Northeastern University

A complete redesign of the Northeastern University Inclusive Entrepreneurship website that helps early-stage startups affected during Covid-19 with Fellowship programs as well as Technical and Managerial Support

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Problem Statement

Covid-19 pandemic placed an enormous impact on businesses, such as minority and women-owned small businesses (MWSBs) in the areas of Providence (RI), Boston (MA), and Portland(ME). The greater Boston area became the third-worst metropolitan area in terms of small businesses’ lost revenue due to COVID-19.

Role

Tools

Team

Type & Timeline

UX Research
Persona Creation
Competitive Analysis
Website Audit
Prototyping
UI Design

Adobe XD
Google Material Design,
Google Presentation

Samruddhi More
Devanshi Thakkar
Subomi Okeowo
Yingbo Liu

3 months
Product Design
User Research
UI/UX

Qburst Question

Is the entrepreneurship program only centered around Covid?
Are there any requirements for being accepted as a fellow?
How do you determine people who have been affected by COVID-19?
How does NEU determine who will be selected for the Fellow program?
How are small businesses expected to reach out to you for any assistance?
What kind of career resilience workshop programs would take place during the fellowship program?
Would the XN team be giving funds to the small businesses?
Is there any competition in the market for our product?
What are the criteria for the program?
Would the goal convert fellows into degree programs ?
Does the fellowship program have a practical experience?
Can we get brand guidelines of Northeastern University

Research

“Boston is the startup capital of the East Coast and has more fast-growing startups per capita than any other East Coast city ”

Source: Growjo

“The number of working business owners plummeted from 15 million in February 2020 to 11.7 million in April 2020.”

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

“Nationally, the rate of new entrepreneurs in 2020 was 0.38 percent, meaning that an average of 380 out of every 100,000 adults became new entrepreneurs in a given month.”

Source: Kauffman

“Companies are helmed by Black or Hispanic owners were more likely to be classified at-risk during Covi-19.”

Source: McKinsey & Company

Comparative Analysis

To better understand the brands competitors landscape, we conducted a comparative analysis to help determine what a product strategy would be and make informed design decisions.

Northeastern University Analysis

Offers

Small businesses scale up with technical & managerial assistance

Target Audience

Portland, Boston, Providence Corridor - Small business affected by Covid- 19

Eligibility

Founder/CEO of a small business with least 3 years, 21 years or older as of the application due date. A legal resident of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and its territories