Kno, Product Development
Now, more than ever, non-technical entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs are able to launch a minimum viable product (MVP) quickly and start learning from users. The No-Code movement is perhaps the most impactful and transformative trend in the startup space today. Kno, built on bubble.io, focuses on getting MVP functionality using Lean Startup Methodologies in a software prototype to show customers as fast as possible. Kno is a means to inspire behavior change in the way we think about our life. We know that the cost of legal fees for last will and testaments are a barrier to end of life planning (as well as the morbidity of the topic itself). This product aims to remove the barrier that prohibits taking action to identify and cultivating a narrative about your life in an effort to capture pertinent information that normally is a part of the end of life planning.
The Challenge
How might we ruminate on a life well lived to better prepare for our end? We plan the most important days in our lives, like weddings, baby showers, birthdays. As a BBIPOC individual, I have taken note that most End-of-Life services (EOL) are often times inaccessible, too expensive, or not on top of mind. This is also true for millennials, who often live like they are invaluable. This project seeks to create a meaningful product around EOL but creating a modern-day dead man's switch (a failsafe in the worst scenario if something happens to the user) hybridized with the poor man's will (a last will and testament made with just a pen and piece of paper).
Opportunity
Due to the loss of my partner, I found that EOL is a wicked problem space that is often overlooked by technology companies. In a COVID world where death is prevalent, I have found that this topic is becoming less taboo and more commonplace. The practice of memorializing ones life isn't new, we now see with social media that users are focused on documenting their life via the spectacle of influencers. My goal is to reframe what life documentation can become, a living record of ones life where loved ones can revisit those they have lost in a non invasive, soothing, and kind way. Ruminating on a life well lived (or remembrance) is a subtle way for individuals to passively plan their life.
Solution
My product solves emergency information dissemination by providing a central place for users to dictate information to specific people if something happens to the user.
Features
- Create a profile that contains emergency information
- Create, save, delete messages
- Designate who receives messages
- Timed / Delayed Message response due to inactivity
Target audience
Millenial BBIPOC individuals lives are disproportionately affected the most in comparison to their white or affluent counterparts.
- They/We shop differently than the industry sells
- They/We expect service levels that the industry doesn’t provide
- They/We want to transact easily, wherever and whenever they/we want
Target User Sentiments
- Talking about death is deemed morbid which makes them uncomfortable, so how do we create experiences that are familiar and enjoyable
- End of life services are perceived to be expensive and an afterthought
- Too busy to care
User Research Findings
- Users were confused with the jargon on the front page and felt it was overwhelming
- Users thought the idea has good intentions, but login expectations are high
- Users felt that the message component wasn't clear enough for them to understand the value of the product
- Users didn’t know how this message would be sent out
V0 Recommendations
- Needs to be cleaner / clearer to digest what needs to be done.
- Need a trigger / reminder for the person sending information to.
- Maybe help text will be good for helping users figure out what needs to be done.
- Need to make more useful steps in the beginging Create "How Does it work" SectionCleaner copy like "time interval"
V1 Features
- NFC Checkin
- Video Journaling
- Email Reminders
- Save Recipients
Takeaways
The use of no-code tools is an invaluable tool that non-technical founders can leverage in an effort to create usable products from day one. Bubble.io provides an opportunity to build professional looking and operating products for free and little to no cost to test an MVP. This was a great way just to test the market and interest with an app for fact finding so that we can make informed decisions on future features.
In honor of my late partner, love of my life, fiancé and best friend, Shane Diego Ernesto Colombo, whose life was taken by city group gun violence. I wish we had more memories, and a plan.