by Apple
2
CAL0
Reducing CO2 Emissions Through Diet Moderation

MY ROLE
UX Design, Product Design, Prototyping, UX Research
TOOLKIT
Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator
TIMELINE
3 weeks
TEAM
Cat Marsh - Strategist
Chandler Webb - Experience Designer
Dani Loleng - Experience Designer
Dan Ivey (me) - Experience Designer
THE PROBLEM
THE OPPORTUNITY
THE SOLUTION
It is hard to refute the obvious fact of climate change. But when each climate disaster event is over, man just goes back to the routines of daily life.
What if climate change was added to our daily dose of important stats (weather report, bank balance, calories, etc.) delivered to the end user in order to drive engagement with the issue?
Cal02: an add-on feature for the Health and Activity app in Apple Watch + iPhone which allows users to discover the eco-impact of their eating/diet habits in a more digestible way, set goals, and track their progress. Cal02 acts not only as a calorie counter and tracker, but provides a focus on reducing personal carbon footprint and climate impact.
UNIFY = TALENT + EVENTS + RESOURCES + LOCALITY
KEY INSIGHT
Throughout our research process, as our team became more familiar with the many variables at play within the startup ecosystem in RVA, we observed a unique opportunity in the marketplace. The diagram below depicts how our solution addresses this opportunity and also its relation to three well-established social networks.
SOCIAL NETWORK OPPORTUNITY MAP

KEY FEATURES
KEY FEATURES WALKTHROUGH VIDEO
PROCESS MAP

WORKING ASSUMPTIONS
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The entrepreneurial community in RVA is strong and supportive
Richmond is on the rise
WHAT WE DISCOVERED
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The RVA startup scene is fragmented
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The ecosystem seems hard to break into & infiltrate
SHAREHOLDER INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
“The start up community needs a place where you feel accepted no matter how much of a business background you have. Starting alone can be discouraging but finding inspiration from others can be encouraging.”
"The people that helped me the most during the process of establishing my business are from right around the corner. I see them the most and we help each other a lot."
"The start-up ecosystem lacks coordination, but the energy is here. There are lots of fun things and events happening."

ASSUMPTIONS ON PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
1. Most of the connections on LinkedIn are not meaningful and do not provide significant value.
2. People engage the most with professionals in their close vicinity.
3. People would prefer a location-based platform for professional networking.
(These assumptions were supported with our survey of 49 participants, results of which can be seen below)



GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY
The visual below details our activation strategy, which would coincide with a Beta roll-out as well as a 2-day crash course known as Unify Academy, designed to equip entrepreneurial talent with the business skills they need in order to succeed in the bustling startup ecosystem.

TAKEAWAYS
Tackling this project was overwhelming from the onset, as we felt that we had the problem of an entire city to solve in a matter of weeks. With that being said, it was truly rewarding to gain experience in narrowing down the focus of a large-scale issue into one solution. The irony that became revealed through working to unite the ecosystem of startups in the area is that it felt like we were crafting our very own startup in doing so. I learned that any undertaking can become greater than the sum of its parts, and the possibilities are endless through research, networking and implementation of feedback.