OuterSpace
SELF ASSESSMENT PLATFORM FOR SUSTAINABLE START-UPS
2023
Team
Team
Samuele Cellura
Lorenzo Castagna
Andrea Lo Curto
Mingyu Fan
Wang Shuang
Brief
Build a digital service, whose main offering would be based on the use of artificial intelligence, to respond to a specific need of a sustainable start-up.
Samuele Cellura
Lorenzo Castagna
Andrea Lo Curto
Mingyu Fan
Wang Shuang
Problem reframing
After gathering insights through research and interviews, it was time to reframe the problem.
Target
Series A Start-ups looking for an incubation program
Incubators looking for start-ups to invest on
Main needs
Manage applications and sustainability evaluations
Explicit the potentiality of program candidates
Expected impact
Easier and faster application process
Increase in sustainably suitable start-ups
Insights
The platform as a connection between the start-ups and the incubator they want to apply to
Tools and services to schedule the start-up growth and update their informations
Comparing with competitor as a metrics to measure the start-up’s market position
How can we facilitate the process of application of start-ups for incubation programs to make the development of sustainable projects more smooth and effective?
The concept
An AI-based platform, in a business agreement with incubators, with the purpose to address the pre-seed and series A start-ups in the application process for incubation, matching the parameters required by sustainable-oriented incubation programs.
Problem reframing
After gathering insights through research and interviews, it was time to reframe the problem.
Target
Main needs
Expected impact
Series A Start-ups looking for an incubation program
Incubators looking for start-ups to invest on
Manage applications and sustainability evaluations
Explicit the potentiality of program candidates
Easier and faster application process
Increase in sustainably suitable
start-ups
Insights
The platform as a connection between the start-ups and the incubator they want to apply to
Tools and services to schedule the start-up growth and update their informations
Comparing with competitor as a metrics to measure the start-up’s market position
How can we facilitate the process of application of start-ups for incubation programs to make the development of sustainable projects more smooth and effective?
The concept
An AI-based platform, in a business agreement with incubators, with the purpose to address the pre-seed and series A start-ups in the application process for incubation, matching the parameters required by sustainable-oriented incubation programs.
Service system
Main user
Customer
Main user
Emerging start-up
His main goal is to grow and become more competitive in order to apply to a program;
The more of them participate to the platform the more the service is accurate and useful;
Can join the platform for free and use it for the time they want;
High customization of the service for his needs;
Customer
Incubation services provider
Their main goal is for the best start-ups in the market to apply for his programs;
Establish an economic agreement with the platform to publish their programs on it;
Can access all the informations about the assessing start-ups on the platform;
His main goal is to grow and become more competitive in order to apply to a program;
The more of them participate to the platform the more the service is accurate and useful;
Can join the platform for free and use it for the time they want;
High customization of the service for his needs;
Their main goal is for the best start-ups in the market to apply for his programs;
Establish an economic agreement with the platform to publish their programs on it;
Can access all the informations about the assessing start-ups on the platform;
Offering map
Market knowledge
To have an overview and keep track of the situation, a dashboard shows the data and compares the user parameters with other competitor start-ups.
Application assistance
Based on collected data, a list of matching programmes are suggested and what is missing to achieve an optimal situation is highlighted.
Digital workspace
The possibility to update data to see how the situation changes and to organize activities through scheduling tools makes the start-up path more effective.
Customer journey map
Service blueprint
Main features
Start-up analysis
- Graphics and charts to define the start-up competitivity in the market;
- Data comparison with competitors and program parameters;
Space card
- Clear and complete data collection;
- Downloadable and sharable self-evaluation tab;
Program suggestion
- Detailed list of customer incubators and their programs;
- AI-based suggestions for the most suitable programs for the start-up;
Digital workspace
- Calendar service for all the team;
- Gantt generator to organize the work inside the team;
AI Core System
Data Input definition
The first important consideration to be made about the data used by the platform, and thus by the AI, is that each technological sector we could refer to has different and unique data parameters for its branch; the conclusion was that, hypothetically, the platform should divide the users and thus the start-ups first of all according to the sector of reference, to tailor the platform to those specific data needs.
Comparison
We decided that the AI would process the data of the users registered on the platform using analysis and cataloging methods that we had constructed and based on the data sources outlined above.
Here are the data that the user (manager of a start-up) will be called upon to fill in through their knowledge of their own company.
The division into three macro-groups and in turn sub-groups of each block of data is structured in such a way as to facilitate the understanding of the different sections of interest.
All the three groups are part of the so called business plan, that every type of start-up is supposed to have.
Final system and AI tasks
The definitive AI core system is based entirely on rule-based classification processes applied to the numerable dataset provided by the start-up user himself at the time of registration (and ideally updated over time) and whose objective is to generate and display a comparison between the user's data and those of other users or to the parameters of the incubation programs registered on the platform by the incubators.
Dataflow
The graph summarises what has been illustrated, then generating through the aqua-green arrows the gains by the two users.
As can be seen, the start-up enters data during registration that corresponds to typical data in a business plan. Quantitative data goes directly to the platform, while qualitative data is sent to the incubator.
The narrative code
User
The Start-up
Customers
The Incubator
Other users
The Competitors
A spaceship navigating
the universe
A planet waiting for the best visitors
Other spaceships exploring the universe
User
The
Start-up
A spaceship navigating
the universe
Customers
The Incubator
A planet waiting for the best visitors
Other users
The Competitors
Other spaceships exploring the universe
Main identity
Role colors
Space blue
Title
Tag
#191B41
Pink
Competitor
Competitor datum
#E56399
Electric blue
Clickable text
Button
Important information
#4C6EF6
Turquoise
Incubation program
Program parameter
#44F3DE
Light blue
Background
Visual separation
Non clickable
#EBEDF9
Electric blue
Your Start-up
Your data
#4C6EF6
Gray
Non active
#D8D8D8
Other
Vermilion
Warning
#EE6352
Interface
The home page is presented as a dashboard to summarize all the platform's contents on a single screen; the idea was to allow the user to immediately have a general idea of the situation in each section, and then go into more detail click by click on various specific aspects.
The entire interface of this section is composed of graphs of the data analysed by the AI, each placed in comparison with the data of competitors and incubation programs.
The terms of comparison can be controlled by a special control panel through which it is possible to select a specific competitor with whom to compare one's data or a specific program whose parameters are to be displayed.
The space card has the primary objective of collecting in a clear, accessible and immediate manner the numerous data required by the AI to perform its tasks.
The space card has the primary objective of collecting in a clear, accessible and immediate manner the numerous data required by the AI to perform its tasks.
The program section allows you to find new programmes by filtering between those recommended and those that match the parameters of the start-up. From this section, you can also add programmes to your favourites.
The Digital workspace aims to provide start-up teams registered on OuterSpace with some basic tools to organize their work directly on the platform where they view and explore their start-up analysis.
DO YOU THINK OUTERSPACE WOULD BE USEFUL FOR YOUR WORK AS A START-UPPER?
"Definitely potential there. Very user-friendly. We should focus on one of these features and make it really useful, so that the user can visit it often to consult the data he is interested in."
"I liked it, it is well organised and graphically appealing."
PROTOTYPE
