Insights

CLIENT

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Challenge

I participated in a hackathon focused on tackling significant challenges faced by entrepreneurs. One of the key issues presented was the harsh reality that many entrepreneurs face bankruptcy within five years of starting their businesses. During this hackathon, I specifically focused on street vendors, a group that often lacks decision-making power regarding their locations, with limited opportunities to increase their sales or visibility.

Street vendors in most regions struggle to secure prime locations and are often restricted in terms of how they can expand or optimize their businesses. The challenge was to develop solutions that empower these vendors, giving them more control over their locations and access to tools that can boost their sales.

Identified hypotheses

Street vendors lack autonomy in choosing profitable locations, which negatively impacts their sales and overall business growth.
Limited access to tools and resources for optimizing their business operations prevents street vendors from scaling.
Street vendors face difficulties in adapting to market changes and trends, which leads to stagnation.

Opportunities

If provided with a platform that allows them to make informed decisions about their operating locations, their sales and visibility will increase.
By offering user-friendly tools that track customer preferences, foot traffic, and optimal selling spots, vendors can make better decisions and grow their businesses more efficiently.
A platform that continuously updates vendors with market insights and consumer trends will enable them to adjust their offerings, keeping their business relevant and competitive.

Qualitative Research

I started by analyzing the problem, bringing in market trends I had observed across various industries and conducting an in-depth analysis of the situation. I highlighted the key factors that contributed to the project, as well as the legal aspects related to street vendors.

Given the limited time, we conducted a quick interview with a street vendor who shared the challenges they faced. Since we had only one interviewee, we developed a proto-persona and mapped out a customer journey to effectively guide the development of the prototype.

Flow

Based on data research, hypotheses, and identified opportunities, I built a flow that outlined the entire user journey, from the initial challenge of finding profitable locations to optimizing daily operations. This flow was designed to address the pain points we uncovered, such as the lack of decision-making power and limited access to resources.

Through this hackathon, I was awarded 1st place. Our team developed a platform that not only enhances the visibility of street vendors but also provides actionable insights to support better decision-making, ultimately improving the long-term viability of their businesses.

Takeaway

Concept

An app was developed that integrates ticketing platforms, Eventbrite and Google Maps, to track foot traffic in the city. Utilizing a heatmap provides insights for street vendors. The value proposition was to facilitate better decision-making regarding prime locations with higher foot traffic to boost their sales. The proposed monetization method involved leveraging generated data and, in the future, a percentage of digital transactions.