Bluum- Create, Explore, Grow

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Advertising Survey
Login Screen
My Account Tab
Browse Page
Photography Page
Cash Flow Statement
Sales Revenue Projections
Income Statement

The Inspiration:

My cousin, a natural artist since childhood, graduated from art school (Ohio State University) about 2 years ago. She is fantastic at designing t-shirts, shirts, jerseys, and painting. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to find a job that was willing to recognize her talent. She attempted to for 2 long years, but no opportunity came his way. My research revealed that art majors have the most difficulty when it comes to finding steady employment opportunities. I also realized that many students are bogged down by student loans, and Bluum can help start-up the careers of art graduates.

What it does:

Bluum is the channel that connects creatives to employers, helping to solve issues with unemployment among the art industry. Our service benefits the creators by providing them with work opportunities and access to resources to help them expand their network, but also benefits individuals in the community who are looking for unique and original creators. Our current foundation helps photographers, choreographers, musicians, clothing designers, and painters/sculptors find employment. In a society where people are constantly scrambling for resources, whether it is money, food, or energy, Bluum taps into the underutilized resource of creators to provide employment opportunities and artist exposure in the community.

Bluum’s platform connects artists to employers. Aspiring creators (Painters, Sculptors, Clothes designers, musicians, choreographers, and photographers) can apply to get access to our process. They will have to conduct an interview and submit an application, that includes their work experience and portfolio, in which the Bluum Team will select 30 people per art medium. If a creator is selected, they will pay the preferred subscription plan and can start to publish their work and online portfolio on the exclusive platform. On the other end of the spectrum, individuals looking to hire original creators, whether they are looking for someone to choreograph a dance or paint a wall mural, can search through the platform for a local creator that meets their needs. They can then either purchase specific work through our private chat or hire the individual for a date/time, in which Bluum will take a 10% fee. This process ensures that artists can maintain contact with their employers and eliminates communication errors between employee and employer.

How I built it: The initial framework of Bluum was designed using Swift and JavaScript.

Challenges I ran into:

Coming up with a way to ensure that the artist and the consumer do not communicate and deal outside the app (ensure profile cannot include any other social links and authentication process for all profiles).
Devising a suitable marketing strategy to target art enthusiasts of various ages.
Developing a competitive advantage over platforms such as Patreon and Indeed (focussing exclusively on art and connecting artists and enthusiasts).

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

The Bluum Membership System and the two-pronged tier approach which maximizes revenue as well as allows artists to promote themselves on the Bluum Home Page.
The Easy-to-use User Interface of Bluum, demonstrated through the screenshots.
Conducting a Comprehensive Financial Analysis of Bluum (Balance Sheet, P&L Statement, Cash Flow Statement)
Devising creative marketing strategies such as partnering up with Art Schools to promote Bluum.

What I learned

The various facets involved in creating a start-up (administration, technology, finance etc.)
The importance of having a competitive advantage over alternatives in the market.
Theories about marketing and business administration from the Zoom Webinars (My personal favorite was the 80-20 rule.)