A PaaS that could bridge the gap between the digital nomad and their support network.

• Overview
• The Problem
• The Goal
• The Process
• Persona
• Psychographic Survey
• The Survey Funnel
• The Response
• Design
• Outcome
• What I learned

Overview

My friend, Patrick, is a fullstack developer that has been living the digital nomadic lifestyle for several years now. This project started with a conversation between he, our other friend Max (another fullstack dev from Berlin), and myself on Indie Hackers.

The Problem

It's no secret that technology workers can suffer from an abundance of mental health related issues, including:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Burnout

What helps to amplify these symptoms is when you add in some of the ethical dilemmas that designers and developers oftentimes face. The results can be overwhelming.

The Goal

To increase empathy and equity in tech by fostering an environment of creative collaboration.

It seems simple enough, right?

The Process

Persona

Based on our involvement in the community, we decided to primarily focus on the digital nomad, thereby shrinking the potential MVP market down considerably.

Psychographic Survey

After several conversations, I decided that we should create a survey to see if this might add value to our colleagues' lives as well. A pre-launch survey utilizing Typeform was created. It included questions like:

What is your gender?

What is your age?

What is your level of education?

What is your occupation?

Are you a remote worker?

What is your status (single, married, etc.)?

Do you own a pet?

Do you have any hobbies?

Have you read any self-help books in the past year?

Have you attended any self-help seminars in the past year?

Have you gone to counseling before?

Have you considered going to counseling before?

Have you tried any self-help or meditation apps in the past year?

Which apps have you tried in the past year?

How would you rate the apps that you’ve tried in the past year?

Are you a member of any online communities or organizations?

How active are you in these online communities or organizations?

Would you like to be a part of an online community specifically tailored toward real and genuine conversation?

What do you think the benefits would be of being a part of such a community?

How much time would you spend per week interacting with the community?

How much time would you spend per day keeping up with the community?

How likely would you be to refer a family member or friend to such a community?

The Survey Funnel

The Response

93 respondents with over 65% of them in favor of such a community platform.

Design

We launched a simple website to begin testing product-market fit.

Outcome

This was Patrick's baby, with my focus on UI/UX and marketing. He's been very pleased with the results, gaining traction, and fulfilling the goal of being of service to others.

What I learned

• It's quite alright to build tools that help the people that build the tools.
• Due diligence is always a must. In this era of instant communication, there is no excuse not to do it.
• Confer with your colleagues as much as possible - you cannot predict when a seed will take root.