From my top three competitors: Friendsy, MeetUp and the old school meet and greet at a college/university, Friendsy was the one that I chose to analyse. They are my biggest competitor because they are similar to the service I provide and target the same customer segment.
While writing up this analysis I realised a few things about my service. I realised that my top competitor has many features that I liked and many similarities to my app. They are a student to student app that allows them to form connections within their college campus. There was one feature that stood out to me the most. It is different than any of the features that I have on my app. The “hint” feature. This feature lets the student know that someone is interested in them by giving a hint and enhances the chances of a mutual match. It also can provide a more detailed or specific hint upon request.
Where I would differentiate from their service is in the three choices provided by their app. My app focuses on the friendship aspect of the connection. Its purpose is for students to find a friend(s) that is also going through a hard time in the college setting and share this experience with them. If they are interested in pursuing a romantic relationship after meeting on the app, then that will be their choice. I want students to have the opportunity to build friendships with other students they can relate to and support each other throughout their college years.
while I might pursue a similar value proposition since they provide a similar service and target the same customers, there are a few competitive advantages they have that will make it a bit hard for me to compete. For example, they provide the option to create a network where students can anonymously add comments and give compliments to one another. At the same time I am not so worried because there are other features that my app will contain that Friendsy does not offer and students will be eager to give it a try.
Hi Melissa,
I’m not sure if these other apps have these features, but perhaps you could integrate some kind of safety features that help your idea stand out against competitors.
Hey Melissa,
Your idea is quite compelling and I believe that your focus to strictly look at undergraduates and Baruch students can serve as an advantage with this idea.
“My app focuses on the friendship aspect of the connection. Its purpose is for students to find a friend(s) that is also going through a hard time in the college setting and share this experience with them.”
Which is great, but my question to you is – look at the Starr Career Center and other clubs and colleges that propose many emails per day in order to have virtual meetings and networking events. People can find connections in these platforms.
Along with another competition you mentioned is MEETUP – I use that app to find many pickup soccer games and such.
My question to you is – while there are many sources out there which students specially people our age will go ahead and use over Friendsy, how do you propose to tap into that market? Or is there an untapped set of customer you want to focus more on?
My goal is to focus on Baruch students, especially new incoming freshmen, that feel overwhelmed and alone entering this new setting. I want this platform to be specifically to find a friend that is ideally going through the same situation. So they will be able to provide support for each other. The app will have many different features that will make their lives easier and more pleasant. For example one of the features is that the students will be put in a pod(a group of individuals that share similar interests, schedules, and majors) and the app will notify the student when someone from their pod is in the same classroom as them. They will have the option to chat via direct message which could be anonymously and from there decide if they want to personally meet or not. I believe my app will have some features that some of these apps already have but they will be improved versions of it and will target the Baruch population specifically.