Design for Startups Spring 2020

Over the course of 12 weeks, nine student designers will work directly with the technical and business leads of nine BC companies to explore and develop a new methodology for connecting design to Internet startups.

Student designers will consider existing design gaps, perform user interface/usability studies, and develop design strategies for the companies in residence.

Spring 2020 company-student partnerships are:

Appreciation Engine (AE) helps major brands deliver unforgettable customer experiences through high-trust two-way data relationships. Brands use AE’s real-time customer insights (CDP) and access management (CIAM) to hyper-personalized recommendations, contests, campaigns and offers to their customers’ tastes. And customers retain control over their data with AE’s built-in data rights management solutions. It’s a win-win way to work with data insights.

Janani Ramesh will work with Appreciation Engine.

Aquanow is a trading and technology firm that develops solutions to competitively source and deliver liquidity across markets. Our continuous investment into infrastructure, research & development provide a durable competitive advantage for firms operating in both digital asset and traditional financial markets.

Sanaz Tasougi Azar will work with Aquanow.

Biba makes mobile apps that use the power of screens to get kids and families off the couch and back outside on the playground! Recently named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2019, Biba combines parental engagement with screen technology to encourage kids to reach their recommended amount of 60 minutes of physical activity per day–in a fun way! And as a side benefit, all of Biba’s gameplay data gets used to help playground owners learn more about how their sites are used, which empowers them to make better decisions that positively impact the playgrounds that communities rely on. Smart play for smarter playgrounds.

Bonnie Wong will work with Biba.

CheckingIn is a free and private app to help you develop self-awareness, practice mindfulness, and manage stress and anxiety by quickly tuning in to your ENERGY and EMOTIONS.

Bronwyn Proctor will work with CheckingIn.

CTO.AI is the shared command line for DevOps automation. It is designed for high growth engineering teams to reduce the complexity of DevOps tasks and free up cycles so teams can focus on core development. It is DevOps as a Service, where we provide solutions across the DevOps lifecycle to help streamline development and enhance the developer experience through a shared command line.

Nikoo Farvardin will work with CTO.AI

Defind is a platform disrupting the architecture industry. Finding the right architect is overwhelming; clients often don’t know where to start. On the flip side, architects don’t have well-established marketing channels and are often primarily focused on their current projects, not on what comes next. That’s why an architect and a Forbes 30 Under 30 serial entrepreneur joined forces to create Defind. Defind gives architects the tools and insights to grow their business and effortlessly find the perfect clients. By seamlessly connecting clients and architects, there’s more time for outstanding design: creating homes, workplaces and communities that benefit us all.

Cassandra Grdovic will work with Defind.

Klue provides a lens for enterprises into their competitor’s world, continuously updating and connecting dots to help them win more business. It is a new way for product marketers, competitive intel and sales enablement teams to capture, manage and curate intel from the web and across the company, and communicate insights through platforms their teams already use. Klue was founded in 2015 by industry veterans Jason Smith, former President of Vision Critical, and Sarathy Naicker, former Chief Technologist at Sophos/Active State.

Sanya Arora will work with Klue.

Marine Learning Systems provides software to support the full breadth of training and assessment in safety-critical industries, from effective knowledge transfer to live skills assessment. Our solutions support cultures of safety in operations, helping to protect personnel and capital assets from accidents. Our vision is a world where all workers and the companies they work for continually improve their safety, productivity and engagement through state-of-the-art targeted, effective and measurable training.

Amy Salvador will work with Marine Learning Systems.

TalentMarketplace is a curated talent pool of project professionals (project managers, coordinators, and business analysts) available for hire. After encountering the challenges that hiring project professionals face every day in $1B+ project environments, TalentMarketplace was founded as an alternative to traditional hiring practices. TalentMarketplace place is not an agency – it is a software platform that provides a direct connection between project management talent that is seeking employment and employers that are looking to hire. TalentMarketplace utilizes machine learning algorithms to automatically generate matches between candidates and employers. This direct, transparent hiring process increases the speed to hire and decreases costs. Typical job boards take too long for both candidates and employers and do not have any filtering mechanisms. Candidates usually receive a response on about 3% of applications sent on job boards whereas on TalentMarketplace, approved candidates are over 5 times as likely to receive an interview request. Recruiters, while quick, are expensive and act as a middleman between the candidate and business reducing transparency and increasing cost. By providing direct database access, TalentMarketplace is more direct, cost-effective and faster than job boards or recruiters.

Katherine Zhang will work with TalentMarketplace.

This project is supported by Digital Technology Supercluster for the duration of 2020 – 2022. Funding for student salaries is provided by Innovate BC.