Moova
Reintroduce social equity to make spinal cord injury impacted communities whole again.
Role
Co-Founder
Timeline
Spring 2024 & Ongoing
Team
Henry Scherb (CEO),
Hind Alkhatrash (Experience),
Andrea Lo (Operations),
Josie Steinberg (Finance)
Methods
User Interview, Survey Design, Survey Collection, Diary Studies, Concept Testing
00 Overview
There are 1.1 Million traumatic injury survivors in the US every year. Behind each of those survivors is an entire community of family, friends, and peers who are also traumatized as a result, creating an immense ripple effect. Moova is a digital platform that reintroduces social connection to communities stripped of it due to a traumatic health event, through interactive storytelling, activity sharing, and social prompting.
At the end of 2023, my co-founder Henry reached out to me. From there, we gathered a team of 5 with diverse backgrounds ranging from finance to biology with shared lived experience. We started this project in early 2024, and we are still in the process of refining our product and our business model.
A recent milestone, achieved after two months of exhaustive research, synthesis, and rapid prototyping, underscores our progress:
Moova’s early adopters are willing to pay an average of $360 annually, post-initial concept testing
—which is 5 times higher than other lifestyle apps.
01 Context
In 2022, Henry’s brother Clay fell into shallow water and landed on his neck. Clay's injury left him paralyzed from the neck down. However, the impact reverberated far beyond his immediate physical condition, affecting not only his family, friends, and neighbors, but also resonating with broader implications.
Research has shown that 34.8% of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) survivors experience suicidal ideation, with 17.3% having attempted suicide. This stems from the issue that 55% of SCI survivors struggle with social participation. While the survivor bears the brunt of the impact, every SCI has a ripple effect. Our primary research indicates that each SCI impacts 7 people; 95% of those impacted experience depression due to insufficient social connection and disrupted lifestyles.
SCI is a psychosocial shock for an entire community, dividing lovers, best friends, and family members. There is a dire need for a more meaningful and productive connection amidst a time of trauma. This left our team with the following problem to solve:
How might we make spinal cord injury impacted communities whole again?
02 Research Plan
03 Research Inisights
Since this is a ongoing, recent venture, safeguarding the confidentiality of our research and product is important to our team. However, please do not hesitate to contact me via Email or LinkedIn if you're interested in discovering more about Moova!