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Career Discovery Platform

Product PlanCareerly: Career Discovery Platform

Daniel GodinMarch 15, 2016

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Vision

Connect students with industry professionals to help them explore

career options and make better career choices.

Product Vision

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Product Strategy

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Product Strategy

• Existing resources and aptitude tests provide little information on the actual working life of a career.

• Family can be helpful but limited to their own experience.

• School counsellors are overtaxed and have limited experience with actual careers.

Students risk pursuing a career that does not suit them.

Problem

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Product Strategy

Careerly: a career discovery platform that connects students with industry professionals online to learn about career choices through Q&A and live chat.

Key features:• Explore professional profiles• Q&A• Live chat• Recognize helpful professionals

Solution

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Market Analysis

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Market Analysis

- CareerCruising robust platform- enScholar live

experiences- Nepris classroom

coaching

+ High economies of scale

- Low capital startup

- Gov’t policy not a factor

+ Large potential customer base- Low switching

costs- Established substitutes

- School counsellors, career advisors, parents,

Google+ Career

counselling provides poor

results

+ Software platforms widely

available+ Hosting highly

competitive- Difficult to find

developers

+ force works for us- force works against us

New Entrants

Buyer Power

Substitutes

Supplier Power Competitive Rivalry

Industry Analysis– 5 Forces

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Market Analysis

Competitive Strategy

Value

Cost

Low cost and focused• Low cost – lower license fee than competition• Focused – Q&A and chat

Careerly

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Market Analysis

Target Persona

Age: 17 yearsLocation:Kelowna, BCOccupation: Student

Alyssa AftergradDescription:Alyssa is halfway through her Grade 12 high school year. Her favorite subjects are math and chemistry. Like most high school kids, she spends a lot of time online using apps like Snapchat, Facebook and playing games like Candy Crush Saga. Alyssa lives in Kelowna, a town of about 105,000 people. Her dad is a construction project manager for the city and her mom an accountant.

Pains:• Unsure of what she wants to do after high school.• Has several ideas but also a lot of questions.• Parents are supportive but don’t know much outside their own jobs.

Goals:• Discover what to pursue after high school.• Start applying to universities.

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Market Analysis

Target Persona

Age: 20 yearsLocation: Vancouver, BCOccupation: Student

Sebastian StudiousDescription:Sebastian (Seb) is a 2nd year university undergraduate taking a Bachelor of Science. He decided to do a major in Physics because this was his favorite class in high school. Seb works a few evenings a week at a coffee shop near his college for a bit of extra spending money. He skis in the winter and plays beach volleyball with his friends most weekends in the summer.

Pains:• Unsure of exactly how to apply his undergrad degree.• Never thought about specific jobs until now.

Goals:• Explore career opportunities related to his degree.• Network with potential employers.

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Market Analysis

Target Persona

Age: 32 yearsLocation: Calgary, ABOccupation:Accountant

Nicole NextstepDescription:Nicole is a 32 year old accountant at a software technology startup. She’s been thinking recently about what makes her happy and realized she’s a bit bored in her job. She likes her boss and the people she works with but doesn’t find it challenging. Working with a tech company, Nicole has gained an interest in technology. She likes how people at her work get to create things and show them off to the team. She wants to be part of this.

Pains:• Work is no longer engaging.• Saved money for evening classes but not sure what to pursue.

Goals:• Choose a technology focus area then look for local programs that will teach

her the skills needed to change careers.

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Research Strategy

Changing the way students learn about career options

into an engaging online platform that connects students with

industry professionals will help students find compatible careers, reduce career churn and lead to higher job satisfaction.

Goal (Hypothesis)

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Product Strategy

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Research Strategy

Done…• Survey of 56 working professionals. How did they make career choices and what would

have helped?• Interviewed founder of enScholar. Non-profit that connects students to live

experiences.

Still to do…• Interview school counsellors. What is the scope of their role and challenges?• Interview high school students. What resources do the have available; pains and

needs?• Interview principals at high schools. Would they pay for service?• Interview university marketing. Would they advertise on platform?

Research Activities

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Research Strategy

1. What is your age range?2. In what country are you located?3. What is your current job title?4. When did you decide on your current career?5. How many times have you changed careers (emphasis on careers not jobs)?6. What were your reasons for changing careers (if applicable)?7. How satisfied are you with your current career?8. What did you used to help decide on your original career? (choose all that apply)9. Which were the most useful? (choose up to 3)10. How likely would you have been to choose a different career if you had better information on the

different career options available?11. Can you tell us a bit more about what would have helped you make a better choice? (optional but super

helpful)

Survey Questions – Working Professionals

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Research Strategy

When did you decide on your current career?

Survey Results

74% decided on a career outside of

high school

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Research Strategy

How many times have you changed careers and why?

Survey Results“High school counsellors sucked at advice.”

“I got bored and realized that was not what I wanted to do.“

“Through taking courses in university, I realized what I actually liked and disliked”

42% changed careers at least once

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Research Strategy

Which resources were most useful?

Survey Results

Career counsellors (college, high school, private) ranked lowest

Internet, parents and friends ranked highest

ParentsInternet research

High school counsellorHigh school teacher

College/university counsellorCollege/university teacher

Private career counsellorFriends

Other

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Research Strategy

What else would have helped?

Survey Results

Talk to Someone

“Having the ability to talk to

someone in industry”

“Getting a very blunt

talk by someone in the field”

“Truly knowing

about the life of [the profession]

before hand”

“Better awareness of what the day-to-day work is like in different

fields”

“Able to talk to people in that career”

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Product Planning

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Product Planning

Adoption Lifecycle Strategy

• Incentivize professionals• Start local and leverage

local relationships• Focus on technology

careers

• Heavy social media marketing

• Increase recognition for professionals

• Partner with LinkedIn and other education technology companies to cross-promote

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Product Planning

Product Canvas

Next StepsGoal: evaluate value of tool to students and counsellors, and what would motivate professionals to participate.

