Ivey Product Society - Headspace

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Headspace Community - PRD

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Headspace should offer a feature within their app for community guided meditation sessions. These live, guided meditation rooms will enable individuals to stay connected, while creating a shared space to meditate together.

1. Meditators will have the ability to to create and facilitate both public and private rooms and have live streaming sessions hosted by a facilitator 
2. This will enable meditators to find a supportive community while enriching their practice and experience
3. This feature will empower individuals to bring mindfulness and wellness into their lives and find ways to connect with other meditators around the world

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Why this problem vs. others 

By engaging and interacting with other meditators within the Headspace community, individuals can form supportive meditation groups and reap long-term benefits for their mind, body, and spirit. Ultimately, this will strengthen Headspace’s value proposition,, thereby  increasing user adoption and engagement 

1. Well-Aligned with the Organization’s Mission: Founded in 2010 by Rich Pierson and Andy Puddicombe, Headspace was created with one mission: to improve the health and happiness of the world. What started as a small scale online platform for people to experience the benefits of meditation anytime, anywhere, has now evolved into the Headspace we see today: guided meditations, animations, articles and videos, all in the distinct Headspace style. Headspace now needs to take engagement one step further. Through a community meditation feature, meditators will be able to form and strengthen new connections around the globe.
   

2. Increased adoption rates and new user acquisition: By establishing touchpoints to acquire users early on (while they are students), Headspace will help them develop habits for meditation and thereby increase their LTV. This feature will ultimately bring in new users who are looking to meditate with their friends/family, growing the Headspace community.‍

2. Untapped potential for growth: Historically, Headspace has only offered recorded, guided meditations on the application. However, consumer surveys indicate that meditators enjoy the added benefits of exercising in groups. These live sessions are an untapped area that the company should explore.

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Audience 

User groups can range from kids to seniors, however millennials are the primary users 

Primary: Post-secondary students with little to no experience meditating

Secondary: Young Working Professionals (Gen X /Millennials)

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User Goals 

1. Novice meditators that are new to the concept of mindfulness
2. Wants to learn how to meditate, but also stay engaged 
3. Enjoys doing activities with friends 
4. Needs a solution to help control anxiety and stress levels 
5. Faces external stressors/problems at home, or in their work environment 
6. Needs help with falling asleep at night 

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Headspace’ Goals:

1. Enable meditators to stay engaged through live sessions while using the platform 
2. Provide a space for meditators to interact with friends/family and meditate together 
3. Facilitate connections between  meditators around the globe  to improve their practice 

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Current Experience 

• Users have the option for group meditation; however, there are several limitations to the feature:
• Live sessions only occur at specific times during the day, and if you miss a session, you cannot access it afterwards
• Users cannot see who else they are meditating with (all others users are anonymous)
• Unable to customize the meditation practice to suit their specific  needs (topics for meditation, who you’d like to meditate with, etc.)‍

To improve the user experience, Headspace should integrate the community meditation feature to enable users to engage with others in the community 

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Solution Alignment 

Key Features 

1. Join rooms within the app’s meditation community - Users will have the option to join meditation sessions within the app’s community. The interface will allow meditates to choose from  live sessions as well as previously recorded ones. They will be provided information including  the type of meditation, the duration, and the number  of people participating Users can join the session by simply tapping into it—after which they will be brought into a room with other meditators.
   

2. Users can create their own rooms - Meditators will have the option to create a public, private, or social room. Public rooms are open to anyone on the platform, private rooms are limited to less than 5 individuals for a more personalized practice, and social rooms can be open to any number of people within your social circles.  You will be the facilitator (host) of the session in the rooms that you create.

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Future Considerations

• Facilitator on-boarding experience - Headspace can have a separate application for experienced facilitators to join the community. Prior to being able to host meditation sessions, facilitators will have to provide documentation for their meditation training certifications. ‍‍

• Monetize this feature for facilitators - Opportunity for experienced meditation practitioners to run virtual sessions through Headspace and get compensated‍

• ‍‍View key statistics of other meditators - Compare stats with friends in your meditation community (ie. how many hours you’ve meditated this past week, completed your goals, etc.)

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