This document proposes an online platform called "Find Your Pals" to connect international and domestic students at Stony Brook University. It would allow users to publish and view campus events, invite friends, and meet new people with shared interests. The team proposes a test launch on campus and then a full launch. Market analysis shows over 3,000 international students at SBU representing an opportunity. The document outlines the team roles and responsibilities, product features, marketing strategy, financial plan, and prototype website. It aims to reduce isolation and increase engagement between student groups.

1. website
Find Your Pals
Free 100% Reliable Easy to
Use
Ke Chen
Huiyu Jiang
Ziyin Zhang

2. • O2O online platform
• Project ideas：Build an online platform--a bridge between international
students and U.S. students.
• Our user can publish events and then invite their friends to join in；and
find many other events posted by others and choose some of them to
take part in.
Project Idea

3. CEO
Huiyu
Jiang
Business strategy
Coordinator between
different departments
Fund raising
CFO
Ziyin
Zhang
Financial statements
Financial forecasting
Financial analysis
Market
Manager
Ke Chen
Marketing tactics
New product
promotion
Team Role

4. Outline
Marketing Analysis
Product Introduction
Financial Analysis

5. ✓ Development of Plan
✓ PIC
✓ Market Size
✓ Customer Need
✓ Value Proposition
✓ Forecasting Sales
✓ Competitor Analysis
✓ SWOT Analysis
✓ Price Testing
✓ Partner/Customer
Management
Table of Contents
Market
Analysis
Part 1

6. PIC
• Technical：Develop functional website/app; design clean
and easy-to-use UI.
• Marketing：Focus on international graduate students
and native students in SBU.
Focus
• Short-term: Accumulate users volume; increase
popularity of the product and reach the level of 40%
among international students in Stony Brook University.
• Long-term: The most popular social platform in SBU.
Goals
• Maximize outcome through limited costs.
• Continuously improve function of website/app based on
feedback of native and international students
Special
Guidelines

7. Development Plan
Plan
Stage
Test
Stage
Launch
Stage
1. Opportunity
Identification
3. Concept Generation
4. Concept Evaluation
5. Development
1. Test the product in
Stony Brook University
2. Improve the product
3. Determine whether
to go ahead
1. Launch product
2. Improve the product
1st year
0 year
2-5 year

8. Market Size
• The United States have been
witnessing a dramatic increase in
the number of international students
these years.
• According to National Center for
Education Statistics, 20.2
million students are expected to
attend American colleges and
universities in fall 2015, while 1.05
million of them are non-resident
students, accounting for 5.20% of
the population.

9. Market Size – Stony Brook University
• Why Stony Brook?
• There are 3490 international
students in Stony Brook
University, making up 12% of
the student population.
Data Source: http://www.internationalstudent.com/
Resources
(SBDC, incubator
offices)
Ratio of
Internationa
l Students

10. Customer Need
•Interview
• Purpose:
• 1. Finding customer problems
• 2. Selecting data for sales
forecasting
• 3. Improving product
• Conduct a on-campus survey
interviewing 40 students.

11. Customer Need
Privacy concerns, off-line events,
friends recommendation…

12. Value Proposition
Events/News/Questions
• Get to know on-campus events and can share it with your friends
• Have your questions answered
Friends
• Meet new international/native friends
• Share your interests
Annual Customer Networking BBQ/party
• Enjoy food, games
• Networking

13. Forecasting Sales (Test Stage)
• Awareness: 90%
• Trial: 92%
• Available: 100%
• Repeat Purchase: 50%
• MS = 90%*92%*100%*50%
=41.4%
• Sales: 29576*41.4%=12244

14. Forecasting Sales (Launch Stage)
• Awareness: 50%
• Trial: 60%
• Available: 100%
• Repeat Purchase: 50%
• MS = 50%*60%*100%*50%
=15%
• Sales: 20.2m*15%=3.03m

15. Build up a
bridge between
international
students and
native students
Recommend
friends who
share the same
interests
Text message
Customer Retention:
Keep close with our
customers
College support for
startups

16. Competitor Analysis
Data Source: https://zephoria.com

17. SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
1. Market pioneer
2. Differentiation strategy
Weakness:
1. No user base
2. Financial pressure
Opportunities:
1. Increasing number/ratio of
international students
2. Market gap
Threats:
1. Existed social software
2. Policy risk
SWOT

18. Market Strategy
Test Stage
• Goal: Reduce the
risk
• Methods: One year
test stage in Stony
Brook University
Differentiation
Strategy
• Goal: Get market
share
• Methods:
Emphasize on off-
line events
Quick To
Market
• Goal: Increase
revenue (Scale
Effect)
• Methods: Prepare
sufficiently for
launch in the test
stage

19. ✓ Prototype
✓ Functions
✓ Features
✓ Customer concerns
Table of Contents
Product
Introduction
Part 2
http://jhuiyu.wix.com/findyourpals

20. B
2
Website
Prototype
Our Website: http://jhuiyu.wix.com/findyourpals

21. ➢ Publish your events (in your groups or
invite certain friends）
➢ View events and choose whether to go
➢ Add new friends/groups
➢ Edit your Google Calendar
➢ Ask or answer academic questions
Function
s
Website
Functions

22. • Make new friends based on mutual
interests
• Function focus: publish and view events
• Make friends with international/native
students
Website Features

23. • User Certification
• Privacy
Setting(Public or
open to certain
people)
Privac
y
• Activity Location: On
campus or near campus
• Activity hosts: School
Clubs/School
Organizations/Person in
the same group/Your
friends.
Safety
• Recommendation:
Same School; Same
interests
• According to your
preference：
International/ natives/
New Friends
Customer
Concerns

24. ✓ Expense Budget
✓ Cash Flow Statement
✓ Break-Even Analysis
✓ Appendix
Table of Contents
Financial
Analysis
Part 3

25. Build up a
bridge between
international
students and
native students
Recommend
friends who
share the same
interests
Text message
Customer Retention:
Keep close with our
customers
College support for
startups

26. Price Testing
• Is our price competitive compared to other advertisement
methods? What is the acceptable price for customers?

27. Partner Management

28. Expense Budget

29. Cash Flow Statement

30. Break-Even Analysis

31. Appendix

32. Appendix

33. Appendix

34. Appendix

35. Appendix

36. Appendix

37. Visit Our Website, Start meeting new friends：
http://jhuiyu.wix.com/findyourpals
Thanks