Classy P1 WORK: Interviewing + Competitive Analysis

by ecemy | Posted on

Classy’s TAM/SAM/SOM

Classy is exploring the addition of a social feature to its platform to deepen user engagement and expand its market reach. 

This feature would allow users to share their learning experiences, connect with peers, and create a community around their classes. Inspired by social platforms like Instagram and Strava, this proposed feature includes elements like photo sharing, comments, likes, and activity feeds. Users could post about their class/course experiences, share achievements and milestones, and engage with others who have similar learning interests. The goal is to foster a sense of community and interaction beyond the classes themselves, making learning and fitness more enjoyable and motivating through social connections.

The proposed idea positions Classy to stand out from competitors by offering a richer, more connected experience, potentially resulting in taking a larger proportion of our market.

Definitions:

  • TAM (Total Addressable Market) represents the total demand for a product or service if there were no competitors and the entire market could be captured.
  • SAM (Serviceable Available Market) is the portion of the TAM that the product or service can actually serve, taking into account specific focus and market limitations.
  • SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) is the percentage of the SAM that can realistically be captured, based on factors such as competition, market dynamics, and unique positioning.

For more details on these concepts, refer to these articles provided in Canvas:

Market Analysis for Classy’s Social Feature

1. Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Classy’s TAM seeks to capture everyone interested in learning new skills and who has access to a mobile device. The rationale behind this choice is rooted in understanding both the technological access and the learning mindset of potential users:

Putting this in a financial perspective:

  • We estimate an average cost of $25 per session, which is a typical rate for in-person activities like a one-hour fitness class, pottery lesson, or other similar learning experiences. Since these types of classes are often taken on a weekly basis by those committed to personal development, we assume that each user would attend about four sessions per month. This results in an estimated spend of $100 per user per month. 
  • Given this rate, our calculations suggest a TAM of $18 billion per month or approximately $216 billion annually. 

 

2. Serviceable Available Market (SAM)

To define Classy’s SAM, we narrowed down the TAM to focus on individuals who not only have an interest in learning but also have the disposable income to engage in such activities. The rationale behind these criteria is to target the segment of the market most likely to convert into paying customers:

Assuming users on Classy would spend, on average, $100 per month, we arrive at the estimated SAM of $5.4 billion per month or approximately $65 billion annually.

 

3. Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)

Classy’s SOM represents the realistic portion of the SAM that it can capture within the competitive landscape, taking into account market conditions, user behavior, and the strengths of competing platforms.

  • Competitive Analysis: To understand the market potential, we analyze similar platforms that cater to learning and fitness, like:

Based on these figures and the varying levels of market penetration achieved by these platforms, we estimate that Classy can realistically target 10-15% of the SAM, translating to 5.4 to 8.1 million active users. This target percentage takes into account the existing competition, user behavior trends, and Classy’s unique positioning with its social feature. By integrating social elements that set it apart from the aforementioned platforms, Classy strives to create a more engaging and community-driven experience. This differentiation, combined with the growing popularity of community-based learning and fitness, makes these market share estimates achievable.

  • Revenue Potential: With this projected user base, Classy’s SOM would potentially have $500-800 million of revenue monthly and annually of around $6-10 billion, leveraging its platform’s blend of learning, fitness classes, and social engagement. This projection supports Classy’s strategic goal of capturing a significant market share within both the wellness and education sectors.

 

TAM/SAM/SOM Tally

  • TAM (Total Addressable Market): Approximately 180 million users in the U.S. are interested in learning new skills with access to a mobile device, representing a market size of around $216 billion annually.
  • SAM (Serviceable Available Market): Narrowed down to 54 million users with both the desire to learn and the disposable income to spend on classes, translating to a potential market of $65 billion annually.
  • SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market): Targeting 5.4 to 8.1 million users, with a projected annual revenue potential of $6-10 billion annually, based on Classy’s unique positioning and competitive landscape.

