WiGo

WiGo is a new way to socialize for college students. The idea itself is very creative and unique. Ben Kaplan the founder of the app (who is currently 23) was looking for an easy way to find parties and plans to go out and socialize, and created the app that he launched at his college of Holy Cross. The idea was popular when he launched it and was able to draw more than half of his school's population. The app took off from there, and within the first several weeks of launch the app drew more than 50,000 users.


Currently, WiGo has more than $14 million dollars invested it by notable investors such as Kayak founder Paul English.

Here is a video of Kaplan explaining the appeal of his app and his decision to drop out of college to pursue his idea. 

The appeal of WiGo is that it is a social network, which encourages people to be truly social and go out and connect with other users. Whereas Facebook and Twitter have larger audiences that people may not wish to advertise their location to and meet in person, WiGo focuses on connecting people for real social experiences that are also college students. According to the website, social media sites don't answer two fundamental questions lingering on a college students mind: who is going out and where are they going.

There are safety features in place to ensure that all users are college students. Sign up requires an .edu email address, and the company has focused development and checks to see who is using the site. The company runs frequent reports on users who are blocked by other users, and if they are a repeat offender they are blacklisted.

The marketing strategy behind the app is simply brilliant. In order for WiGo to be available to a certain college it has to be "unlocked". In order for a school to be unlocked at least 5% of the student body must download the app.  No student wants to use a social network that no one else is using. By creating this lock feature it ensures that the market it becomes available to it will truly use it and encourage users to recruit more students. WiGo also employs ambassadors to promote the app at schools and recruit more users.

Citations:
http://www.businessinsider.com/14-million-startup-wigo-is-going-crazy-2015-2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mottKSXLbXo
http://college.usatoday.com/2014/10/27/is-wigo-revolutionizing-the-way-college-students-socialize/

Questions:

1. How likely would you be to use this app if our school was unlocked?
2. What do you believe is the appeal of having a network dedicated exclusively to going out?
3. What potential problems could you see occurring down the road for the app?
4. How is this app useful and relevant in today's college culture?

Go with the Flow... #GetAnApp

Hi Practicum Class! I am very sorry for the late Social Media Moment, I just got carried away by Thanksgiving break. Anyhow if you are still interested here is my post!

As I read the article The End of the Coffee Line in this week’s Bloomberg BusinessWeek Magazine, it came to my attention how slick and thoughtful these app developers are getting to really come up with useful tools for businesses to enhance their customer’s experience. The OrderAhead app which lets customers choose their order’s pickup time, lets businesses “address latent demand”, gets a 5-10% cut out of every transaction and is now making millions. Starbucks is now in the process of developing their new Starbucks App, which is now being tested in 150 locations around Portland, Oregon. With this app clients have the ability to select their item and pick-up location where they later receive an approximate pick-up time for the order. Customers can pay through a registered account and the app displays recent orders so customers who tend to buy the same thing can do so quickly. Chick-Fil-A is in the process of testing out their new app too. By assigning two or three preferred parking spots, they are now serving mobile ordered food in seconds. Customers are able to choose payment methods and any condiments/utensils needed. In the end, mobile order-ahead apps cost stores about $25,000 to implement but can increase traffic by as much as 30%.

How it works? Well as soon as the person downloading the app checks the box off acknowledging they are waiving whatever privacy right, they are exposing their geographic location to the app. This way, new orders coming into the restaurant through the app do not appear in the restaurant prep queue until that client is within a certain radius from the restaurant. This way, fewer people will be returning their orders and customers will be satisfied.

This being said, as most of us have had to reconnect with our venture ideas after having them in the back of our minds for a week or so, I want you guys to reflect on the following:

1)   As commerce seems to be interrupted by new ways to interact with customers, should an app of this sort be considered part of your initial venture expenses?

2)   After the feedback we received in the past week or so, what “latent demand” have you uncovered for your venture?

3)   How would a user-friendly app help enhance your venture as a whole? (increase customer base, advertising, shorter wait time, etc)

Works Cited:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-11-26/preorder-food-coffee-apps-can-boost-restaurant-sales 

Eduardo M