The Team
Alison Tien
Alison has a background in economics and finance. She has extensive experience as an analyst, and is interested in Private Equity. She is currently a Forte Fellow at Columbia Business School. Alison made important contributions to the team’s exploration of the problem and ultimately helmed the product profit model.
James Van Hess
James is a lifelong curious tinkerer. His interest in all things dynamic brought him back to school as a Mechanical Engineering graduate student at Columbia University. Through passion, creativity, teamwork and efficiency, he hopes to contribute to the design, implementation, and distribution of the next generation of mobility platforms that change the world. James was integral to the team’s research and development, while also displaying a sunny disposition and can-do attitude.
Tae Kim
Tae has a background in finance and marketing and has served as an analyst for several companies. Most recently he was an Impact Fellow at Inspiring Capital. Tae contributed greatly to the team effort, adding creative ideas and realistic pathways to product development and ultimately developing the design for the product.
Sareen Zhang
Sareen is pursuing her Master of Science in Operations Research. She has extensive experience applying machine learning models to financial data, building prediction models, and software development. She provided the framework for our team’s rigorous pitch sessions and supplied many creative and unique ideas to the solution development.
Yupeng Liang
Yupeng has a background in Economics. He is currently in attendance at Columbia Business School with a focus on project management. Yupeng contributed greatly to the team, orienting us to the ways issues have evolved in his native China which provided eye-opening perspectives as we sought solutions.
Joy Payton-Stevens
Joy is an MBA candidate at Columbia Business School. Having built a career as a professional classical musician, she is currently focusing her studies on Innovation Strategy and Entrepreneurship. She has strong interests in Circular Design and Social Impact. As the Team Leader, she was responsible for cultivating a positive and cohesive working environment, organizing team meetings and deliverables, and steering the team through the confusion of the unknown toward a viable solution, inspiring mentors and investors to champion our cause and proposed solutions along the way.
The problem we wanted to address was how to reduce the negative environmental impact of our excessive shopping habits.
Phase I - Scale & Scope
We began by adjusting the focus on the problem statement in order to gain more definition to the problem we wanted to solve. Did we want to address all the clothing we purchase? Should we focus on the United States, the globe, just New York City? Was there a particular profile of shopper who would be more easily influenced? For each of these (and many other questions), we approached the issues by ‘stepping up’ or ‘stepping down’ in order to find the level of problem we could most successfully tackle.
While we wanted to do and be everything for everyone, ultimately we decided to focus our efforts on Gen Z and Millenial shoppers in the United States.
Phase II - Sub problems
As individuals, we came up with as many different ideas as we could about why exactly people tend to purchase more than they arguably need. Each person derived their own list of ~10 factors which contribute to the issue. We then came together as a group to reveal and combine our lists.
As expected, there was some overlap but there were also amazing points of departure. Each person examined the question from their own unique lens, meaning they came up with factors that were particular to their experiences and perspectives, which in turn benefited the group by developing a range of influences greater than any individual would ever have been able to.
Because of this, we were able to identify a wide variety of issues effecting the overarching problem of overconsumption. These ranged from factors effecting the individual (like peer pressure and general lack of awareness) to inefficiencies in the supply chain (the need for seasonal clothing vs the limited amount of time each item is used) to the very business model of the industry itself (which incentivizes over-consumption).
We decided to take a Wag-the-Dog approach by focusing on the ‘subproblem’ of educating the consumer of the effects of their choices, a process which could be expressed like this:
Companies —> Profit Driven
Profit —> Supplying the Consumer with What They Demand
Change in Consumer Knowledge —> Change in Consumer Demand
Phase III - Precedents
Since no one has ever had a 100% truly original thought (go ahead, I’ll wait), examining solutions to similar problems in other industries would prove a valuable source of inspiration in understanding the landscape of what might be possible. Through a process of zooming out (up-framing) to generalize each subproblem, then analyzing the factors governing that area of focus, and finally zooming back in (down-framing) by identifying specific archetypes in varied industries, the team members (individually at first, and then as a group again) drew up a list of In-Domain and Out-of-Domain precedents.
In the case of the subproblem we ultimately identified as the thread we were to follow -How can we educate consumers to encourage better shopping habits?- we identified a range of factors, like ‘needs to alleviate apprehension about trying something new’ and ‘needs to drive curiosity and recognition of value for large group of people’. In other words, in order for our product to be successful it would need to be convenient and inviting to use. To identify ways to do so, we examined specific examples of companies who had achieved success in changing consumer behavior in an engaging way. Some examples we came up with were Quip, Mint, and Impossible Meats.
Phase IV - Research & Customer Discovery
We then went into research mode, attacking on three fronts: archetype research, market research, and customer discovery. As we researched the archetypes we identified in the previous phase, we attempted to uncover insights about what specific strategies and attributes had contributed to their success. The focus of our market research was to gain an understanding of the broader trends and consumer demands as it pertained to shopping habits, textile waste, and environmental awareness. Customer Discovery centered on interviewing potential customers about their current habits and pain points. This informed our Target Customer Persona, Sophie.
Phase V - Prototype
After a lengthy process aimed at getting the clearest understanding of the problem and the customer, it was time to start thinking of solutions and building the prototype. Ultimately, we came up with three viable ideas: a two-sided marketplace for sustainable designers to sell directly to consumers; a two-sided/peer2peer subscription marketplace to have a capsule wardrobe curated from used clothing sent by other customers; and an app which tracked and displayed your carbon footprint. It was this third option we developed further, naming it GreenMode.
GreenMode is an app and plugin which provides information to the consumer about their purchases, both pending and over time. It tracks your carbon impact and provides an easy-to-understand scoring system based on standards developed like the Higg Index and the British Standards Institution. Our app provides relevant, clear information in a convenient format as consumers look to make purchases. It educates the consumer about their choices and offers alternative products with a better score.
Phase VI - Pitch
It was then time to pitch our idea multiple times to colleagues, mentors, and potential investors. It was an exercise in getting outside perspective, to ascertain if our developed concept was viable and desirable. Each time we pitched was another opportunity to refine our product and our presentation based on the feedback and questions we fielded.