BIG IdeaBounce 2024 | 14 Finalists Dazzle In SharkTank Contest

Team Crewmate

School Affiliation: WashU, WUSTL Olin

Description: No-code builder for custom communities that deploy to a brand’s website.

Problem:

If you’re a modern brand looking to build a community of superfans, you could tell your customers to follow you on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. But then – your audience isn’t likely to see your content as you’re realistically competing with cat videos, advertisers, and algorithms for your audience’s attention.

This is why brands have begun launching online communities on dedicated platforms, recapturing their audience’s attention and redirecting it to topics and content from the brand.

Solution:

Our team’s experiences utilizing other platforms and struggling to launch communities led us to build Crewmate, the ultimate no-code builder for brands to design and deploy customized communities onto their website or product. In Crewmate communities, users stay engaged and community metrics are tracked and available. Brands can finally have data on who their superfans are, how they buy, and what they’re excited about. Major brands like Vans, Chobani, Oakleys, and Coursera, among others, are organically getting connected to our team with an interest in launching community experiences for their customers.

Market:

We’re targeting brands with existing loyalty or online customer programs, which in the US represents over 500k+ mid-market businesses generating millions in revenue per year. We charge these businesses $500/mo for our software that modernizes their customer’s loyalty experience – converting their customers into community members. We also charge a $0.15/mo fee per active user in their community, which allows us to scale our revenue monthly with the growth of the brand’s deployed online communities.

More brands than ever are launching online communities for their customers in 2024, whether they be CPG, SaaS, or Creator brands.

“The big idea in 2020’s decade of marketing is community. Reaching consumers in the communities they are a part of and helping them express community membership by participating in your brand.” – McKinsey & Company

Competition:

Brands are using multiple workaround platforms to launch online communities today. But these workaround solutions and platforms fall short – because they aren’t made for brands to launch professional, customer-centric communities.

Platforms like Facebook Groups, Discord, Circle, and Slack are built for local groups, gamers, workplace internal communications, and creator influencers – not branded community experiences where brands have total customization, full data access, and total ownership.

Value Creation:

We have a robust pipeline of 20+ brands interested in launching a community that we’re closing on in Q1 to reach $10k MRR and also have pitch meetings with C-Suite execs from Chobani, Vans, and Oakleys in Q1. In just the past month, we closed paid pilots with Mass Invest (Gen Z financial learning platform) and Iteration Era (3D printed women’s garments).

Our mission is to bridge the gap between the customer and their favorite brands that stand for something beyond their products. Consumers buy into the message a brand is selling, and we want to create a space that allows like-minded customers to discuss topics related to these missions for brands ranging from a non-profit angle to CPG.

The Team:

Raj Thaker (2024), Computer Science + Mathematics and Financial Engineering (McKelvey + Olin)