TrojanTribe Pitch

Problem / Need

Online grad students are likely to feel lonely, alienated from the USC population, and naive to the other students who might be in the same city or have the same objectives.

Solution

A way to sign up for the opportunity to discover local people and like-minded individuals — creating informal communities, partnerships, and friendships as opposed to classmates and coworkers.

Analysis

Graduates of online programs at USC are currently lacking in choices when it comes to engaging with their peers outside of class and beyond the virtual world. The current Trojan Network is mainly focused on the employment and has no features that could help students find friends and build a community on a local level. Although some universities may use Slack, Discord or Reddit to create their own communities, these platforms are not always moderated and can be hard to find if you are not part of the student group. TrojanTribe fills this gap by providing a product that combines social exploration, geography, and interests. It’s not a career-focused network or a job search engine – it’s a place to find people you can relate to and feel connected with in an environment that can often be quite lonely.

Impact & Vision

It’s not just about helping people to find people around them on TrojanTribe – it’s about making them feel like they are part of the community. It enables students to form strong relationships that are not only academic in nature: study partners, small groups, informal gatherings, walks in the countryside, or late-night group chats when everything is done via Zoom. In the long run, the platform is a little unobtrusive but significant connection within the experience of an online graduate at USC – something that students use not because they have to but because it is authentic, comforting, and friendly. TrojanTribe makes remote learning feel less remote.

Pitch Video

Problem / Need

Solution

Analysis

Impact & Vision