Every Fall, Summer, and Winter “Billion Dollar Startup Ideas” hires interns to build ideas from the blog as MVPs, conduct industry research, and write their own blog posts. This blog post is an excerpt from that series.
Problem: Navigating classes in a school, especially on the first day or for new students, can be extremely difficult and nerve wracking. The idea of being late to class or walking into the wrong room leads to anxiety which many students already cope with due to schoolwork, making friends in classes, etc. Students do not need any more anxiety caused by going to school, yet the simple idea of finding classes serves as a burden.
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Solution: School Nav would serve as an app students can download on their phones, which is a device that almost all students carry with them throughout the school day. The student would input a code provided by their school, giving them access to a digital map of their school. Not only would the app have a map of the school, but it would also show the student’s current location in the school, and give them the option to input a room number to receive a guided way to get there. Think Google Maps but for inside a school!
But why would schools spend money providing a GPS app for their school rather than just using a more cost-effective option like paper maps? Paper maps lack many of the necessary features that a student needs to ensure they actually find their class. For instance, the map fails to show where the student currently is on the map, a guided route to get to their next class, or in some instances, it even lacks room numbers. In addition to these crucial factors, paper maps are also inconvenient as students would have to carry around a piece of paper all day, making sure not to lose it, spill something on it, etc. In a generation of students that are now reliant on their phones, giving them an option to navigate classes while carrying nothing more than usual, is vital. Having the navigation in the form of an app is also beneficial because it is easily accessible. If a student forgets to take out their paper map and does not know how to get to class on the first day of school, it might be difficult to do so in a crowded hallway, creating a problem for the student. However, with an app, if a student suddenly realizes they need assistance navigating their classes, they can easily go on their phone and open the app, even in a busy hallway.
There are other school navigation apps out there, such as Navigate Student by EAB Global, Inc, however, these apps are only designed for college campuses. School Nav aims to target middle schools and high schools, as the anxiety these students face is often overlooked despite them still going through the pressures of familiarizing with a new school or building.
Monetization: The app would be sold to schools directly, and after a school purchases the app, the school would be given a custom code to share with their students in order for their students to see their school’s map. The downloading of the app is free for students, but the app does not function without a school code being inputted.
Contributed by: Siyona Agrawal