A social platform that gamifies social interaction
How The Adventure Began
Starvikk is the startup I co-founded in my final year at University. Growing up in a social media generation, I believe there are better ways for people to connect online – a place with excitement, fun, and engaging interaction.
How fascinating would it be, if we could build an online theme park?
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The vision is to gamify social interaction, and we have been through multiple iterations before landing on an event/game-based chat app positioning that has gained significant traction.
Major Achievements
2,000+
Registered Users
With 300+ DAU
#73
App Store Ranking
4 months after Beta Launch
$0.24
Cost Per Install (USD)
15x better than average
The Project
Starvikk is a social networking mobile application that hosts various creative games and events, both online and offline.
As the Product Designer and Co-Founder of the platform, I designed it from inception of the idea to validation.
Timeline Jan 2020 - Mar 2022
Methods Interview, Usability Testing, Survey, Focus Group, Prototyping
Team Size 2
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Tools
Context
A lot has changed since the Pandemic. New solutions arise for the way we work/ dine/ shop...But NOT for the way we socialize.
Scrolling through Instagram doesn’t make up for the hanging out and fun we used to have. This is especially true for the younger generation, who started and ended their semester via Zoom. We are isolated and alienated more than ever.
That is why we need a fundamentally new approach, to connect better with friends, and easier to meet new ones.
Our goal is to achieve that through Games and Events.
The Process
Research
The Instagram Page of Starvikk
The "Instagram" Approach
We had tried different product directions before this social network positioning. However, they failed for one obvious reason: The product was built without validating user needs. Those failures are one of the biggest lessons I have learned.
Thus, in this final pivot, we have decided the initial “Product” is nothing more than an Instagram Page.
No App, No Website, No Nothing.
Nothing will be built until a solid user need has been identified. To achieve that, extensive research is required, and we decided to carry out user research with a rather uncommon method: Instagram.
Simply put, we hosted games and events on Instagram, and users joined also through Instagram.
The Goal is to use the lowest cost possible, with the fastest iteration, that generates insights to answer our question: Do youngsters lack ways to connect with peers and seek fun interaction online?
1-on-1 New Friend Pairing
Users gave their answers to Quiz Games via Instagram Direct Message
Group Riddle Games
Sign up and groupings were completed in Instagram Chat
Choose Your Own Adventure
Research Rationales
Observe Direct User Behavior
Nothing demonstrates user needs better than actual action. If there is a need for online interaction through Games and Events, users will sign up. If not, the number will tell!
Establish A User Pool
To Facilitate Research
Targeted users (page followers) are within our reach, and we can run interviews, use Instagram Stories to collect feedback, well-crafted sign-up forms to reveal user goals.
Shorten Iteration Cycle
& Boost Insights
We evaluate performance and talk to users after each game. Then incorporate our findings to make things better. Next batch of game tests can be out in 7 days and start a new cycle. Even if we fail, we fail quickly.
Users feedback is gathered to better reflect their experience and true user goals.
We did interviews, surveys and made use of Instagram stories to understand thoughts and motives.
Continuously experimenting and iterating based on user feedback to pinpoint real user needs.
The image shows me hosting our first Live Game experiment during the time of Covid-19.
User Research - Key Findings
“ I want to meet new friends online without having them think I am looking for a partner ”
Lack of options
Most social networking platforms are dating apps with strong intention
Conversation Starters
User finds it difficult to start conversations and meet new friends in a normal context
Ability to Connect
As we do pairing on Instagram, users' ability to connect with other like-minded users is limited
Lack of Continuity
Users dislike it when games on Instagram end (especially if they won), it leaves no trace behind
Ideate
Some of our best performing games
There Lies The Opportunity
As we improved our game design with each research and testing cycle, the performance started to take off and reflected in numbers. Our participants go from 20 to 100, and to nearly 400 per game.
Solid user needs have been identified.
Till this point, the game process was still handled by me manually, and all games were completed on Instagram using its functions entirely.
From a business perspective, we also need automation to expand capacity.
