if her parents are paying, but cost is more of a factor if she's paying out of pocket. She compares prices, and tends to use multiple tabs to check prices.
Her pet peeve is traffic. It took her 3 hours to make a 1.5 hour drive to the airport. She was almost late because of traffic. She doesn't care about being early since she can read books, but doesn't like being late. She would like to have a feature that helped her find out about delays ahead of time, but the app would have to be 100% accurate. She would not risk being late if the app wasn't 100% sure.
Would pay?
Would consider paying $5 for a "service" charge, and definitely would pay $2, and would never consider anything over $10. The app would have to be free if there were ads, unless there was a popup that asks "Are you sure you want to navigate to this other site?"
She likes the idea of a rewards program (i.e. 5 trips, book one for no service charge)
Customer Interview: Nina
Coordinator, Global Language Network
Thoughts on app
She usually determines her mode of transportation based on how far she's traveling and the price. She likes to minimize the cost.
She likes the idea of having reminders for when you should leave the house, but would like to be able to customize how much time to leave according to her personal tastes.
She would use the app only if it was comprehensive in all modes of transportation.
Would pay?
She wouldn't mind ads in a free app, and she would never pay for an app. She would pay a $1-$2 service charge.
If she's put in a lot of effort to figuring out her trip, she wouldn't mind spending more to save time.
Customer Interview: Alex
Founder, Lokay Me
Thoughts on app
He usually uses Amtrak and Vamoose to get around, and cab to get to the stations. He usually checks the price for trains before considering busses or driving. His biggest problem with the current process is that it is stressful.
He doesn't calculate the money he spends for parking or getting to the stations, though those can really add up. Convenience plays a huge factor for him, and when the metros metros are closed, his priorities are different.
He would like to have notifications for delays, and live updates on trains. He would be interested on working on this project with me!
If someone busy is traveling and their plane is canceled, that is more time they could be spending with their kids. Lots of time is wasted waiting for planes, and if that could be minimized and their time could be amplified, that would be great. Less stress about delays is also nice.
Would pay?
He doesn't need it now, but would pay $1 for a service charge.
Customer Interview: Chris
Student, Georgetown University
Thoughts on app
He relies mostly on Google maps, Expedia, and company websites to get around. He would like a better conglomerating tool for public transportation. Depending on when he is traveling, he has different preferences for how to get to and from the station/airport.
He would also compare prices for renting a car, and would sacrifice comfort temporarily for money. He goes for the cheapest and quickest way to get places that fits his schedule.
He would like to have three columns that display plane, train, and bus results next to each other, esp for web. The app seems like it should target foreigners.
Would pay?
Pay depending on how much person travels. An internal travel currency could be interesting.