FOCUS
TeenWork is a platform that bridges the gap between teens from low-income households and their ambitions.
CHALLENGE
Considering any of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, develop a for-profit business designed for social innovation, including analysis for financial feasibility and a pitch to investors in the social sector.
WHEN
December 2021
ROLE
Product Strategy
User Research
Growth Strategy
TEAM
Pamela Roque
Joana Simoes
Shivani Bhansali
Sushmita Narayana
LINKS
PROCESS & RESEARCH
During an initial brainstorm, 4 of us designers were united by our common goal of improving Quality Education around the world.
"Co-develop curricula"
- Pam Roque
What if there was a platform where teenagers aged 14-19 could connect with working professionals
And receive income by providing simple services like dog-walking and grocery pick-up?
Testing our hypothesis
Talking
to teens
Checking in with dog -owners
Prompts
As dog owners, what do you need the most help with?
As dog owners, what do you need the most help with?
Insights
5 out of 7 interviewees already had a dog-walker or used a service that connects them to dog-walkers
For 4 out of 7 interviewees, trust is the driving factor while opting for a dog-walking service
Opportunities
There’s a big market for dog-walking or
dog-sitting services in
New York City
Training the teenagers to properly handle the responsibility is important
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How are things going for you at school?
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What things do you wish you'd learn?
-
Do you or are you allowed to have part-time jobs?
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Have you ever walked dogs before?
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Explain TeenWork - Would you use it?
4 out of 10 had experience walking and taking care of dogs
All 10 were interested in the idea of earning pocket money
All 10 were piqued with the idea of connecting with dog owners for life advice
Formalized employment of teenagers is an untapped market
TeenWork can be incredibly helpful for teens from lower-income households
trying to save up for college
Teens aged 16+ who have become more ambitious were much more receptive to the idea of TeenWork
Our Proposition
And what's different about TeenWork?
TeenWork reimagines the gig economy, where the gig-workers receive an equitable exchange of value.
We envision scenarios like a teenager who wants to study computer engineering being connected with a software engineer in the city
The Business Model
For the 2 user-types
Habitual & Casual,
a monthly subscription as well as pay-per-transaction
models was decided.
Leveraging existing spending habits of NYC dog-owners, we introduce a competitive $89 weekly subscription model
FINAL OUTPUT
App Prototypes
Click here for the full tea >
Our Growth Strategy
Leveraging organic connections
for accelerated growth
TEENAGERS
Offline onboarding
On-site recruitment: Public high schools in low-to-mid income neighborhoods
Posters at apartments
& neighborhood parks
Word-of-mouth
Mobilize first-mover teens
as “influencers” at schools and neighborhoods
DOG-OWNERS
Location-based ads
Targeting neighborhoods with dense dog population as per NYC unique dog licenses info
SEO & Ad-positioning
Alongside doggy-care products like on chewy.com, petsmart.com etc.
Let’s make our imprint
on the world, together.