$0
Spent on Software development
400
Participants
per Game
$0.028
Cost Per Click (USD)
20x better than average
Core Features
By identifying user and business needs, we decided to focus on three core features for the product.
Direct Messaging
Chat function that allows users to connect freely. We will still be introducing new friends to users through Pairing, but meanwhile, they can explore and start their conversations with anyone else.
Automated Sign-Up
Allowing users to join our games and events effortlessly, at the same time enabling automation to raise efficiency and provide the capacity to scale up.
User Profile & Rewards
User profiles help facilitate new connections. It also provides a sense of continuity for the time spent on games with Starvikk. Rewards serve the same goal and boost stickiness.
Low-fidelity Wireframe
Using wireframes, I mapped out the basic structure and framework of the product. The tool is also used for identifying development requirements, as well as gathering feedback from key stakeholders.
Prototype
Test It Before Building It
Before moving on to high-fidelity prototypes, usability testing and in-person focus group were conducted to ensure the product was useful and usable.
Usability Test
By conducting usability tests, the team was able to identify and refine what users were finding useful.
We also discovered designs with usability issues that can be adjusted accordingly to better meet the needs of users.
They were run multiple times, not just from low to high-fidelity but also in multiple design iterations of the high-fidelity prototype.
Positive Findings
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Users were able to complete tasks quickly
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Users liked the simple interface, found it easy to navigate and the process straight-forward
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Users liked the Event Page the best as it was organized and all games were clear at a glance
Negative Findings
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Users had trouble locating Profile information
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Users were confused by the wording we used to name other app users
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Users found the icon for Rewards hard to relate
Focus Group
As we move from Instagram Page to an App, it is important to understand user expectations towards the product. We want to know their experiences, perceptions, needs, and even their fantasies when using similar platforms.
Given our nature of social networking, a mixed-gender group setting was established to observe group dynamics and how they think about meeting new friends.
Key Insights
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Users liked keeping things anonymous at the beginning, kind of mysterious that way
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But at the same time, users liked to give out small hints on their personality. For example, users named themselves with a unique ID as if they were creating an avatar for a game
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The Product is overly branded with a space theme, users found it excessive
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Usually a small conversation starter is more than enough, the games don’t have to be massive and super sophisticated.
Notes taken during usability testing and an in-person focus group of four
High-fidelity Design
Key Design Changes
A high-fidelity prototype was created based on user feedback and after careful consideration of future scalability.
The following changes were featured:
Use Simple Wordings
Take away the space theme and related wordings from the initial design. Make them understandable to users by replacing them with direct language.
Create Starvikk Character
Allowing users to choose characters of their liking as their avatar, helps bring out users' personalities while remaining anonymous. It also promotes business branding.
Re-design User Profile
Drop all unnecessary information that was displayed in Profile Page, enabling users to provide more details if they wish, such as hobbies, schools, and zodiac signs.
Launch
Beta Launch On Mar 23, 2021, iOS Only
Never Cease To Listen
After the product was launched into the market, we never stopped observing user behaviors and listened to their feedback. It has been a continuous process of research, learning, iteration and enhancement.
Both the App and the Instagram Page run simultaneously where we continue to experiment.
Instagram focuses on experiment and reach while the App focuses on retention.
New Categories of Real-world Games and enhanced functionality in-app
Final Product
Here is a video demonstration of the App by the time of Mar 2022.
New features including Theme-based pairing, Group Chat function, and detail editing of Profile are added.
Major Achievements
2,000+
Registered Users
With 300+ DAU
#73
App Store Ranking
4 months after Beta Launch
$0.24
Cost Per Install (USD)
15x better than average
Learnings
During my start-up journey, an expression really stuck with me, it goes like this:
"Before computers, it was just pen and paper that were used for stock trading, yet people still went crazy all over it."
That summarizes part of my learning and belief: if we can pinpoint user needs through research, the business will thrive, even if the MVP is made out of pen and paper. And as the team continues to improve and offer top-notch experience that help users reach their goals – that would be truly impactful design. It brings the business to new heights and even possibly changes the world.
My learnings from this journey have shaped my thinking and actions. Feel free to reach out and connect!