GOOGLE'S '30 WEEKS' INCUBATOR
Start, fail, repeat.
Various Projects (2014-2015)
30 Weeks is a founders program that's part design school, part incubator that transforms designers into founders who are equipped with the entrepreneurial skills, knowledge, and tech know-how to create products and start impactful companies.
ROLES
VISUAL DESIGN
INTERACTION DESIGN
USER RESEARCH
PROTOTYPING
BRANDING
MARKETING
1/Background
I quit my job in advertising to join this experimental program I first read about in Fast Company.
Six years into my career in advertising, I was creating ideas in different mediums for a variety of clients. But part of me was always itching to create something. Then one day I came across this article and decided to apply. I was 1 of 16 designers who made it into Google's 30 Weeks Incubator.
The learn-by-launching structure gave us a chance to build their products in an environment that's as close to the real thing as possible. Influencers in different areas of expertise spanning design, business, hiring, and development (Google, Frog Design, Behance, Twitter, Windforce Ventures, etc) were brought in for mentorship.
2/Experiments
Although I didn't end up launching a company, I was able to validate opportunities through three of the five concepts I tested through business models, user research, prototyping, and design.
Wings is an app for millenials to ask, help, and receive advice for their texts when it comes to dating.
When it comes to dating, millenials ask their closest friends for advice or deciphering text messages. But the best advice doesn't always come from people they know. They are hesitant to ask acquaintances or even strangers due to fear of judgment. I created Wings, a mobile platform for millenials to ask, help, and receive advice for their texts anonymously.
Flyhype helps sneakerheads buy and sell authentic high-value sneakers with peace of mind.
Due to the rise of sneaker sales on the secondary market, it has been harder to differentiate authentic sneakers from fake ones, resulting in a lack of trust between buyers and sellers. I created Flyhype to alleviate this problem by using the community to help authenticate sneakers as a start. The idea was to raise a seed round in hopes of creating a physical space where sneakers could be sent through for verification. I even reached out to Josh Luber of campless.com back in Feb 2015 in hopes of working together. Stockx.com was born a year later. Even though I failed to get this off the ground, I was happy to have discovered a need that aligned with my passions.
Littleboards helps existing online communities engage in discussions efficiently on mobile.
Forums have existed since the dawn of the internet, and still remain as one of the best platforms for creating discussions. But they are a hassle to setup if you don’t have technical knowledge, surfacing content is a nightmare, and browsing a forum on a mobile phone is a growing pain. I partnered with another designer to create LittleBoards, a mobile platform rethinking forums in the modern era for mobile phones.
3/Demo Day
A demo day was held at Google NY at the end of the program, where I gave a presentation of my failures through the context of Michael Jordan's first years in the league.