 

Interview 1 – Chris

Interview Notes

October 8th, 2024

Interviewee: Brandon Kunitzer

2nd-year undergraduate in CS & Econ major

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-kunitzer-3a7624240/

 

Last summer: online course in programming in the financial markets

    • Learned algorithmic trading, 
    • Did CS 106 series; TAing the class
  • $15 dollar Udemy course on programmatic trading
    • “It could’ve been helpful to have live classes” (did course asynchronously)
    • But didn’t do live; here’s why he likes async:
      • binge-watching; two weeks instead of two months; flexibility

 

Also did some graphic designer 

  • Freelance, Hobby
  • However, also did it async (probably his learning preference style)

 

Used to do Football in high school

  • Had Yoga instructor for some practices
    • (Potentially may want to learn Yoga; however, later in the interview, he stated that he wouldn’t be willing to pay for classes)

 

On Exploring Fitness Classes:

  • Said that it’d be hard to do because of the scheduling
  • Also prefers own workout 
    • (maybe he doesn’t fit the archetype of the target market for Classy)
    • (might be he’s interested in exploring/learning new skills, but not necessarily currently offered by Classy)

 

Philosophy on his learning preferences:

    • YouTube videos to learn things; self-learning
    • Self-discipline; don’t need to pay for class
  • People around you to do things; having a community motivates you
  • Doesn’t want to pay

 

(Note that people in tech tend to like to learn things by themselves; self-learning)

 

On the Social Feature we propose:

  • Occasionaly does post things
    • E.g. a nice/interesting graphic design on Instagram
  • LinkedIn: uses it to post career achievements/benchmarks
  • Cool to see people/friends learn new, interesting skills
    • But just not enthusiastic about posting about his own stuff

 

Email: kunitzer@stanford.edu

 

Interview 2 – Chris

Interview Notes

October 9th, 2024

Interviewee: Suresh Nambi

2nd-year masters in EE

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suresh-nambi-13036a120/

 

COVID Period

  • Couldn’t really do anything during the 3 year stretch
    • Had to do things virtually online, but was not fun
  • Signed Up last year for a 1-week workshop on Bollywood dance
    • Was 2-3 classes, free
    • Offered by Stanford Indian Dance Club
      • (we could partner with organizations for Classy)
    • Found out about the event via emails 
      • (we should offer clubs)

 

Using Carta to Find Events

  • Likes to scroll through Carta to see if any interesting activity/recreational things classes
    • (People do like to explore things to do)
    • (Might be good idea to have a feed of some sort, or recommendation algo)

 

Peer Group

    • Learns about classes & decides on what classes based on their peer
  • Good to have people who tend to  share similar interests to you
    • Likes personalized recommendations
  • Let other people do exploration, then see what they say
  • Does utilize friends’ reviews
    • Would find the reviews, friend, etc. feature(s) useful
  • Will talk to bunch of friends
  • Participates whatsapp group (e.g. Indian dance group chat), follows links links

 

Factors he uses to decide to go or not:

    • ”Is this the type of event to go to?”
    • Where the class is/Proximity of instructions
  • Are friends signing up

: 

Cost

  • Wouldn’t mind spending $20-50 on a class, depending on how much I want to go 

 

Fitness

  • Relies on gym membership
    • Trainers help with high level details
    • Will lookup specific details about forms on YouTube
    • Big proponent of decentralized information

 

For Acquiring Skills

    • Familiar Skills:
      • Would use something like Coursera
    • New Skills:
  • Would do an online course, preferably together in a class
      • Likes that a bunch of students online doing it together
        • Likes group work activities, together solving assignments
  • Gets motivation from seeing other beginners learning the material together
  • People starting with you
  • Will lose motivation if you don’t have others around you

 

On Planning (Synchronous) Classes

  • Sporadic planning/sign up of these recreational activity classes
  • If it’s 4 weeks in advance, will usually not commit
    • But for events that are very close time-wise, then will go if interested and if free
  • Tends to make last-minute decisions

 

Package Classes

    • Would be averse to buying package classes (e.g.bundled X number of classes for 20% off)
      • Commitment is too hard
  • In general, free time is “pricey”

 

Email: snambi@stanford.edu

 

Interview 3 – Monica

October 10, 2024

Interviewed Sally (by phone) – 66F Retiree in Florida

Email: sally_hirst@yahoo.com 

 

Has done group fitness before (jazzercise). She went with her next door neighbor Mary. Went maybe twice. Had a close relationship with Mary and had wanted to try it out, so she tagged along the next time she went. Said group fitness classes “aren’t really her thing”. Did not want to elaborate. 

 

Has done art classes before. Maybe 3 in-person painting classes. Found out about the painting class through neighbors who had done it. Got a group together and signed up for a class through Groupon or something similar. 

 

Took a glassblowing class that they found through [they think] Google.

