Finding the PM Fit for a Campus Events App

Identifying the real drivers of event discovery to strengthen pricing strategy, messaging, and a product roadmap for Circa.

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The Challenge

Low visibility for campus events, inconsistent communication, and no clear path to the features that mattered most to students.

500+

Data points including key customer quotes, unmet needs, and ranked preferences

15+

Feature-level recommendations, de-risking product roadmap

Key “Pull Factors” that target users would want in an event app

Context & Constraints

Circa is a SaaS startup building a web app to help college students discover, plan, and attend campus events with ease. They faced the classic startup test: pinpointing and delivering the features that would make their product truly indispensable.

For students, planning and discovering campus events felt fragmented across multiple platforms, with limited visibility, inconsistent communication, and low motivation to engage beyond their immediate friend groups.

For Circa, several event apps had already tried and failed to gain traction on campuses — often because they didn’t balance the needs of both students and university staff, leaving adoption and retention short of expectations.

The Deliverable

We uncovered why many students stick with tools they dislike and what features would compel them to switch, informing an evidence-based roadmap for design, messaging, and go-to-market strategy.

Highlight

500+ Data Points identifying the features that matter most to users

Pricing Model Validation — clear expectations for free vs. paid tiers

Proven Value Propositions — tested messaging to drive adoption

Go-to-Market Strategy + Campus Catalyst List — a prioritized set of roles, segments, and event types to accelerate pilot traction and network growth

500+ Data Points

Identifying Top Features

Improved Messaging

To Drive Adoption

Research Method

Study Sampling

Finding the PM Fit for a Campus Events App

Identifying the real drivers of event discovery to strengthen pricing strategy, messaging, and a product roadmap for Circa.

Client

Circa

Service

Research Sprint

Timeline

3-4 weeks

Method

Interviews

Participants

30+

Outputs

Slidedeck

work with us explore outcomes

This Might be relevant to you if...

Your Leads apply too early

customers need education before converting

sales/service teams are triaging the same questions repeatedly

your CRM isn't segmented by real customer needs

What Changed?

and how we measured it

improved qualification

+230^%

Increase in prospects reaching "ready-to-apply" stage

Less wasted effort

-64^%

reduction in staff time spent on unqualified applications

higher completion

+230^%

increase in completion of key readiness steps

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The funnel broke at the moment of application

high effort triage

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borrower uncertainty

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inconsistent nurturing

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drop-off / abandonement

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key insights

that informed the plan

INSIGHT #1

readiness confusion-not intent- was the biggest driver of premature applications

evidence