Pasting in the emails was going to make the post very long, but to summarize, we presented Meritful as a tool for students to build a positive web presence, as a tool for teachers and mentors to run projects and give feedback to students, as a tool to help with college admissions by creating an impressive portfolio and interaction from respected folk and another comparing Meritful to existing products for teens.
The sample size was roughly evenly split between the total number of contacts we had.
That makes sense...that was why we wanted to point out relative performance rather than absolute numbers. It is also probably fair to point out that the content and tone of our messaging differed quite a bit, which explains some of the differences.
Meritful (http://www.meritful.com) is looking for a freelance web designer to help us with some projects. We really appreciate clean and modern web design and love creatives at Meritful. It would be great if you can deliver HTML/CSS but PSDs would work as well. We are based in Ann Arbor, MI. Remote OK. Please ping azarias at meritful.com with a pointer to your work if you are interested (especially if you have availability soon).
In NYC the taxi commission is in the pocket of the medaillion holders. That's why the recent law to issue more mediallions (2,000 at ~800k each = $1.6b for the city) had to go through the state instead (Albany being less corrupt than anything is mind-boggling), until of course a judge knocked down the law and said only the city could do so.
Only source I could find about revenue is how they added $9.9 million in revenue by increasing the surcharge by 50 cents and recently awarded a $35 million dollar contract to Verifone.
So they must be generating some significant amount of money still.
The goal is to eventually give college admissions counselors a very targeted way to reach out to and recruit high school students. All along, students can use their Meritful profile as part of the package they present to colleges. Since students spend so much time on projects and extracurriculars, we hope it would be nice to have more than a paragraph about it. Thank you so much for you feedback again.
SaaS is a very good way to go about it, and we have got inquiries for 'mass signups' from a couple schools we talked to. We were hesitant because we thought it would result in a bunch of phantom accounts, but like you say, I think many organizations already try to achieve something similar.
You're spot on the mentor/recruiter difference...and on the road map is support for groups and orgs. Thank you so much for your feedback.
Thank you for your feedback...I think they can use it...but a lot of the experiences that high school students are not work experiences...instead projects and activities...which can be better described using visual ways a la a portfolio...while building a professional network at the same time...
You're welcome. This is seriously an awesome idea. I wish I had something like this in high school, because I did so much work outside of school with jobs and collaborations I did with other people, but schools weren't interested in this information, but employers were.
If there was an easy way for those people writing scholarships were able to filter through candidates based on their merits and their connections, it would be an easy way to show the students dedication to their field, and the fact that they have done so much to move forward their goals.
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On another note, I really don't think it's necessary to highlight 'ful' in your logo. I understand the site is trying to be similar to LinkedIn, but it almost makes it look like it's part of the LinkedIn family when it's really not.
Look at the favicon, or app icon for LinkedIn. They only say 'in' distinctively, I believe that it's the focus is because you're 'in a network, in a circle, in with people'. On your site, you're highlighting 'ful', but your favicon is the 'M' for Merit. There is no branding in the 'M', it's very generic.
I suggest thinking of a simple avatar, or icon to use as a symbol and have that be highlighted. Some sort of representation of what your site is. That way, that can be highlighted, and that can be your favicon, app icon, etc. That will distinctively be your branding.
Just so you know I'm not talking out of my ass, I work in the web development section for a huge clothing retailer. I've learned more about branding on the web and how people perceive things than I'd think I would in a front-end web development gig.
Thank you...coming soon. An artist friend is making really nice sketches for us.
The girl in the middle was supposed to be the one. One theory we are testing is that initial distribution will primarily come from adults/teachers/parents who learn about it...and trying to optimize for that audience too....do you have any thoughts?
Unless you have data that suggests otherwise, I wouldn't rely on an additional layer to get to your target demo (the HS students). Adults/teachers/parents have lives, and in HS anything they tell their kids to do isn't "cool".
Somehow you need to emphasize more that a Meriftul account is respected and credible at institutions. Then the kids will be motivated themselves to create these accounts. They need to discover it themselves.
My suggestions on a presentation perspective:
* You should push the "college logos" to the top of the design and immediately emphasize that selling point. Think the mind of a student. They immediately see ivy colleges and will feel inspired it will give them edge. Currently it is just a wall of text and buzz words.
* You should make TWO separate landing pages. One for students and one for mentors. Make the student page 100% student oriented and designed differently -- more fun. Add a button "Are you a mentor? Click Here". The mentor page will be the more professional one.
* That girl can easily pass as a college student/working professional. HS'ers are very groupy and very fun oriented. You should put a group photo up there or something. Example (www.andover.edu). See how much more fun it immediately feels?
The sample size was roughly evenly split between the total number of contacts we had.