 

Took several stained glass classes at a stained glass studio in Berkeley. Saw the studio when walking past and signed up for an introductory class. The initial class was not cheap (maybe $150), but they let you keep all the supplies you needed to do stained glass regularly (glass cutters, solder, flux, etc.) you just didn’t have the grinder for the edges. The class sessions for stained glass were 4 or 6 weeks long.

 

Took other classes at the same studio (mosaic, wire wrapping, glass slide pressing). Really liked the manager from the studio. Stopped taking classes because she moved from California to Florida. 

 

Is thinking about turning one of her guest rooms on the third floor into a craft studio. 

 

Can take classes or join a gym through MediCare. Signed up for an online class through this MediCare benefit that she is still subscribed to but doesn’t do. Signed up for Jennifer Aniston online series of stretching/fitness pre-recorded classes. Doesn’t know why she hasn’t done it despite being signed up.

 

Last time she tried to learn something online was when she signed up for a trading class on Charles Schwab (after they acquired AmeriTrade) to just play around. 

 

Is very busy due to involvement in local politics (through a local club) and preparing for the upcoming election. Feels her main priority when she isn’t doing anything related to the election is to relax. Feels there is always something she should or could be doing. Compares it to work or school. Feels guilty for planning something totally relaxing when there is so much to do. Will do something spur of the moment and short like go out and sit in the jacuzzi or turn on the TV for a little bit. She hopes once the election is over she will have more time to plan recreational activities. 

  • How they solve it today? (Competitor or Hack)
      • Used to solve it by hack (would get recommendations from friends or find places to take classes when doing their day to day shopping).
  • What are the pains if they don’t solve it?
      • Social isolation and loss of fulfillment. They are currently stressed out and don’t feel they have time to relax and do recreational activities despite being retired. 
  • What are the gains [Classy] could bring to their lives
    • Could bring a better social aspect to their lives. Talked about wanting to turn one of their guest rooms into a craft room but doesn’t have the bandwidth/motivation right now. They seem hesitant to set a schedule right now because of how busy they are, so the flexibility aspect could be really attractive to them. 
  • Assessing social community features value (see TAM/SAM/SOM)
    • Is active on Facebook (lurker). Hard to say if they would post on Classy socials, but would look at other’s posts. 

 

Interview 4 – Monica 

October 10, 2024

Interviewed Natalie (by phone) – 32F Mom of two (5 yr old M and 2 month old F) on maternity leave

 

Has taken a lot of group fitness classes. Took a group fitness class on Tuesday (Pushups to Pinups – P2P in Concord). Focused on legs. Found P2P by word of mouth. A lot of friends/acquaintances post P2P challenges on facebook. Says there is a strong recovery (12 step-based sobriety from drugs/alcohol)→ P2P pipeline. People end up joining P2P about 6 months after getting sober. 

 

When she moved to Walnut Creek from Berkeley she Googled “hot pilates” because she was doing a hot pilates class in Berkeley and liked it. 

 

First group fitness class she ever did was at UFC gym, and she found out about it because she was a member. Did OrangeTheory fitness after her first baby. Thinks she found about it by word of mouth, but she might have googled “fitness classes near me”. After OrangeTheory she did hot pilates at Berkeley. She found out about the studio when walking past it and noticing the billboard (thought it looked really cool). When she moved to WC she googled “hot pilates” and found truFusion in WC. 

 

When she looks for fitness classes she reads the reviews. She looks for reviews that say it was a hard class. She likes when people say it is too hard because she doesn’t like when classes are too easy. She also looks for what kind of music they have (likes rap/rock but doesn’t like to workout to pop). Says music is super important to her. Whether the music is good depends on the instructor.

 

Stopped going to group fitness last time because she got pregnant. She had stopped going to group fitness before when she was unmotivated. When she is on a workout hype, it is always group fitness. Is not as motivated at all when it comes to solo workouts. Says she needs to be watched. 

 

Loves exploring new classes. Has the MindBody app now and had ClassPass in the past. Only had CP for one month and never used it. Sometimes needs to reel herself in because she is trying to go to all these different places. 

 

Signed up for ClassPass for one month through Kaiser (free trial). Really liked the classpass app because it will show you smaller gyms in your area. Likes that it shows you small gyms with a single owner that she thinks she wouldn’t know about otherwise. She found it under “wellness benefits” on kp.org when looking into extra perks for wellness. Went in and cancelled it before her trial expired (so she wouldn’t get charged), but she says the level she was on was only $19/month and this was enough for weekly classes. 

