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LinkSphere

COGS 122: Startup Studio

Group 1: Penta

Kaylen Harley, Ghania Mehdi, Justine Dang,

Alexa Barbosa, Arohee Agrawal

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LinkSphere’s Mission

At LinkSphere, we ensure that every donation makes a tangible difference by creating individualized milestones that act as a guide for donors to see what their money is being used for.

We promote transparency by requiring accountability measures through professional case managers.

We enhance the connection between donors and recipients with our personalized matching system.

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Ensuring Transparency and Trust

  • Individuals experiencing homelessness must be affiliated with an organization’s program + have a case manager ensuring their commitment �
  • Case managers will be in charge of facilitating donations
  • Clear milestones – show donors how their money has directly impacted each milestone(s) they’ve contributed to

  • Donors can sign up for a newsletter – sends updates about the utilization of their donation and the person they’ve contributed to�
  • Make sure donors are aware that we take 5% of each donation

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Milestone Pages

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Motivation

  • PEH suffer from social stigma and are discriminated against mainly due from fear or lack of understanding
  • Organizations struggle with funding and aren’t able to reach enough individuals in need of their resources�
  • Community members expressed levels of distrust when considering donating to nonprofit organizations.

“Sometimes I don’t know what resources are available to help the housing crisis, I usually hear information through friends”

- Survey Participant S.V.

According to our surveys and interviews:

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Video Pitch

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Competitive Analysis

Key Features: �Online platform for crowdfunding microloans for international people in need.

Advantages:

After lenders are repaid, there is a high change they continue to lend money.

Disadvantages: �There is a risk of non-repayment from borrowers.

Key Features:

Campaign processing and marketing, as well as crowdfunding.�

Advantages:

Wider reach in terms of audience, with the potential of virality. Has strong brand recognition (34% market share in crowdfunding)�

Disadvantages: �Often focuses on singular people. Faced with competition for attention within the platform.

Kiva

GoFundMe

Key Features: �Online donation platform that connects users with nonprofits in need of donations

Advantages:�Gives nonprofits an easy way to keep track of donations and gives donors an easy platform to use, a faster checkout leads to more people actually donating

Disadvantages: �Hidden fees could offput some users

DonorBox

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Hi-Fi Prototype

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Kickstarter Campaign

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Budget & Growth Model

12-month Growth Model

Monthly Budget Model

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Ad Data

103 Clicks

5.61K Impressions

$0.41 CPC

1.84% CTR

Google Analytics

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Initial VFD

Tension Points

  • Funding is limited
  • Distrust in how orgs use/distribute donations
  • Individuals don’t know how/where to help
  • Individuals fear for their safety when trying to help the homeless
  • Competition for funding from government programs

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Revised VFD

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Final Poster

A5 - Figma Poster

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Meet the team!

Ghania Mehdi

Team Leader

Kaylen Harley

Alexa Barbosa

Justine Dang

Arohee Agrawal

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Appendix

Links:

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Extra Slides – Ideation of Hi-Fi Screens

Home/Landing Page

Milestone Page

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Extra Slides – Poster Ideation

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Landing Pages

Page-Centered Probe

We used Unbounce for both landing pages to perform A/B testing for our service. Each one of them emphasizes different types of information about our service.

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Landing Page A

Variant A highlights the different ways to use our service. It starts by showing who we are and what we do and follows with call to action buttons.

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Landing Page B

Variant B emphasizes the purpose of our service. It starts with the call to actions buttons to either become a donor or connect with other organizations and then shows what our service offers.

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Web Advertisement

Ad Copy:

Help End Homelessness | See your Impact | Contribute Today

Know where your money goes in the fight against homelessness. Connect with a non-profit near you.

Keywords: ways to donate, homeless people needs, donate homeless in SD, raise money, help homeless, volunteering

homelessness solutions, safety

Target Demographics:

Age: 25-45+

Income Level: 33k-200k+

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Version A

Version B

50

Visitors

65

Views

4

Conversions

8%

Conversion Rate

32

Visitors

34

Views

3

Conversions

9.38%

Conversion Rate

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A/B Landing Page Results

From 05/19-27 (9 days)

At the beginning of publishing the page, Variant A was the leading variant but as of May 27, our A/B testing shows that Variant B was had the highest conversion rate.��Though Variant B had the highest conversion rate, Variant A had the most conversions. ��The results shows us that users appeal more when the purpose of our service is emphasized.

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Ad Data

103 Clicks

5.61K Impressions

$0.41 CPC

1.84% CTR

Google Analytics

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Ad Data - Google Analytics

From 05/19-27 (9 days)

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MVP Interview Scenario + Hypotheses

Imagine you’re a wealthy donor interested in helping homeless individuals, ��but…

  • where do I start?
  • which organization should I donate to?
  • feeling overwhelmed by the plethora of options on Google

  1. Donors want to use a platform where they can donate to nonprofit organizations and people experiencing homelessness�
  2. Donors want to know where and how their money is being used.

Hypotheses:

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Concierge MVP

  • Tag System – Donors can choose what they’re interested in contributing to�
  • Matching System – Pairs donors with people experiencing homelessness
  • Milestones – Shows completed and uncompleted milestones that donors can contribute to�
  • Contract – Communicates what the donor will expect to receive from the individual they’ve donated to

Aims to simulate the donation process and experience:

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Service Enactment

  1. Figma Prototype
  2. Observe interactions, comments, and opinions from using the service

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MVP Interviewees

Tiffany Donahugh

  • 50 years old
  • Mom of 2 children both in college
  • Upper middle class
  • Generous contributor to numerous charities

Jenai Funk

  • 23 years old
  • Been apart of the organization for 3 years
  • Middle class
  • Interested in managing projects for humanitarian aid

Build A Miracle - �Program Coordinator/Project Manager

Interviewed at a benefit for the Alpha Phi foundation, an organization she has supported continuously

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Interview #1: Jenai Funk

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Notable Insights

Match Page

“Having the options and the specific programs you can choose from as a donor is great”

“Having more options and easily scout for who we want to donate to is accessible and nice”

Milestone Page

“I like that there’s a case manager that has talked with the person you’re helping and has set different goals and you can decide what to help on specifically”

Contract

“Signing a contract makes it more accountable as it backs up the donation”

“You’re not just randomly donating X amount of money and not knowing what will happen with that money”

“The website showing that they’ve done their work makes it more accountable”

Analysis

Keep the options feature for users to scout for who they want to donate to

Have the users have control of what milestones to help with was a good idea

Send proof and all documentation to the donor so our platform remains accountable and trustworthy

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Interview #2: Tiffany Donahugh

Notable Insights

Match Page

“I would prefer to only see the description because I am worried I will base my decision on looks rather on their circumstances”

Milestone Page

“I would want to know more about aspirations and long term goals, rather than their current milestone”

Contract

Interviewee compared it to how she would treat terms and conditions page, referring to the size of the print and color of the print would make her not read it.

Analysis

Removing the picture feature of each individual

Possibly replace pictures with avatars

Make a new feature where donors can see the long term goals in one place

Replace contract with simple highlights summarizing the main points we want users to know