Having a great business idea is one thing. Having thorough user testing, market research and fresh perspectives is another.

Associate Professor of Accounting Dr Grainne Oates Swinburne’s School of Business, Law and Entrepreneurship knew she was onto something when she launched Quitch. Grainne had witnessed her accounting students glued to their phones and was looking for a way to better engage students in their learning, as well as improve learning outcomes and student retention.

Quitch, an AI-powered gamified mobile learning platform, was the answer – and the app has gone from strength to strength. To go further – stronger – and build the startup as a business and organisation, she reached out to Swinburne Design Factory Melbourne (DFM). Through DFM, Grainne was able to work with a dedicated team of students who:

  • interviewed Quitch’s end-users 

  • explored new markets

  • articulated business problems to solve

  • identified new business opportunities

  • contributed to the app’s technology roadmap.  

“The world that's opened up for us as a result of collaborating with DFM and their students was the opportunity to have a re-set,” Grainne explains. “We had a fresh set of eyes look at the problem that we, as a team, are trying to solve for our customers.”

The Collaboration

New thinking

Through working with DFM students, Quitch was able to re-set and re-engerise. 

Customer-centric

Students interviewed Quitch’s end-users to better understand the problems to solve.

Future-focussed

Quitch gained business development insights and an enhanced technology roadmap.

A fresh set of eyes

Students were involved from the outset in the collaboration between DFM and Quitch. “They were very clear in ensuring that they knew exactly what business problems we were trying to solve,” Grainne says. “They asked lots of great questions.”

Discovery and research

Together with the students, Quitch put together a discovery and research project. Based on this co-created plan, DFM students conducted interviews with Quitch’s end-users, including end-users from potential new markets. This provided the team with a clear picture of the user problems to solve. 

“They did all that work in a very short period of time,” Grainne observes. “They were super-efficient and great communicators in terms of relating to us what was the next step they felt we should take as an organisation.”

Exploring new business opportunities

DFM students also worked with Quitch on developing new business opportunities, as the app moves into global markets. In undertaking this work, the students also examined opportunities in AI development, contributing to Quitch’s technology roadmap.

“That was really beneficial,” Grainne says. “Business development is not always what industry feels that universities can bring to the table. But I think it’s absolutely clear that at DFM, students can deliver on that, as well.”

Meeting your future workforce

For Quitch, the advantages of working with DFM students extended beyond the project; it also represented an opportunity to get to know the next generation of workers. Grainne encourages other start-ups and businesses to collaborate with DFM students in order to attract new talent. 

“If you work with DFM, what you will find is this great group of engaged students who are really keen to deliver a great outcome for you,” she says. “You also have the opportunity to work with students who will soon graduate and may end up being a very good fit for your team as you want to grow your business and move forward.”

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