 

On mindbody she did get to go to classes. She found out about this small gym (50 members total) of really dedicated members. Three classes a day and the owner runs them all. When she uses the mindbody app she can pay for just a single session instead of needing a whole membership. The only way to pay for single classes at this gym is through mindbody. 

 

The mindbody app has fitness, wellness, beauty, all activities sections in search. It has yoga, pilates, and strength training. Can see what classes in her area are coming up today.

 

Can see reviews in the mindbody app. Can see how many people have reviewed it and how many stars (out of 5). 

 

Has thought about doing art classes but hasn’t done any yet. Gets a magazine for art classes in her area but feels she doesn’t have time for it. Her commute makes it hard to make 5:30pm classes because she often doesn’t get home until 6pm. And the classes are usually during the week day and will be at an adult school nearby (Concord). 

  • How they solve it today? (Competitor or Hack)
      • Used to solve it by hack (google different fitness places near her and reads the reviews) but now uses a competitor (MindBody)
  • What are the pains if they don’t solve it?
      • Either doesn’t do fitness (happens when they are too busy) or pays a lot of money (currently paying $200/month) and switches gyms often (has been a member of OrangeTheory, Crunch Fitness, P2P, and TruFusion in the last year). 
  • What are the gains [Classy] could bring to their lives
    • Could save them money (if less than the $200 they pay now) and bring them more joy because they prefer to switch their fitness routines up. 
  • Assessing social community features value (see TAM/SAM/SOM)
    • Doesn’t post on social media (big on personal privacy), but would definitely look at people’s posts. More interested in the reviews aspect. 

 

Interview 5- AJ Ecem

 

Interviewee: Tawfique (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Senior at Stanford)

Email: tali01@stanford.edu

 

  • Prefers online learning for its flexibility and ability to rewind content, but values the hands-on, social aspect of in-person classes.
    • In the past, he has taken online language and driving courses.
    • He likes being able to set his own pace of learning with asynchronous classes
    • Prefers physical skills compared to “soft ones”

 

  • Has taken various skills-based courses at Stanford, including woodshop and welding, which were beneficial for their major. 
    • He appreciated the collaborative learning in class but struggled with being overwhelmed by too many skills being taught at once. 
    • Felt “left behind” and “not cared” for by the instructors as they were going too fast past compared to his own pace of learning 
    • He overcame this by working closely with the teacher and setting extra time to practice. 
    • He liked the hand-on group work, though, and says that he learned quite a bit from friends in the class.

 

  • He believes that an app for learning new skills should be flexible, self-paced, and social, and should incorporate a rewards system to motivate learners.
    • He thinks that a rewards-based setup to motivate students can lead them to spend extra time for classes.
    • Emphasizes the importance of making learning fun and engaging through a well-designed system, through gamification and such.
    • He likes it one classes have a social aspect to them, and when asked about the “social media” use of classes, he believes that it makes it fun and easier to connect for students

 

Interview 6- AJ Ecem

 

Interviewee: Riya (B.S. International Relations, Senior at Stanford)

Email: riya02@stanford.edu

  •  Likes earning new sports-related skills and has taken numerous squash classes. 
    • Thinks that sports and similar physical skills can only be learned in a classroom setting, with a live,  interactive environment. 
    • She feels that the social aspect of in-person classes, like being able to talk to people around you, is the fun part
  • She appreciates the collaborative nature of gym classes and squash sessions and thinks real-time interaction with instructors and fellow students is what makes the learning experience “good”. 
    • She enjoys being able to practice drills with others, learn by observing, and get immediate feedback
    • She worries about her form the entire time she’s practicing, unless she’s actively being watched by a coach
    • Groups give her motivation to keep improving as well as camaraderie. 
    • She says she learns better when she can actively participate and immerse herself rather than just watching a video or doing self-paced exercises alone.
  • Thinks real-time communication and team-based challenges would enhance engagement, making the learning experience into a “dynamic” one rather than “static”.
    • She  doesn’t really like  asynchronous classes
    • But, she is open to digital solutions that offer interactive components, such as virtual meet-ups or competitions, to gamify the process and add a more social element to it
  • She feels that adding collaborative features and interactive sessions, or social events like meetups, would really create a sense of community within the app and the gym community. She states that she would really like to be a part of a “community”
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