We are in the current process of developing the back end. Luca my co-founder has told me that it is best to develop a website format and app format at the same time as it makes everything easier in the future. Jason and I are working on the design and UX journey of each feature to make sure everything makes sense.
As of right now the prioritizing of the features are as follows:
Profile
Inspo
Events
Chat
Create
News
Entertain
Wishlist
Sell
Shop
We are also looking at domain titles: We found the domain name www.youniformapp.com for £0.99 a year vs. www.youniform.global which is also available but it is £39 a year. Youniform.global maintains the branding, while youniformapp.com may come up faster for SEO, something we are trying to focus on to understand why the consumer will find and download the application.
After I was really down about not getting onto the second round of the SET Challenge, I was driven to continue to work on my start up. I met with Alex from the digital learning lab and he recommended I look into Xcode if I wanted to code it myself. I also met with the head of the Digital Learning lab who said I was going in the right direction, but recommended I follow a few steps such as understanding why the user would download the app, etc. He said yes it would be good to work with the Creative Computing School, but it would make more sense to work with a student instead of investing my time trying to learn how to code and do everything. Although, I should learn some of it in order to communicate to my collaborators.
Luckily, the day after I found out I didn’t get onto the second round of the SET Challenge, I was approached by a member of the Facebook Group High Fashion Talk, and he was interested in my mobile application. He had just recently completed his first streetwear mobile application, and was interested in venturing onto the next, more challenging one. He had just gone through the same experience I was afraid of, so he knew the steps to go along and how to do them properly which has been very helpful thus far and hopefully in the future we can be Co-founders!
As my project of YOUNIFORM is a mobile application and start up business potentially that can lead to further opportunities such as a start up visa, I decided to apply for the SET challenge. Doing my research and outcome last term was the biggest help to do this application thus far. I can win up to 4,000 GBP which is very exciting and will aid towards making a MVP- Minimal Viable Prototype. Although I was given positive feedback, I did not win the competition. This competition did teach me how to verbalize my start up vision, and what it takes to apply for these competitions for the future. I will be applying for the MAYOR’s competition with a prize winning of up to 20,000 GBP, as well as the seed funding competition in May. All of this is just good practice for how to pitch my concept for future investors. It also is challenging me through how to structure my business model canvas for the future, who my consumer is in depth and the marketing that is so vital for the business.
I decided to host a digital focus group pertaining my mobile application through its functionality and design presented to potential users. I asked them about what features they would use, what kind of fashion they were drawn to, etc. To make it a fair focus group I reached out and created a post on the Facebook group High Fashion Talk, as those interested in archival and elevated streetwear would be my new target consumer based on the transition and maturity level. I had 4 individuals, 2 of which were women to partake. The results I got were interesting and were close to my educated assumptions.
The most interesting results are as follows. One girl said she is trying to buy more designer and sustainable items that are most expensive less often and tried to cut off fast fashion brands. Many mentioned luxury brands such as Rick Owens, Prada, Vetements, ACW and Kapital Country. They shopped off resale apps such as Grailed, Facebook, depop, eBay, Vestiaire, Heroine, etc. Many were drawn to @averyginsberg’s outfits (an influencer who I drew my color palette from) which reassured my choices as well as my direction into mature archival clothing rather than fast fashion streetwear like supreme.
They kept up with news once in a while, watched Youtube, and craved to chat one to one with each other. They felt groups were important to host discussion, and wanted to find a place to find fashion parties (to make the hunt easier). They created wishlists of items they were after. They wanted a way to find deals for luxury archive clothing as well as new pieces. They found inspiration on instagram accounts, pinterest, etc. They would love to create looks digitally before purchasing an item. They looked at the archive of their style through their instagram personal profile. They believe in stereotypes when it comes to elevated streetwear and fashion.
Overall in regards to the app, all said they would download it. Some features would not be used as much as others, but all were interesting to potential users for their aid in cultivating their style and education in fashion while creating community.
To see all outcomes, please request to be a part of the focus group: https://www.focusgroupit.com/groups/bc91ac37/questions/40195