1. Interview school counsellors and high school students.

2. Interview professionals.3. MVP – Profiles and Q&A4. R1 – Chat and recognition

Big PictureWeb platform that allows industry students to search professionals, ask questions, and schedule a chat to discuss their career. Professionals are recognized for their contribution.

Wiselike.com but specific to career advice.

Target GroupSenior high school students who have the means to pursue higher education and need to choose a career.

Undergraduate students deciding how to apply their education to a career.

Adults looking to make a career change.

Name: Careerly Goal: Connect students with industry professionals to help them explore career options and make better career choices.

Metrics: Registrations, questions answered, chat requests, chats, referrals.

Students• Student profile• Search pro. profiles• Ask questions• Schedule chat• Recognize professional

Professionals• Professional profile• Answer questions• Participate in chats• Earn

recognition/badges

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Story Map with Slicing by Quality

Select a professional

Q&A student

Q&A professional

Login Find professional

View profile

Login via user/pass

SSO Login Google, FB, LI)

List single professional profile

Big list of all professionals

Text search

Smart suggestions

Select single professional from list

View basic details in search

Open full profile for viewing

View LinkedIn details

Respond to question

View Q&A history (list)

Basic Q&A text search

Smart Q&A search

Mark / flag professional to view later

Chat Recognition

User Accounts

Manage profile

Hard coded personal info

Update personal info

Set chat schedule

Connect LinkedIn profile

Professional Profiles Q&A Chat Recognition

Qual

ity o

f Epi

cs

Simple

R1

R2

R3

Submit question

Immediate chat

Recognize on LinkedIn

Leave a comment

Give badge

Scheduled chat

Chat history

MVP

Complex

Hard coded account

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Product Planning

Story: As a professional or student, I want to create an account (sign up) so that I can use the software.• AC: email address validated for uniqueness• AC: confirm password and password match, show helpful error if they don’t• AC: confirmation email sent with unique link• AC: clicking unique link in email sets account to active• AC: user receives welcome email with next steps related to creating profile

Story: As a professional or student, I want to sign in so that I can use the software.• AC: verify account is active, if not provide option to resend activation email• AC: email address and password verified• AC: provides option to reset password

Epics & Stories – User Accounts

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Product Planning

Story: As a student, I want to create a student profile so that I can connect with professionals.• AC: ability to select avatar (required)• AC: ability to specify first name/handle (required)• AC: verify first name/handle is a single word (for privacy)• AC: ability to specify a city (optional)• AC: ability to specify career interests• AC: all fields filtered for profanity

Story: As a professional, I want to create a professional profile so that students can see my expertise and connect with me.• AC: ability to upload a picture (optional – defaults to stock photo)• AC: ability to specify career and education (required)• AC: ability to specify city and LinkedIn profile link (optional)• AC: ability to describe career (required)• AC: ability to turn chat availability on or off• AC: all fields filtered for profanity

Epics & Stories – User Accounts

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Product Planning

Story: as a student, I want to search professionals by profession so that I can find a compatible professional.• AC: suggested careers appear in search box as you type• AC: pressing “enter” de-focuses cursor from search box• AC: user can change search at any time• AC: results appear dynamically as user types• AC: results sorted first by career relevancy then by location• AC: results include name, career, location, bio snippet

Story: as a student, I want to view professional profiles so I that can decide whether to initiate communication.• AC: profile opens as an overlay• AC: profile can be closed to return to previous search results• AC: profile provides options to ask question or schedule chat• AC: clicking option to chat gives user a message that feature is coming soon (MVP)

Epics & Stories – Professional Profiles

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Product Planning

Epic: Ask Question• Story: as a student, I want to ask a professional questions so I can find learn more about their career.• Story: as a professional, I want to answer students questions so I can share my career experience.

Epic: Q&A History• Story: as a student, I want to search previously asked questions so I can learn from previous students’

interactions.• Story: as a professional, I want to view previously asked questions so I can learn from previous

students’ interactions.

Epic: Chat• Story: as a student, I want to schedule a chat with a professional so I can talk to them about their

career.• Story: as a professional, I want to accept a chat request so I can share my career experience.• Story: as a student or professional, I want to be reminded of an upcoming chat so I don’t miss it.• Story: as a student or professional, I want to initiate chat so the learning can begin.

Epics & Stories – Communication

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Product Planning

WireframesStudent Profile Professional Profile

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Product Planning

WireframesSearch Professionals View Professional Profile

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Product Planning

WireframesChat

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Product Planning

Product Roadmap

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Financial Analysis

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Financial Analysis

Operational Costs2016

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Net Revenue (est.) $0 $0 $0 $18,000

Operating Expenses

R&D (NRE) $63,000 $63,000 $63,000 $63,000

Sales, marketing,administration

$0 $0 $21,000 $21,000

Rent + utilities $3600 $3600 $3600 $3600

Hosting $240 $240 $1,440 $1,440

COGS

Incentives $0 $0 $5000 $5000

Total Expenses $66,840 $66,840 $94,040 $94,040

NET INCOME ($66,840) ($66,840) ($94,040) ($76,040)

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Financial Analysis

Subscription Service• About 34,000 Universities, Colleges, and High Schools in Canada and the US• Subscription: $300 / month / school• Sales: targeting initial 20 schools in Y1Q4 with rapid expansion in year 2+• Profitable in year 2

2016 2017 2018 2019Subscribers (institutions)

20 100 200 500

Price / institution / month

$300 $300 $300 $300

Annual revenue $18,000 $360,000 $720,000 $1,800,000

Revenue Model

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Thank You!