Inspiration
Our team collaborated with the Weston Art & Innovation Center (WAIC), a community hub for creative engagement. We were inspired by their mission to host classes and public programs, but we noticed they were constrained by manual workflows and a localized reach that primarily targeted middle-aged women. We wanted to build a bridge to help them expand their audience and modernize their operations.
What it does
We designed an integrated ecosystem featuring:
The WAIC Event Hub: An automated system for admins to create and distribute events to calendars and email lists with one click.
Workshop in a Box: Hybrid online classes paired with physical starter kits delivered to customers' doorsteps to bypass regional limitations.
Smart CRM & Intern Pipeline: A system that tracks customer interests to personalize marketing and an internship program that brings in college students to expand the instructor pool and creative capacity. +1
How we built it
We developed a prototype that implements role-based access for admins, instructors, and customers. We mapped out a complex Email Automation Logic triggered by consumer behavior.
The backend includes a CRM database to record customer history and interests for targeted marketing. We also built a dashboard with AI-powered insights to assist in administrative decision-making.
Challenges we ran into
Synthesizing separate organizational problems—outreach, workflow efficiency, and talent pipelines—into a single, unified solution was our primary hurdle. We had to ensure the automation logic remained sufficiently personalized to recommend products based on whether a user liked or disliked a previous workshop.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud of the College Internship Pipeline, which strengthens WAIC's outreach from the bottom up. This creates a positive feedback loop in which interns receive training, take on content-creation roles, and ultimately increase the center's class capacity and long-term sustainability.
What we learned
We learned that scaling a community center requires more than just a website; it requires a talent pipeline and data-driven engagement. We discovered how to leverage behavioral triggers (such as email open rates and reviews) to drive a personalized customer journey.
What's next for Weston Art & Innovation Center: Automation & Expansion
The next phase involves fully deploying the AI-powered insights dashboard to help admins make more accurate scheduling decisions. We plan to scale the "Workshop in a Box" model nationally and formalize the internship pipeline to ensure a consistent, high-quality talent pool for years to come.
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